Undeservedly or not, MLM has a “reputation”. You know what I’m talking about…

Pyramid schemes, money shuffling from new recruits to the top, MLM company reps effectively stealing from unsuspecting victims, “locked door” hotel room seminars, annoying flyers, being pitched something you’ve got absolutely no interest in by a desperate sounding person, stories of people paying way too much for things they wouldn’t normally buy, garage fulls of inventory etc. etc.

Mention MLM to the general populace and chances are you’re going to get a negative reaction, regardless of the opportunity in question.

Here at BehindMLM we’re no stranger to this and hope that in our own way, via information, analysis and an open constructive dialogue, we put a dent in the efforts of those who seek to trash the legitimacy of the MLM industry.

Sometimes however, the industry itself is its own worst enemy. [Continue reading…]

Paid 2 Save launched in early 2012 and owned by “Hart 2 Hart Marketing”, who appear to be based out of the US state of California.

Management wise Paid 2 Save is headed up by co-founder and President, David Hart (photo right).

On his company bio, Paid 2 Save claims Hart

has 22 years of experience in the direct marketing industry and has successfully built downlines in the tens of thousands several times.

Hart’s previous MLM ventures include reaching the “Diamond Club” in Waiora (health and nutrition).

Read on for a full review of the Paid 2 Save MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

One of the more prolific MLM pyramid schemes we’ve seen over the past half-decade or so has been TVI Express.

Like a hydra, despite being banned and certified illegal in multiple locations  across the globe (Australia, Indonesia, Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia and the US), TVI Express continued to pop in new markets and lure new affiliates into the scheme.

Once saturation was reached they’d then move onto new locations and thus the process has repeated itself over and over again these past five or six years.

It seemed that as long as owner and CEO Tarun Trikha (an Indian national, photo right) was free, the scam would continue to pop up in new markets.

Seeking to put a stop to TVI Express once and for all, the unexpected news broke yesterday that Tarun Trikha had been arrested in India.

Is this the end for TVI? [Continue reading…]

FlexKom operate in the e-commerce MLM niche and appear to be based out of Germany under “FlexKom Europe GmbH”.

I say appear because further research into the company revealed several instances of the company’s affiliates claiming that FlexKom was headquartered in Turkey.

This is supported by the fact that FlexKom’s website domain (“flexkom.com”) is registered to a “Cengiz Ehliz” (the owner of FlexKom), with a provided address in Ankara, Turkey.

FlexKom was founded in 2010 and is headed up by CEO Asker Sakinmaz.

On his personal website, Ehliz (photo right with Asker Sakinmaz (right)) claims to have begun his network marketing career in 1993, however no involvement in any specific companies is mentioned.

Turkey was chosen as the first country to test FlexKom’s business model in, with the company now looking to expand internationally.

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

Joy to Live was launched in 2010 and operate in the health and nutrition MLM niche.

The company was founded by CEO Gerald Ricks and is headquartered in the US state of Utah.

On their website Joy to Live claim to be owned by parent company “Elite Marketing Alliance, Inc.”

A quick visit to the Elite Marketing Alliance website reveals a near identical product line and compensation plan (EMA appears to be an MLM business opportunity in and of itself).

Management wise Gerald Ricks (photo right) is nowhere to be seen on the Elite Marketing Alliance website, with the company naming a Robert Yukes (also known as Bob Yukes) as company President.

Curiously, both Elite Marketing Alliance and Joy to Live display different information on their respective domain registrations.

Joy to Live’s website domain (“joytolive.net”) is registered to “Quantum Marketing” in Montana, whereas Elite Marketing Alliance (“elite22.com”) is registered to “Elite Alliance LLC” in Kansas.

Including Utah, that’s three US states linked to Joy to Live and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on there.

MLM history wise, prior to Joy to Live, Gerald Ricks appears to have been involved in the MLM company “AlivaMax” (launched in 2008).

AlivaMax sell “supplements” and although the company’s website is still active, today they appear to be a retail-only storefront.

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

It’s been nearly two years since Speak Asia was shut down by the Indian authorities and since then, apart from some very public arrests, publicly little progress seems to have been made.

Led by a group of ringleaders with a murky connection to Speak Asia’s upper management, those who profited in the Speak Asia scheme have worked diligently to quell concerns those that lost money in the scheme.

Dangling the carrot of a business restart and the possibility of then recouping their investments via the recruitment of new investors, this strategy has largely worked.

Not due to any scrap of common-sense of plausibility of course, but rather the perception that the Indian legal system has been a playground for Speak Asia.

Hiring the best lawyers money can buy (paid out of Ponzi funds siphoned offshore), Speak Asia have thus far gotten away with lying to the Supreme Court of India, planting the seed that mediation could somehow absolve them of running a Ponzi scheme and insisting that if they just had a chance to explain their business model to a judge, that they’d be cleared of any wrong doings.

After a series of setbacks (much of Speak Asia’s legal proceedings were systematically demolished in late 2012 and early 2013 for being the time-wasting exercises that they were), in the anticipatory bail application for the All India Speak Asia Panelist Association (AISPA) Secretary, Ashok Bahirwani, for the first time ever an Indian court finally passed public comment on Speak Asia’s business model.

The verdict?

Speak Asia is a pyramid scheme. [Continue reading…]

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

Infact, you can’t do or see anything on the Singles Matrix website other than to sign up and join the company.

The Singles Matrix website domain (“thesinglesmatrix.com”) was registered in May 2011 and names a Rephael Inbar of “W3 Ventures Inc.” as the domain owner.

Inbar (photo right) appears in marketing videos for the company and is credited as being the founder and creator of Singles Matrix.

Marketing videos for Singles Matrix first appeared online in November 2012, with the company’s website currently informing visitors that Singles Matrix is in pre-launch.

Inbar credits himself as the owner of w3 Ventures Inc. on his LinkedIn profile and has worked at a variety of IT related companies.

Inbar does have a history in internet marketing, but Singles Matrix appears to be his first MLM venture.

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

The legal battles between eAdGear (GoFunRewards/GoFunPlaces) and Randal Williams (JubiRev/JubiMax) continue to heat up with a modified complaint filed by Williams in a Western District court of Texas.

Back in February William’s filed a lawsuit against eAdGear in Texas, which after reviewing it I felt was rather general in nature:

Going over each side of both cases, it’s hard not to get a sense of vindictiveness arising from failed a failed joint business venture.

Whether or not William’s heart was ever in GoFunRewards or he was just there to gain contacts and funding I have no idea, but from eAdGear’s lawsuit and Paul Nash’s email above it certainly doesn’t seem like it.

If anything I get the sense that despite the allegations laid out against him, Williams is incensed that his time at GoFunRewards is now impacting his JubiRev business venture.

Just short of a month later eAdGear filed their own lawsuit against Williams in California, which laid out some serious shortcomings in William’s conduct as President of GoFunRewards and the pillaging of GoFunRewards to create his new venture, JubiRev.

Perhaps in retaliation for eAdGear’s lawsuit, Williams has now filed an amended complaint, complete with a slew of new accusations laid out against eAdGear and its management. [Continue reading…]

Addressing what is referred to as ‘the Vemma craze taking over campus‘, an article recently appeared in Texas State University’s “University Star” publication calling on students to be ‘careful to avoid getting swept up in quick money-making promises‘.

The article, written by “exploratory international freshman” Austin Tomlinson, claims that Vemma is a “dangerous pyramid structure” and paints a pretty bleak picture of the company’s marketing practices and MLM business model. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the Digital Experts Academy website indicating who owns or runs the business.

On Digital Experts Academy’s “about” page, the company simply states:

Founded by a group of young Internet entrepreneurs who have been cashing in on the Digital Gold Rush over the last five years, DEA’s ultimate goal is to help its members become financially self sufficient as digital entrepreneurs in the new economy.

Meanwhile Digital Experts Academy’s website domain was registered on the 13th of August 2012, however the domain registration information is set to private.

If you click “promote” on the Digital Experts Academy website, the company redirects you to join something called “The Six Figure Mentors”:

In what appears to be a similar vein to Digital Experts Academy,

The SFM provides a state-of-the-art comprehensive direct marketing solution complete with the tools, training, coaching and community required to launch and grow a successful business.

Unlike Digital Experts Academy however, The Six Figure Mentors’ “About Us” page is a little more forthcoming with information on who’s running things:

In 2010 Internet entrepreneur Stuart Ross started the concept of forming an online community and training organisation to leverage the exact business model that enabled him to quit his job and build a multiple six figure income business his very first year online.

This community and training company is now known as The Six Figure Mentors (The SFM) and focuses on helping people generate more income, improve lifestyle and create more freedom by tapping into the power of the Internet.

The Six Figure Mentors is a membership site that sells membership for $297 upfront and $97 a month thereafter.

On a marketing video on The Six Figure Mentor website Stuart Ross refers to himself as a co-founder of both The Six Figure Mentors and Digital Experts Academy.

I couldn’t see any information about the other co-founder(s) anywhere else on The Six Figure Mentors website. The “SFM Team” page on The Six Figure Mentors website simply has a picture displaying “coming soon” on it:

Why this information is not openly disclosed on the Digital Experts Academy website is not known.

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