A day after I reviewed BBOM, Federal Police in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco announced that they had launched an investigation into the company.

Like TelexFree, BBOM accepts investments from affiliates in exchange for a monthly ROI, along with recruitment commissions and matching bonuses.

Whereas TelexFree used the guise of VOIP services, BBOM pretended they were selling GPS services to customers through a company named Embrasystem.

Upon further analysis of course things fell apart when you realised BBOM was paying out ROIs as soon as affiliates handed over their money, as opposed to when they sold the GPS systems they claimed to be selling through Embrasystem.

Following the announcement of Pernambuco’s Federal Police a few weeks ago, it seems they’ve been busy gathering evidence and building a case against the company.

Less than a month after the initial investigation announcement, presented evidence before a judge who subsequently ordered the freezing of BBOM and its management’s assets. [Continue reading…]

Taking a break from the current devastation being wrought by scammers in South America, today we return to what was a hotbed of pyramid scheme mayhem for much of 2011 and 2012.

Like a plague spreading from one country in the content to another, TVI Express engulfed a considerable portion of southern Africa before things came to a grinding halt once the authorities stepped in.

When we last checked in with the South African Reserve Bank’s investigation into the company mid last year, word of top TVI promoter’s assets being frozen and “imminent arrests”.

Perhaps a bit premature at the time, almost a year later what appears to be the first of the expected arrests has been made, with South African authorities nabbing local TVI Express kingpin Nonhlanhla Hadebe. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the AdsNetworkPaid website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The company’s website domain (“adsnetworkpaid.com”) was registered on the 12th of April, however the domain registration is set to private.

In the AdsNetworkPaid FAQ the company simply states it

was developed by ADS Network & Businesses Ltd who has been in the industry for more than a year and is owned and managed by a team of professionals with over 7 years experience in network marketing.

No further information is provided.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the AdvertOnly website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The AdvertOnly website domain (“advertonly.com”) was registered on the 15th of May 2013 and lists an “Oladimeji Bello” as the domain owner, supposedly operating out of Spain.

The email address Bello used to register the domain, “justmatrixx@gmail.com”, has popped up previously on the domain registrations of at least two dubious opportunities prior.

Back in May 2012 Kasey Chang linked the justmatrixx email address to both ExpresWealth and Huge Yield. Both schemes used the same backend script, with Huge Yield taking payments from members in exchange for a position in a series of matrices, and paying out a commission once enough new affiliates had been recruited (BehindMLM Huge Yield review here).

Having been launched in early 2012, HugeYield appears to have begun paying out affiliates 50% of commissions earnt by May 2012 before collapsing shortly thereafter.

It’s worth noting that Huge Yield claimed on their website that the admin of the program was a “Larry Lawrence”, yet the domain registration simply credited ownership to an “elliot” (as did ExpresWealth).

Given the use of the same email address for the registration of AdvertOnly, it’s a safe bet that none of these people actually exist.

Read on for a full review of the AdvertOnly MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Earlier this week on Monday TelexFree had their formal appeal unanimously rejected by three judges in Acre’s Civil Court.

Despite the granting of a business crippling injunction and rejection of two appeals filed against it, TelexFree continues to talk up its current legal position. In additional ongoing efforts to appease their Brazilian affiliate investors, the company also routinely has its lawyers publicly reassure everyone that the Acre injunction does not pose a risk to the company’s operations.

Shortly after Monday’s appeal denial was handed down, TelexFree lawyer Djacir Falcão acknowledged the company was “going through a difficult situation” but that it was “not at risk of bankruptcy”.

Fellow lawyer Horst Fuchs later echoed Falcão’s statement, claiming

the new defeat (does not) endanger the survival of the company. There’s no chance of that happening.

The catch 22 here of course being that with little to no retail activity, it’s quite obvious that TelexFree use affiliate investments to pay out existing $20 a week guaranteed ROIs. It would therefore logically follow on that if the company can’t recruit new investors and take in new investments, they’re ROI liabilities would eventually cause bankruptcy.

TelexFree of course can’t admit that, because they’d basically be confirming the company is a Ponzi scheme. Yet that appears to be exactly what happened yesterday. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the Double Up Dollars website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The company’s website domain (“myoea.com”) was registered on the 3rd of June 2013, however the domain registration is set to private.

Double Up Dollars appears to be an MLM business opportunity attached to a “private online institution” called Online Entrepreneurial Academy.

Buried in the Double Up Dollars Terms of Service Agreement is the following information on Online Entrepreneurial Academy’s registration:

The full name of Online Entrepreneurial Academy is Online Entrepreneurial Academy.

Online Entrepreneurial Academy is registered in Florida under registration number G13000042363.

Online Entrepreneurial Academy’s mailing address is:

Online Entrepreneurial Academy 1052 Montgomery Rd. #1009
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714

“Online Entrepreneurial Academy” is not registered as a corporation, trademark, LLC or LP. The company’s name however does have a listing as a “fictitious name”, registered on the 2nd of May 2013:

As per the registration above, “Vampire Training Network LLC” is listed as the owner of Online Entrepreneurial Academy.

Vampire Training Network LLC is registered as an LLC in Florida, using the same address as Online Entrepreneurial Academy. Two “managers” are listed in the Vampire Training Network LLC registration:

With Robert Gube-Zitrin and Hanna Gube-Zitrin (right) listed as the managers/owners of Vampire Training Network and Vampire Training Network listed as the owners of Online Entrepreneurial Academy, it would seem that Robert and Hanna are therefore the owners of Double Up Dollars.

A Double Up Dollars “official corporate video” uploaded by Robert Gube-Zitrin confirms this, with Robert crediting himself (as “Dr. Bob”) and Hanna Gube-Zitrin as CEOs of the company:

Why this information is not provided to the general public or prospective affiliates on the Double Up Dollars website is not clear.

Further research reveals that Double Up Dollars and Online Entrepreneurial Academy are rehashes of what used to be known as the “Quattro Education System”.

It appears as if Robert and Hanna Gube-Zitrin were affiliates in Quattro Education but then decided to create their own business. The following excerpt is taken from a Double Up Dollars affiliate and explains what happened:

What happened was that Joe, the president of QES was lending his QES software to Team Leaders to use and track their own teams in the QES business.

Remember, folks you are in business for yourself since you get paid DIRECTLY. Joe allowed team leaders to use the software, so DUD founded by Dr. Bob and Hanna was using QES software.

All of us signed up with QES software, but we were never under QES/Joe business. Since the business models are the same, there have been a lot of confusion as to the differences between QES and DUD.

Both are different companies using the same software.

Today Double Up Dollars apparently uses different software and has “cut all ties” with Quattro Education.

Read on for a full review of the Double Up Dollars MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Despite the widespread belief held by TelexFree affiliates that the three judges hearing the company’s injunction appeal today would overturn the decision, this did not take place.

In what appears to have been a rather brief hearing in Acre’s 2nd Civil Chamber Court, a unanimous decision was handed down denying the company’s appeal.

For now, the injunction that has effectively put a stop to TelexFree’s Ponzi operations in Brazil remains in force.

Not to be deterred by having two appeals rejected thus far, TelexFree’s lawyer Djacir Hawk ‘confirmed that the company will make an appeal‘. [Continue reading…]

LifeMax launched in 2008 and are based out of Florida in the US.

Heading up the company are Founders are Jim and Sherri Wear (bottom right), with Mitch Huhem serving as CEO.

So the story goes back in 2007 after concerns about their health were raised, the Wear’s “close friend” Dr. Murray introduced them to Chia seeds.

After just a few days of experiencing the product, it was as if the fog had lifted. What the Wears had to do became immediately apparent.

And that’s how LifeMax came about roughly a year later.

The Wears have been together since 1993 and are credited with having ‘created and launched a multitude of businesses’. The Wears success in real estate is what led to their early retirement in 2006 (a year before the concept for LifeMax came about).

As far as I can tell none of the businesses prior to LifeMax that the Wears have been involved in were MLM companies.

CEO Mitch Huhem (right) has a long history in MLM, dating back to the late 80s/early 90s. At age 25 Huhem joined Rexall Showcase International (now known as Unicity International) and, according to his corporate bio,

led a direct sales organization of over 500,000 distributors in 22 countries to collectively reach 480 million in annual sales.

After Unicity International Huhem went on to focus on non-MLM ventures but eventually returned to the industry. I’m not sure if this was his first MLM venture but Huhem signed on as “Chief Visionary” with Regeneca (personal care and health and nutrition) in 2011.

I’m not sure what happened with Regeneca but by early’ish 2012 Huhem had signed up as CEO of Foru International (formerly known as Genewize).

As best I can tell, Huhem left Foru International in early 2013, and only just recently signed on as CEO of LifeMax in May 2013.

Update 14th August 2013 – Just two months after accepting the position of CEO at LifeMax it appears Mitch Huhem is out.

LifeMax appears to have been bought out by Genesis Pure (health and nutrition), headed up by CEO Lindsey Duncan.

The LifeMax website currently lists Sherri Wear as the company’s CEO.

/end update

Read on for a full review of the LifeMax MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Better Living Global Marketing’s penny auction business launched in August of 2012 and are based out of Hong Kong in China.

On the Better Living Global Marketing website, the company states that it’s ‘a subsidiary of MSP Power Marketing‘.

For reasons unknown, the Better Living Global Marketing website has a boatload of information on MSP Power Marketing and it’s lubricant products, but no information on Better Living Global Marketing business itself (other than an unhelpfully long-winded marketing spiel that doesn’t really say anything).

MSP Power Marketing (and by association Better Living Global Marketing) was founded in the early 1990s by Luke Teng (right), who credits himself as the CEO of Better Living Global Marketing on the company website.

I wasn’t able to find any information indicating involvement by Teng in another MLM company at an executive level, so Better Living Global Marketing appears to be his first MLM venture.

Read on for a full review of the Better Living Global Marketing MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

LifeWave was founded in 2004 and is based out of the US state of California.

Heading up the company is CEO and Founder, David Schmidt. Schmidt’s LifeWave corporate bio states that he has ‘experience in business and product development (that) spans over 25 years‘.

Schmidt is credited with having owned ‘successful companies involved in manufacturing and product development‘, however LifeWave appears to be his first MLM venture.

Read on for a full review of the LifeWave MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]