pyramidscheme

We've profiled two wealthy benefactors behind GOP candidates for president: Sheldon Adelson, who bankrolls Newt Gingrich's super PAC, and Foster Friess, whose millions support Rick Santorum. Now we turn our focus to Frank L. VanderSloot, the billionaire backing Mitt Romney.

Regulators are going crazy over Ponzi schemes. One regulatory agency has reportedly found 19 Ponzi schemes so far this year, and says that hundreds of reported investment schemes are currently being investigated across America.Why are all these schemes coming to light? It probably has less to do...

Don't think that only wealthy investors are potential victims of Ponzi and pyramid schemes. The average consumer is just as vulnerable, and maybe even more vulnerable. The garden variety Ponzi scheme is nothing more than a chance to take your money. You pay $500 or $1,000 or $10,000 for the...

The news that Bernard Madoff was arrested Friday and charged with securities fraud in what federal prosecutors called a $50 billion Ponzi scheme should serve as a warning to anyone asked to give money with promises of getting high returns if they sign up more people. Hopefully you won't get...

The concept behind an affinity fraud scheme is simple: Gain the trust of a group of people with something in common and scam them out of lots of money. The "groups" are often based on ethnicity, immigrant status, religious affiliation, college alumni association, or something along the same lines....

I've been studying multi-level marketing for several years, and Robert FitzPatrick has been studying the industry even longer. He's been qualified as an expert witness in MLMs and knows a whole lot about the industry. He recently released a report on 11 large MLMs which demonstrates that a full 99%...

Yesterday California's Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown Jr., announced a lawsuit against YourTravelBiz.com (YTB) for being a "gigantic pyramid scheme." He says that the multi-level marketing company recruited tens of thousands of members with false earnings claims. YTB was supposed to a business...

If you're like over 90% of the people who get involved in multi-level marketing, you're going to lose money. The sad thing is that most people get involved in MLMs because they want to make money.Below is the story of one college student who lost thousands in an MLM. These companies are known for...

China doesn't allow Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) schemes or pyramid schemes, period. The government allows single level direct sales if a company has a proper license. But no recruiting is allowed and no multi-level structure is allowed.While we often think of China as being behind the times...

One of the credibility-building factors that modern multi-level marketing (MLM) companies rely on is the assertion that they're legal. Often, it's said that if a company wasn't following the laws, they would have bee shut down by now.Those things do sound credible. Average consumers assume that the...