BULLETIN: Peru Issues Alerts On TelexFree, WCM777

EDITOR’S NOTE ADDED AT 4:59 P.M. DEC. 14 AND UPDATED 8:39 A.M. ET (DEC. 16, U.S.A.): The URLs below now should be clickable. If not, they can be copied and pasted into the location bar of your browser. We apologize for the earlier formatting errors. Original story below . . .

BULLETIN: The government of Peru has advised media outlets that the TelexFree and WCM777 MLM “programs” were raising money unlawfully in the country.

Peruvian media are reporting the story in Spanish:

Story URLs:

http://www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/noticia-empresas-wcm777-y-telexfree-no-estan-autorizados-para-captar-dinero-del-publico-486768.aspx

http://www.rpp.com.pe/2013-12-12-sbs-world-capital-market-777-y-telexfree-no-pueden-captar-depositos-noticia_654727.html

Google translations to English:

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.andina.com.pe%2FEspanol%2Fnoticia-empresas-wcm777-y-telexfree-no-estan-autorizados-para-captar-dinero-del-publico-486768.aspx%23.UqzFZ-JljIo

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rpp.com.pe%2F2013-12-12-sbs-world-capital-market-777-y-telexfree-no-pueden-captar-depositos-noticia_654727.html

WCM777 exited the U.S. market under fire in November. Affiliates, however, still may be trying to cherry-pick U.S. money.

TelexFree is under investigation in Brazil, amid allegations it is conducting a massive pyramid scheme. U.S. affiliates, however, have continued efforts to recruit Americans. Promotions for TelexFree also are appearing in other countries.

News of the TelexFree and WCM777 alerts in Peru comes as the court-appointed receiver in the U.S.-based Zeek Rewards MLM scheme is preparing to sue potentially thousands of Zeek insiders and winners for the return of as much as $283 million. Zeek may have scores of former promoters in Brazil. How many of them are potential lawsuit targets is unclear.

In August 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Zeek was a $600 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme that potentially had scammed hundreds of thousands of people. An auction of Zeek-owned property will be conducted Monday and Tuesday in Lexington, N.C. The auction, coupled with the lawsuits, is a means of gathering as much money as possible for victims.

In November, Jaime Delgado, a member of Peru’s Congress, raised concerns about WCM777. The “program” also is under investigation in Colombia.