The multi-level marketing industry keeps on developing at faster speeds each year despite the growing number of scams causing harm to the common man and the state through the loss of billions of dollars each year.
Scams cheat the general population and cause disarray and disbelief in network marketing since they mimic principled direct-selling entities when they are clearly something else and more of a criminal enterprise. This snowballs into the bigger problem of becoming the most significant hazard for morally correct direct-selling companies in light of false impressions made by such scammers. The resulting confusion among the network marketers pushes more people to easily fall prey to new scams cropping up each year, promising better payouts with lesser work and tending to bring down legitimate network marketing businesses instead.
We will, in this article, take a gander at the allegations leveled and proven against three of the so-called “best MLM companies” which have been or are under the scanner for criminal activities such as wire and mail fraud conspiracy, wire and mail fraud as well as tax fraud conspiracy.
OneCoin
On March 6, 2019, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation agents (FBI) captured OneCoin instigator Konstantin Ignatov at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The federal authorities assert that he was one of the few driving forces behind the multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency scheme, which later turned out to be a Ponzi.
With this arrest, the story of OneCoin comes around to a full circle as it has for a long time been plagued with fines and allegations against its financial crimes all around the globe – the latest of which was in India, where 22 OneCoin promoters were charged with committing fraud and luring people to invest in their Ponzi scheme.
OneCoin had professed to be the next BitCoin and, even more, supposedly in the form of a progressive cryptocurrency and a better alternative to all other genuine cryptocurrencies out there. Instead, the criminals behind this Ponzi ran the whole business on the SQL database instead of an actual blockchain.
This wasn’t revealed to any of the investors until the doubts on whether OneCoin will ever go public and be brought to actual use among the masses started to crop up, with many nations around the world warning their citizens to stay away from the company and declaring the business as a nothing but a big scam.
What was once only an allegation is not almost inevitable. OneCoin founders and perpetrators, mainly Ignatov and his sister Ruja Ignatova, had created a multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency company entirely based on deceit and lies. OneCoin agents had promised huge returns with minimal risks when basically all that they had to offer to the investors was probably the biggest of cryptocurrency pyramid schemes in which those behind the company got richer while the investors were simply victimized.
FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney Jr. had this to say on the fraudulent pyramid scheme behind OneCoin, “Unlike authentic cryptocurrencies, which maintain records of their investors’ transaction history, OneCoin had no real value. It offered investors no method of tracing their money, and it could not be used to purchase anything. In fact, the only ones who stood to benefit from its existence were its founders and co-conspirators”.
Ruja Ignatova and her younger brother Konstantin Ignatov who had co-founded OneCoin in 2014, were able to generate a mind-boggling €3.35 billion in sales revenue in just a few years, out of which they had earned “profits” of about €2.2 billion. Furthermore, the court documents available in the public domain show that from the start, Ignatova and her accomplices, including her brother, had always conceived OneCoin as a business to “defraud investors.”
In one of the email correspondences between Ruja Ignatova and her co-founder/s, she had described her exit strategy for OneCoin in these simple yet viciously cynical terms, “Take the money and run and blame someone else for this.”
The only other cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to ever come close to OneCoin in terms of the scale of fraud committed and the damage caused to the unsuspecting and naïve investors is the infamous BitConnect. An exception, however, is that the BitConnect promoters were running their sham using a real blockchain, at least.
Other sources
1) justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-charges-against-leaders-onecoin-multibillion-dollar
2) capital.fr/entreprises-marches/onecoin-larnaque-crypto-du-siecle-1332165
3) reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currency-onecoin/u-s-calls-onecoin-huge-pyramid-scheme-charges-leaders-idUSKCN1QP1WF
4) nextinpact.com/brief/onecoin—le-fbi-arrete-le-dirigeant-konstantin-ignatov-pour—mensonges-et-tromperies—8050.htm
5) engadget.com/2019/03/11/feds-arrest-onecoin-exec-over-fraud
6) toshitimes.com/onecoin-3-7-billion-crypto-scam-ringleader-arrested-at-lax
7) bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/onecoin-leaders-charged-in-u-s-with-operating-pyramid-scheme
8) cryptonaute.fr/fbi-arrete-principal-leader-arnaque-onecoin
9) theverge.com/2019/3/8/18256662/us-onecoin-leader-arrested-cryptocurrency-pyramid-scheme
10) qz.com/1568908/onecoin-is-unraveling-as-a-cryptocurrency-pyramid-scheme
11) notebookcheck.net/Leader-of-OneCoin-cryptocurrency-pyramid-scheme-arrested-by-US-authorities.413756.0.html
12) crypto-france.com/onecoin-chine-escroquerie-pyramidale-2-milliards-euros
13) cryptoslate.com/worse-than-bitconnect-leader-billion-dollar-cryptocurrency-pyramid-scam-onecoin-arrested
14) bitsonline.com/ignatova-onecoin-charged
15) clubic.com/antivirus-securite-informatique/cryptage-cryptographie/crypto-monnaie/actualite-851699-sr-maryne-fondateurs-crypto-onecoin-fraude.html
16) asiatimes.com/2019/02/article/onecoin-ponzi-at-last-heading-to-us-courts
17) journalducoin.com/regulation/onecoin-justice-americaine-attaque-crypto-ponzi-planetaire
18) news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-killer-onecoin-is-ashes-but-investigations-continue-to-this-day
Natura4Ever
Natura4Ever could be one of the biggest and yet-to-be-revealed Ponzi scams in the making. We have good reason to believe that it is true since the masterminds behind the company are reported to be none other than the infamous European Group of Marketing Professionals (GEPM) founder, Jean Godzich, or John Godzich and his gang.
GEPM was a network marketing Ponzi scheme launched in the 80s that came down crumbling in the 90s with hundreds of thousands left to fend for themselves with all their money sucked into the evil plot orchestrated by the masterminds, mainly Jean Godzich, behind the bogus company.
Last month, some of the independent distributors of Natura4Ever contacted The MLM Report with indisputable proof that confirms beyond any doubt that the current leader of Natura4Ever, Eric Masson, who was and is even now (as clearly shown by the evidence submitted to The MLM Report) one of the primary members of the Jean Godzich gang.
Natura4Ever under Eric Masson is entirely controlled by Jean Godzich and his associates in hiding. Incredible proofs in the form of video and audio have been submitted to The MLM Report that show very clearly how Jean Godzich has all along been pulling the strings of Natura4Ever leadership and, in fact, has been the natural leader of the company from the beginning.
With this recent revelation of facts, the legitimacy of the so-called noble mission of Natura4Ever is highly questionable at best, as it is nothing but a front for these criminals to work in the backdrop and once again leave behind a trail of a large number of people as disgraced, humiliated, and cheated distributors of Natura4Ever.
The distributors who contacted The MLM Report with these facts have also raised their concerns with the FVD, as Natura4Ever is also a member of them. FVD has been kept in the blind for many years as it is impossible to believe that a reputed organization such as FVD would have allowed Natura4Ever to become a member knowing that Jean Godzich and his gang were, in fact, behind Natura4Ever and its operations.
Eric Masson has made every effort to keep the FVD blind to this fact and, till now, has also been successful at that. However, the concerns among the company’s distributors have begun to grow, and an alarmingly high number of distributors have now realized the fraud being committed against them at Natura4Ever.
The fact that Jean Godzich, who had gone bankrupt in 1995, and had been condemned to jail by the French government, is somehow back at the helm of this company without the majority of Natura4Ever distributors even knowing about it showcases the real danger that each and every Natura4Ever distributor is in.
The history of GEPM and Jean Godzich and the fact that the Natura4Ever leadership is a part of the infamous GEPM gang headed by this criminal is simply put at too much risk to ignore.
Some of the concerned distributors are worried about the scale of damage that Jean Godzich and his criminal team can cause to so many of those who have joined and believe in the false ethos of the sham called Natura4Ever.
Their attempt to bring in FVD on this ever-growing threat in the form of Natura4Ever under Eric Masson and his mentor Jean Godzich is yet to bring any results, as last informed to The MLM Report, and we honestly feel that quick action must be taken by the FVD on these concerns and the facts put forth by these distributors.
If this is not done in time by the FVD or any other competent authority, Natura4Ever could very well go down as one of the biggest Ponzi companies in the recent history of the network marketing industry. There is too much evidence of this happening in all of those submissions and proofs shared by these independent distributors of Natura4Ever.
Click the following links to see the original posts on The MLM Report as submitted by the independent distributors of Natura4Ever to know more about what’s really going on with the company:
Link 2 – AN APPEAL TO THE FVD LAWYERS
Other sources
1) lexpress.fr/informations/secte-et-secret-defense_629045.html
2) lexpress.fr/informations/haro-sur-le-groupement_609897.html
3) lexpress.fr/informations/l-echappee-belle-du-gourou_599373.html
4) paris-normandie.fr/region/jean-godzich-le-gourou-a-nouveau-juge-par-le-tribunal-correctionnel-d-evreux-AH6911417
5) unadfi.org/groupes-et-mouvances/condamnation-pour-l-ancien-patron-du-gepm
6) unadfi.org/groupes-et-mouvances/l-ancien-patron-du-gepm-rattrape-par-la-justice
7) curtiszone.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/a-vendre
8) humanite.fr/node/93270
9) humanite.fr/node/87068
10) agoravox.fr/culture-loisirs/sports/article/la-double-malediction-de-l-arc-en-209308
ZeekRewards
The case of ZeekRewards is well known in which a federal judge gave Paul Burks, the lead organizer and owner of the online penny-auction site ZeekRewards.com, three concurrent jail sentences of 14 years and eight months for his leading role as the perpetrator of the Ponzi scheme.
Per the federal sentencing laws, Burks was looking at a maximum of 60 years in prison. However, given his health conditions and long medical history, namely, cancer leading to his esophagus removal and reliance on a pacemaker, etc., the court ordered a much lenient sentence for him.
Burks, now in his 70s, ran the penny auction site promising a never before heard of 125 percent return on investments leading more than 800,000 unsuspecting people to invest in the Ponzi. Like most classic Ponzi schemes, ZeekRewards fuelled its criminal expansion by rewarding its first round of investors with handsome payouts who then would go about flaunting their temporary good fortune on social media and to their friends and family, thus bringing in more and more people to invest in the sham company.
Ultimately, Burks and his Ponzi, ZeekRewards, siphoned over $900 million. At the time when the sentencing of Burks was underway in 2017, Federal Receiver Kenneth Bell had said, “I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of phone calls, emails, letters from victims here with desperate stories of what this has done to them and I think as one of the lawyers in the courtroom said today, never minimize the thought that five or ten thousand dollars are not a lot of money, because a lot of folks I’ve talked to, that was all the money they had.”
As of 2017, the government had given back close to $320 million to investors, roughly around 129,000 odd people, who had filed claims. Even then, they could only get a maximum of 75% of their total investment in ZeekRewards, meaning they would still be left with huge losses. The court-ordered restitution from Burks, which is an amount of $244 million, is also not expected to be seen. So, all in all, most investors of ZeekRewards simply have to live with the fact that their life-earned savings have all been lost and that the sentencing of Burks will not be a big help to them financially.
Other sources
1) justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/former-zeekrewards-ceo-sentenced-more-14-years-operating-900-million-internet-ponzi
2) foxnews.com/us/zeekrewards-founder-sentenced-for-role-in-850-million-scam
3) behindmlm.com/companies/zeek-rewards/zeek-rewards-net-winner-clawbacks-to-be-sold-to-debt-collectors
4) lexisnexis.com/LegalNewsRoom/banking/b/banking-finance/posts/zeekrewards-founder-indicted-for-850-million-ponzi-scheme
5) usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/30/authorities-600m-scheme-incubated-nc-town/2037975
6) charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article132479269.html
7) seattletimes.com/business/zeekrewards-founder-sentenced-for-role-in-850-million-scam
8) journalnow.com/news/local/zeekrewards-founder-paul-burks-to-serve-federal-prison-term-in/article_c1cf9861-10b4-538d-89f0-9cd636a77c44.html
9) behindmlm.com/companies/zeek-rewards/the-facts-dissecting-the-zeek-ponzi-apocalypse
10) thetimesnews.com/news/20170213/ponzi-scheme-founder-burks-sentenced-to-14-years
After everything is said and done, these companies, whether be it ZeekRewards, OneCoin, or potentially Natura4Ever, were and are always destined to harm a large group of people as long as they are allowed to exist unchecked by the competent authorities of this world.
While people must check and verify the facts behind every network marketing company before deciding on becoming a member with them, we must also understand that these enterprises are run by very well-trained and highly experienced financial criminals hell-bent on making huge profits at any cost.
What do you think about the existence of Ponzi companies in the network marketing industry? Do you know about any more such examples of businesses that could very well be Ponzi schemes? Feel free to contact us with your thoughts and submissions.
The MLM Report strongly believes that the growing attempts to hush debate, stifle news, and remove information from any public domain must be thwarted at all times and that all independent media that are free of influence by government or corporate interests are one of the best, if not the only, means of keeping the honest discussions alive today. As a part of that, we welcome contributions from anyone on topics ranging from a general interest in network marketing to major inside scoops of what is happening in your network marketing company; feel free to submit your article with us. We promise to publish them as long as they meet our publishing guidelines, no matter how controversial they might be.
