Media
This section are links of communication channels that disseminate news. These are links to media articles relating to pyramid schemes or mult-level marketing. This section is helpful if for students or any professional to save time researching this specific subject from a media perspective. Notice the media sources are often more aggressive in calling out these schemes since there is no obligation to balance legality of the psuedo-business of MLMs. This section is not an endorsement of different media organizations, but just a guild for pyramid scheme info. Articles will be updated or added as time goes by.
New York Post
- See list of various articles. The latest news are Bernie Madoff victims getting another $378.5 million dollar payout
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Highlighted Quote: Checks are in the mail for nearly 350,000 people who said they lost money trying to run an Herbalife business, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.
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Highlighted Quote: The FTC disagrees. “Rather than focusing on selling products, Vemma uses false promises of high income potential to convince consumers to pay money to join their organization,”
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Highlighted Quote “There’s no question this guy was a con man,”
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Washington Post
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Highlighted Quote: Federal regulators raided the Tempe, Ariz., headquarters of Vemma, halting the operation of the energy drink distributor that used college kids to peddle the beverage, sold under the name Verve.
Females read here, don't waste your life
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Highlighted Quote: "Trump is being sued by four people who say they were duped into joining the multilevel marketing company ACN years ago because of his endorsement. The suit characterizes ACN as a pyramid scheme and accuses Trump of having made misleading claims as a paid pitchman prior to his presidency."
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Highlighted Quote: "I was called the n-word for exposing illegal ‘sou-sou’ pyramid schemes targeting Blacks."
Forbes
Highlighted Quote: Herbalife, the nutritional shakes and multi-level marketing company, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice on Friday and agreed to pay $123 million to settle charges it bribed Chinese officials, the third time in 4 years it's been slapped with penalties by the US Government
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Highlighted Quote: "60% of participants sold less than $500 over the past five years."
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Highlighted Quote: "MLMs typically require participants, referred to as “distributors,” to pay startup fees to join along with incidental costs down the line, such as purchasing products and event tickets, and traveling to large-scale, conference-type events."
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The Verge
How lobbying dollars prop up pyramid schemes
Apr 8, 2014
Highlighted Quote: "The answer comes down to politics, he says. "MLM lives and has always lived on the strength of its lobbying."
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Time
Highlighted Quote: "The same year Baker left Beachbody, a judge in Santa Monica, Calif., ruled the company must pay $3.6 million in penalties and restitution after the city accused it of charging customers’ credit cards for renewal fees without consent, and of exaggerating its products’ health benefits. "
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Vice
How to Get a Friend Out of an MLM
October 22, 2018
Highlighted Quote: "If Beau’s story sounds familiar, it probably is. In 2017, more than 18.6 million people in the U.S. were “employed” by a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. According to the FTC, two recent and unrelated studies both found more than 99 percent of people who join MLMs ultimately lose money."
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Yahoo
Highlighted Quote: "In a bid to ban multilevel marketing forever, TikTok just announced updates to its community guidelines, which stated that any content related to MLMs, Ponzi, and other “get rich quick” schemes will be promptly removed from the site."