PHOTO EDITORIAL: The MPBToday Flap: Affiliates Target Food Stamp Recipients, Ponzi Scheme Victims, People Of Faith, Foreclosure Subjects — And Say Government Backs MLM Cycler Matrix Tied To Florida Grocery Business
EDITOR’S NOTE: UPDATED 3:12 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Florida-based MPBToday is one of the programs pitched on Ponzi boards such as ASAMonitor, MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold. It also is being pitched via email and on social-media sites such as YouTube. All three of the forums are referenced in court filings — including filings in criminal cases — as places from which Ponzi schemes are promoted. Pathway to Prosperity, just one of the schemes promoted on the forums, was alleged in May to have defrauded more than 40,000 people across the globe while gathering more than $70 million.
MPBToday is a multilevel-marketing company tied to a Pensacola grocery company known as Southeastern Delivery LLC. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday that it was conducting a “review” of affiliate claims. Precisely what claims USDA will review is unclear.
Some affiliates are encouraging recipients of Food Stamps to join the program, which claims a $200, one-time expense can led to free groceries for life. Other affiliates have targeted victims of the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme in sales pitches. Still others are using religion to sell the program. The program uses the word “foreclosure” in its sales pitch. Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the United States. More than 9,000 people showed up at the Palm Beach County Convention Center late last month to seek foreclosure relief.
One potential area of inquiry is whether Food Stamp recipients somehow can use their allotment to qualify for MPB Today’s MLM program. Another potential area of inquiry is whether Food Stamp money somehow is being used to pay MLM commissions. Because MPB Today says Southeastern Delivery assesses a shipping charge of up to 50 percent for the home delivery of groceries — and because affiliates purport that food “vouchers” and food “credits” can be acquired, perhaps in the form of a Walmart gift card MPB Today sends in the mail — another potential area of inquiry is whether Food Stamp money somehow can be converted to pay for items such as electronics and prepaid Visa cards. One MPB Today affiliate said the firm’s high shipping costs were a reason for Southeastern Delivery’s Food Stamp customers to join the MLM program.
Claims have been made that the MLM program is “certified” by the government, “acknowledged” by the government and that Walmart is affiliated with MPB Today. Walmart has not responded to a request for comment from the PP Blog.
Here are some photos of promotions for MPB Today from around the web. (Red highlighting added by PP Blog):
In this YouTube video and text pitch, a claim punctuated with exclamation marks is made that the program is "Govt. certified with Food Stamps!" and that there is a "contract with wal mart!" The word "scam" appears multiple times in the pitch -- in an apparent bid to drive traffic to the site from prospects seeking to determine if there is any scam-related information on MPB Today.
MPB Today positioned on YouTube as a good opportunity for people of faith. The words "Christian" and "scam" are used to drive traffic to the site.
In a money-waving Blog post, an MPB Today affiliate with a California address shows a check for $300 and a Walmart card.
In this video for MPB Today on DailyMotion, visitors are encouraged to visit a .org affiliate site for the company, even though MPB Today is not a charity. The video claims members can purchase "electronics," even though MPB Today says it is in the grocery business and affiliates are targeting Food Stamp recipients in sales pitches.
MPB Today affiliates display check and Walmart card on YouTube after videotaping check-opening ceremony. The program is described as a "NO BRAINER."
This document on file in Florida shows that Southeastern Delivery LLC, the grocery arm of the MPB Today MLM program, once was known as William Lindsay Properties LLC. The name change occurred in January 2010. Gary Calhoun, the operator of MPB Today, is associated with both firms, according to records.
On Aug. 25, the PP Blog received an unsolicited sales pitch for MPB Today via an email to the Blog's support address. Among the claims in the pitch, which did not include an unsubscribe link, was that "Walmart is thrilled" with the results of MPB Today. The pitch was targeted at members of AdSurfDaily, a company the PP Blog regularly covers because ASD is implicated by the U.S. Secret Service in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving tens of millions of dollars. A similar pitch was sent to another website that covers AdSurfDaily-related news.
The names of Walmart and Sam's Club referenced by "Ken Russo" at the ASAMonitor forum, which is notorious for promoting Ponzi schemes.
In this video, a check and Walmart card are displayed. Unlike other checks written in Southeastern Delivery's name, this check was written in the name of MPB Today Inc. The video, which captured a check-opening ceremony, shows a Walmart "In Store Credit" card
In this video, an MPB Today affiliate gives a sales pitch while driving an automobile. A check and Walmart card were presented when the vehicle stopped at a highway intersection.The pitch claims a "ONE-TIME" expenditure of $200 can "TOTALLY ELIMINATE" grocery bills.
Patrick, you know full well that all of these photos are being misinterpreted from their desired meanings. The misinterpretation is that you do not believe them within the context the promoters have intended, i.e., blind obedience and the transference of all your money into their pockets.
It’s all just a misunderstanding. Right. So they will say. They didn’t really mean to infer the USDA approved them. They meant to say the USDA were going to approve them, when pigs fly. The problem with liars is that they will eventually begin believing their own prevarication.
As someone once said, “Believing in BS doesn’t make it come true!!”
I’m sure that Jim Walks Simply, of ASA Forum, will claim he couldn’t find the video links in this story either.
In that case here’s one he might find interesting:
http://www.freearticleutopia.com/Art/62587/3/Is-MPB-Today-Scamming-You-By-Offering-Free-Groceries-For-Life.html
It claims “Southeastern Delivery serves the Florida panhandle and Southern Alabama areas.” but the Southeastern web site says something different.
Also that article hints & insinuates at being recognised by the government, the state of Florida and the BBB.
Roger Silins article makes clear that MPB has only been registered since January 2010.
The website itself is poor quality for a grocery site and unstable to navigate. The long list of products is not in the typical format of categories with photos – just a long list with drop down menus that don’t always work, if you want to go onto pages 2, 3 or 4.
Nothing about this website and the scandalous way this company is permitting itself to be promoted demonstrates anything like the serious approach that we would expect to see from a company authorised to handle vouchers (food stamps) issued by a government organization in order to ease poverty. Quite the reverse. It’s promotion is hype driven and full of what can only be called BS (a politically correct way of saying lies)
Great expose. I commend you for your diligence in this matter. I have YouTube video that attempts to truly expose this for the scam that it is. You can check it out, if you like, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ofm71302vg
The OPINIONS stated as absolute fact in this video “Editorial” are simplistic and don’t take into account random variables that WILL drastically increase the growth of this program. The reality is that people don’t like to sell and most are not salesmen and won’t do it. Therefore, your analogy of a salesperson winning with 1 does not hold water. “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing,” just ask Billy Preston.
The last six months have seen an inflation rate of 12%, that is expected to increase to 25 – 30% in 2012 and to 50% in 2013. Thus far in 2011 cotton has increased 124%, corn 78%,wheat 68%, soybeans 58%, orange juice 73%, and coffee 63% and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Oil prices have increased 27.233% in the last 3 months with no end in site.
Do you think people are concerned about that? Do you think that they would be open to hearing about how they could combat that?
Of course you are not going to get your food and gas for free if you don’t put effort forth and some people will do something and some won’t, but very soon (now, for many) they have no choice. At least MPB gives people a chance to do something about it by sharing with others. It is a universal problem with mass appeal and it is the number one story on almost every news channel there is, SO finding people to expose this to is VERY doable for the average person. They have a REAL shot!
Yea, 1 up and 2 up programs can make some money but you want to talk about LOSE, 98% of the people that get involved in those FAIL BIG TIME. To have any chance of succeeding with them takes A LOT of time and advertising money.
Sharing with people that you can drastically cut you gas and food bill, or eliminate it all together by sharing with people how they can do the same is WAY EASIER than pie-in-the-sky 1 up or 2 up programs.
Helping to solve a REAL problem (taking away pain), and helping people have a higher quality of life (enhancing pleasure) are the two factors that almost insure success. I don’t think that you will find ANYONE who is not interested in lowering or eliminating these two HUGE problems. It is a wide open market, a top trend, a HOT BUTTON, and an absolute necessity.
If Mr. Kelly doesn’t want to help you with MPB, I sure will. I have overwhelming proof that I am the real deal and that I KNOW WHAT WORKS and what doesn’t. Why people are so down on things that REALLY can help people is beyond me, they try so hard to “expose” things and typically what they offer doesn’t help, but contributes to people’s problems.
Since you are so objective and deal only in the facts, Mr. Kelly, I am sure that you are fair too. So you will have no problem allowing this to be posted on your website, so that people can look at it from another perspective.
I don’t understand this reference, Martin.
Patrick
That’s not the only thing that doesn’t make sense.
The Bureau of Labor Statics seems to show that annual US inflation is about 3.2%. From what I can tell cotton prices have risen 71% since Oct 2010, not 124%. I didn’t bother checking the other nonsense. I expect these “absolute facts” are really stated “OPINIONS”.