EDITOR’S NOTE: A YouTube video that encourages Food Stamp recipients to become affiliates of the MPB Today MLM program has been online for more than a month. The video implies MPB Today’s purportedly high shipping costs are a good reason for people who receive government aid to become MPB Today affiliates. MPB Today says it charges up to 50 percent of the cost of an order for shipping. Members who order groceries only and do not join the MLM component potentially would lose $100 in purchasing power on an order of $200, the price of the program. Other MPB Today affiliates have advised prospects that it is best to avoid buying groceries from MPB Today and simply concentrate on recruiting prospects. Still others say MPB Today issues food “vouchers,” enabling registrants to purchase their groceries elsewhere and even convert the purported voucher into cash that can be used to purchase electronics. MPB Today purports to ship “ONLY” dry goods. The Food and Nutrition Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is investigating claims about the MPB Today program. What specific claims the agency is examining is unclear. USDA administers the federal Food Stamp program for low-income Americans.
The screen shots below are from frames of the YouTube video. The file is named “Food Stamps Online.avi.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The ASA Monitor Ponzi forum now has reopened its thread on the MPB Today MLM program — with a warning in red to “Play nice . . .”
UPDATED 9:54 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A forum infamous for promoting Ponzi schemes and other criminal pursuits has locked the thread from which the MPB Today 2×2 matrix cycler is being pitched.
The official explanation for locking the thread was that naysayers challenging ASA Monitor member “Ken Russo” needed a “temporary cooling off period.” (See Editor’s Note above: The thread now has been unlocked.)
“Ken Russo” is a reliable cheerleader for Ponzi schemes and highly questionable business pursuits on ASA Monitor and other forums. ASA Monitor’s name is referenced in a May criminal case filed against the alleged Pathway To Prosperity Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors said the scheme mushroomed globally, gathering about $70 million and defrauding more than 40,000 participants.
A similar program known as Legisi gathered more than $70 million and also fleeced thousands of participants, according to the SEC. It, too, was promoted on the Ponzi forums. A court filing in the Legisi case specifically references the MoneyMakerGroup forum, another venue from which MPB Today is being promoted.
This marks the second time the MPB Today thread has been locked at ASA Monitor. It was locked earlier this month and then reopened amid similar circumstances. ASA Monitor initially deleted several references to the PP Blog in the initial closure of the thread, but later restored them.
One of the principal incongruities of the MPB Today program is that it is being targeted at people of faith from a known Ponzi forum. Because ASA Monitor members routinely promote Ponzi schemes, some of the funds being passed to MPB Today could be criminal proceeds from Ponzi and other fraud schemes.
“Ken Russo,” for example, promoted the alleged Regenesis 2×2 Ponzi scheme. Like MPB Today, Regenesis used a 2×2 matrix cycler. The U.S. Secret Service executed search warrants in the Regenesis case in July 2009. The agency said in court filings that it had linked the scheme to a convicted felon.
Spectacular international frauds have been promoted at ASA Monitor. Meanwhile, some of MPB Today’s own members have said there are liars and thieves in the organization, including liars and thieves who are using false information to recruit prospects. The claims have been made in public on YouTube. Incongruously, they have been positioned as reasons to join the program under specific uplines that purport to be honest.
How MPB Today’s payments to members could be clean if it has come into possession of money tainted by the lies of its own pitchmen and money tainted by Ponzi schemes promoted on forums such as ASA Monitor is left to the imagination.
Last week the PP Blog reported that a “news release’ that appeared online encouraged MPB Today prospects to sell $200 worth of Food Stamps to raise money to join the program. One of the URLs referenced in the release also was being promoted on ASA Monitor by “Ken Russo.” Other information suggests that promoters of the judicially declared CEP Ponzi scheme are promoting MPB Today.
Some ASA Monitor members use a strategy of playing dumb to promote Ponzi schemes. One form of the strategy is to repeatedly accept at face value whatever a company says in sales literature — and then blame the company and dishonest affiliates if a scheme collapses or is taken down by law enforcement.
Another form of the strategy is to include links to the sites of other promoters, apparently on the theory that favorable commentary about an “opportunity” demonstrates that no scam could be occurring. If the opportunity later proves to be a Ponzi or a fraud scheme, promoters who employ the play-dumb method point out that others got taken, perhaps through the actions of a fraudster who was particularly clever.
Yet another form of the play-dumb method is to position an opportunity as a matter of free choice. Such wink-nod efforts are part of numerous Ponzi schemes.
In February 2010, the Secret Service said in a search-warrant application in Minnesota that it believed a company known as INetGlobal was operating a Ponzi scheme. In court filings, the agency said an undercover agent was introduced to INetGlobal by a member of the alleged AdSurfDaily (ASD) Ponzi scheme, describing the introduction as a wink-nod deal.
ASD, which was accused of operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme, also was promoted from websites and forums. Federal agents seized about $26 million in the INetGlobal case, which is still under investigation. Steve Renner, the operator of INetGlobal, is in federal prison for income tax-evasion in a case linked to his money-services business.
Court records show Renner-related ties to at least four Ponzi schemes.
Among the targets of promotions for MPB Today were victims of the alleged ASD Ponzi scheme, foreclosure subjects, the unemployed, Food Stamp recipients, senior citizens, college students and other vulnerable populations.
Another website that pitches the MPB Today MLM program and uses Walmart’s name in a registered domain name has surfaced. This one was registered Sept. 11, and uses an address in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Walmart is not the registered owner of the domain, and it is unclear if the registrant has the retail giant’s permission to use its name in a domain name.
Separately, check-waving videos and Blog posts using the name of a distressed Florida bank continue to appear online in promos for MPB Today. The promos show checks and the name of Gulf Coast Community Bank of Pensacola.
Promos for MPB Today that show Walmart gift cards and prepaid Visa cards also continue to appear online.
Gulf Coast has been operating under an FDIC consent agreement since January. The bank did not respond to requests for comment from the PP Blog last week. Neither did the FDIC.
The most recent website to use Walmart’s name in its domain name positions the opportunity as a free shopping club.
“Almost Everyone within the USA is saying ‘YES!” the pitch page proclaims.
“Please Help Me!” it urges. “I need FREE Food AND a way to Create some Serious Cash NOW!”
MPB Today operates an “Amazing ‘Recycling Matrix,’” according to the pitch page.
“Warning!” the page says. “Once you watch this Video, you won’t be able to sleep tonight!”
A Blog post by a separate MPB Today promoter displays both a check drawn on Gulf Coast Community Bank and a Walmart gift card.
Some MPB Today affiliates have urged Food Stamp recipients, the unemployed, senior citizens, victims of the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, people of faith and opponents of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to join the MPB today program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday that its Food and Nutrition Service unit was investigating specific claims about the MPB Today program, which is being promoted widely online.
Among the places from which the program is being promoted are forums known for pitching criminal enterprises and Ponzi schemes.
In yet-another pitch for MPB Today, a promoter is shown opening an envelope mailed through the U.S. Postal Service. Inside the envelope was another envelope, which appeared to include U.S. postage.
The inner envelope contained a prepaid Walmart Visa card and a Walmart gift card.
Walmart has not responded to a request for comment about the MPB Today program. MPB promoters have claimed the company is “affiliated” with Walmart — and also affiliated and endorsed by the USDA’s Food Stamp program for low-income Americans.
Some MPB Today affiliates have claimed in public promotions for the program that liars and thieves exist in the organization.
Eight U.S. banks have failed since Sept. 10, including two in Florida. Only three bank failures occurred in the entire United States in 2007.
This promo lists the names of 20 purported MPB Today affiliates, including the name of "Trevor Reed." It is unclear if the "Trevor Reed" included on the list is the same Trevor Reed who operated the judicially declared CEP Ponzi scheme.
UPDATED 1:03 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Two days ago the PP Blog reported that a Sept. 20 “news release” for MPB Today’s purported “grocery” program solicited financially strapped Americans to sell $200 worth of Food Stamps to raise cash to join the Florida-based MLM.
The Blog further reported that a name referenced in the news release (as the author) appears on page 21 of a distribution plan by the court-appointed receiver in the judicially declared CEP Ponzi scheme. The person referenced in the document is scheduled to receive a distribution of $125, which is expected to be issued Sept. 30.
Today the PP Blog is reporting that a separate MPB Today affiliate who referenced the federal Food Stamp program in a July sales pitch also informed prospects that a person by the name of “Trevor Reed” is in his MPB Today organization.
It was not immediately clear if the “Trevor Reed” referenced in the MPB Today promo is the same Trevor Reed charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a complaint filed July 9, 2007. The complaint alleged that Reed was committing fraud and selling unregistered securities through a company known as CEP.
A judge later declared CEP a Ponzi scheme. A judgment of more than $1.5 million was placed against Reed and others on Nov. 18, 2008, according to court records. The order was signed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge James E. Massey.
On Oct. 27, 2007, Trevor Reed invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in the CEP case. In September 2008 — less than a year after Reed invoked the 5th Amendment — Andy Bowdoin, the alleged operator of the AdSurfDaily (ASD) Ponzi scheme, also took the 5th.
Records show that ASD advertised that it accepted payments from a payment processor known as CEP Trust, which was linked to the CEP Ponzi scheme. ASD members are being targeted in sales promos for MPB Today.
On Nov. 19, 2008, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that ASD had not demonstrated it was a lawful business and not a Ponzi scheme, a ruling that dealt a crushing blow to ASD. Just one day earlier — on Nov. 18, 2008 — Massey entered the financial judgment against Reed and others in the CEP Ponzi case.
Massey ruled CEP a Ponzi on May 22, 2008 — less than three months prior to the federal seizure of tens of millions of dollars in the ASD case. Court records show that CEP had invested money in at least 26 online opportunities, primarily autosurfs.
“The [CEP] Websites were investment programs that promised cash returns exceeding the amounts paid into the programs,” Massey ruled. “Debtors did not, however, operate or own any underlying business or assets whose profits could fund the promised returns. Although Debtors did place a relatively small amount of money in similar ventures operated by others, the evidence shows they made no profit from those investments. Most importantly, Debtors paid investors with cash received from new investors.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is conducting a “review” about claims made in the MPB Today program, had no immediate comment on potential links to the CEP Ponzi scheme.
“Take a look at my stats just a few days in!” the MPB Today affiliate urged members in a July forum post. The post included names of 20 downline members, including the name “Trevor Reed.”
“Trevor Reed’s” MPB Today ID was listed as 150532. It was unclear if “Trevor Reed” is actively promoting the MPB Today program.
What is clear is that the affiliate pitch in which the name “Trevor Reed” was referenced as an MPB Today downline member also referenced the Food Stamp program.
“Great opp,” the pitch reads in part. “Just opened affiliated with WAL MART and EBT FOOD STAMPS (GOVT. ACKNOWLEDGED!) TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS EMAIL IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!”
Walmart has not responded to a request from comment about the MPB Today program.
Impoverished prospects should sell $200 worth of Food Stamps to a “friend, family member or whoever” to raise cash to join the MPB Today multilevel-marketing (MLM) program, according to a news release published on a free publicity site.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is conducting a “review” of claims about MPB Today, had no immediate comment on the news release. The release was dated yesterday, and included a URL that redirected to the sales page of an MPB Today affiliate, a URL that produced an error message and a URL that led to a YouTube video promo for MPB Today.
“This is what I came up with,” the news release claimed, noting that the Food Stamp brainstorm occurred on the way home from church on Sunday.
“Since MPB is the only online grocery store to accept EBT, why not purchase your groceries from MPB and either sell $200 in food stamps or use your EBT cash to get yourself into the program,” the news release continued.
“Let’s look at the logic here,” the release urged. “Let’s say you sold $200.00 of your food stamps to a friend, family member or whoever wants to buy your food stamps and not have to pay taxes on their grocery purchase (using the EBT card). What have you lost? Nothing. Since you sold $200.00 in food stamps and got into the business, MPB gives you a $200.00 food voucher towards groceries that you would spend at Wal-Mart or any other grocery store.”
The headline on the news release was, “EBT Card Holders Only.” The release also asked, “Do you know of anyone who has an EBT card? Do they know of anyone who has an EBT card? If so, then you are on your way to financial freedom.”
EBT stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer. The USDA administers the Food Stamp program, known as SNAP.
Some MPB Today affiliates have targeted Food Stamp recipients in sales pitches.
Part of the "news release." (Black square and red highlights added by PP Blog.)
“These days, more and more people are allowing governmental programs to have control over their income,” the news release claimed. “Its time for a change. Why not use those same programs to pay your way into financial independence. Never have to worry about not having enough ever again. This is your way out of the rat race. Start your independence today with Mpbtoday and sign up at [deleted by PP Blog.]”
“This is a way for you to make a good income and have fun doing it,” the release concluded. “How easy is it for you to find people with EBT cards? You deserve it to yourself to check this opportunity out and make a decision. The ball is in your court now.”
A promotional website for the MPB Today multilevel-marketing (MLM) program specifically references the U.S. Food Stamp program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and includes links to at least 100 “paid to surf” programs, including programs that use domains registered offshore and programs that appear already to have failed.
Separately, an MPB Today affiliate is using a YouTube video to inform prospects that they are better off not buying groceries from a Florida-based company linked to the MLM program. Instead, the affiliate suggested, incoming members should follow the herd and not purchase groceries from Southeastern Delivery in a bid to earn a higher payout later from MPB’s 2×2 cycler matrix.
“When you join MPB Today, you buy or purchase a $200 food voucher — food voucher,” stressed the affiliate in a video pitch. “That puts you into the business.
“You can purchase food with that voucher,” he continued. “Or you can wait and do the business and exchange that voucher for a Walmart gift card . . . which I did and everybody else is doing.”
During the portion of the video in which the affiliate was stressing the importance of following the herd — a snippet of about 60 words — the word “voucher” was used four times. The use of the word — coupled with a published statement by MPB Today that it charges up to 50 percent of the cost of the order to ship groceries and ships only “dry-goods” — gives rise to questions about whether MPB Today actually has a product behind the business “opportunity.”
“We ship ONLY non-perishable dry-goods only,” MPB Today stresses on its website, using the word “only” twice in a seven-word sentence. Because the firm’s purportedly high shipping costs, dry-goods “only” policy and lack of dollar-stretching generic products, questions have been raised about whether the firm and its affiliates are deliberately steering members to the matrix program and seeking to minimize or eliminate grocery orders from outside its base of operations in Pensacola.
The video first was referenced by “Ken Russo” on the Ponzi-pushing ASAMonitor forum as a “very concise . . . presentation” that outlines the advantages of the MPB Today program.
“Ken Russo,” who also pushed the Regenesis 2×2 cycler program that became the subject of a U.S. Secret Service probe last year that featured undercover operatives and the surveillance of a Dumpster into which business records were tossed, opined on the ASAMonitor Ponzi forum that he has “concluded that MPBToday is one of the best and most practical programs I have ever seen in the network marketing industry.”
In April 2009, while pitching Regenesis on ASAMonitor, “Ken Russo” observed that “ReGenesis is an excellent program which lends itself to a team effort approach which will greatly enhance the Automated Recruiting System that they provide to ensure that each and every member is credited with 2 personal referrals.”
By August 2009, the Secret Service had applied for and executed search warrants in the Seattle area as part of its probe into Regenesis, according to court documents. The agency informed a federal judge that it had kept certain subjects under surveillance for five weeks and that it had linked the scheme to a securities fraudster who had been released from federal prison in January 2009.
The agency laid out allegations of an elaborate fraud involving multiple individuals, multiple bank accounts, multiple addresses and multiple company names. Agents said they observed complaint letters directed at the firm being discarded into a Dumpster that was kept under constant surveillance.
Also found in the Dumpster were copies of checks sent in by customers, other documents that included customers’ names and information to identify them personally, complaint faxes sent by customers and a letter from a law firm complaining about false, misleading and deceptive advertising, according to court filings.
In the promo that specifically referenced the Food Stamp program, meanwhile, the affiliate claimed that MPB Today sells “prepaid” groceries.
“This grocer is so legitimate that they are legally authorized to accept payment via EBT,” the affiliate claimed. “EBT is an abbreviation for Electronic Benefits Transfer which is the method now used for distributing the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As of Oct. 1, 2008, SNAP is the new name for the federal Food Stamp Program. One word —> LEGITIMATE !â€
The clear implication of the claim is that, because the government approved Southeastern Delivery to accept Food Stamps, the MLM program also passes muster. The word “voucher†also is used on the Food Stamp pitch page, and the page includes links to multiple autosurfing sites and other highly questionable business opportunities.
One of the programs pitched on the page is Data Network Affiliates (DNA), which purports to collect license-plate data that can aid law enforcement and the AMBER Alert program rescue abducted children. Like MPB Today, some affiliates of DNA used an image of Donald Trump to pitch the purported license-plate data program. Trump’s image appeared for 10 continuous minutes in a pitch for DNA, while a narrator said the company had “incredible” people on speed dial. DNA, which lists an address in Boca Raton, Fla., uses a domain registered behind a proxy in the Cayman Islands and says it can help members avoid traffic tickets by providing them a protective spray that purportedly shields intersection cameras from taking pictures of license plates, has an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau for not responding to customer complaints.
DNA once claimed that churches have the “MORAL OBLIGATION” to help it pitch a purported mortgage-reduction program. Florida is plagued by mortgage fraud — and scammers who are targeting foreclosure subjects.
MPB Today is targeting foreclosure subjects in a video sales pitch. Trump’s image was removed from the MPB Today website Tuesday.
In a video accessible from the page in which the MPB Today Food Stamp claim is made, another affiliate is shown cashing his check from Southeastern Delivery at an FDIC insured bank. The video captures the voice of the bank teller.
In this YouTube video, an MPB Today affiliate cashes his check from Southeastern Delivery at an FDIC-insured bank. The page from which the video is accessible shows August prices for Southeastern Delivery, which appears to have no money-stretching generic products. Among the name-brand products listed was Starbucks coffee — $14.28 for 20 ounces of House Blend.
The affiliate then was videotaped inside a Walmart store making a purchase with a Walmart gift card sent to him by the MLM program. This section of the video captured the face of a Walmart employee.
Later, the affiliate was taped inside a taco store. In an apparent gag, the affiliate attempted to pay for his purchase with a Walmart gift card. This section of the video showed the faces of at least three taco-store employees. The employees, whose faces now are on YouTube along with the face of the Walmart employee and the voice of the bank employee, appear to be confused about what is happening.
It is unclear if any of the workers knew they were being videotaped or audiotaped for an affiliate’s commercial for MPB Today.
MPB removed an image of a Walmart store from its website Tuesday. Walmart has not responded to questions posed by the PP Blog. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is conducting a review of claims made about the MPB Today program.
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" cardIn 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.
BULLETIN:UPDATED 9:21 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened a “review” of claims made by affiliates of a Florida-based, multilevel-marketing company, the agency said late this afternoon.
Members of MPB Today, an MLM program owned by a Pensacola-based grocery seller known as Southeastern Delivery, have targeted recipients of Food Stamps in promotions for the MLM program.
The agency did not say precisely what claims it would check in its review. MPB Today claims in a video sales pitch that a “one-time” purchase of $200 in groceries from Southeastern can “totally eliminate” future grocery bills.
“We take this matter very seriously,” a USDA spokeswoman told the PP Blog. “We are reviewing the situation.”
In general, the spokeswoman said, the agency wants “to make a determination if any regulations are being violated.”
MPB Today operates a 2×2 cycler matrix that is coupled with the home delivery of groceries. As the PP Blog first reported yesterday, some MPB Today affiliates are advising Food Stamp recipients that the high shipping costs of home-delivered groceries from Southeastern Delivery provide a compelling reason for them to join the MLM program and recruit other members.
Other MPB Today members have produced check-waving videos, placing them on YouTube to drive business to the firm. One of the YouTube videos claims the MLM program is “Govt. acknowledged.” The video further claims that Walmart is “affiliated” with MPB Today.
Walmart has not responded to a request for comment from the PP Blog.
Southeastern’s shipping costs for home-delivered groceries may total 50 percent of an order, according to the MPB Today website.
A Food Stamp recipient with a $200 order with Southeastern would be spending up to $300 to gain the same $200 of purchasing power offered by a local, walk-in grocery retailer.
Because of the high shipping costs, the Food Stamp customer should join the MPB Today program to qualify for free shipping and MLM payments for getting others to join, an affiliate suggested in a promotional Blog post titled “Shop Online With Food Stamps.”
In a Blog post, one MPB Today affiliate claimed that Southeastern Delivery, MPB Today's parent company, had the "sole right" to accept EBT debit transactions for Food Stamps in its market area. (Red highlight added to screen shot by PP Blog.)
Southeastern is authorized to accept Food Stamps, according to a USDA database. One MPB Today affiliate, however, claimed that Southeastern had “the sole right in their area to accept EBT (equivalent to food stamps/card across the US.).â€
If the claim is true, it would mean that the government was favoring one local Food Stamp-participating retailer over another or creating a condition in which financially strapped consumers from Maine to California would be tempted to send their Food Stamp money to a Florida grocer that suggested a one-time payment could result in MLM riches that would end all food worries.
EBT is the government’s acronym for “Electronic Benefits Transfer” under the Food Stamp program, which is known as SNAP. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and is administered by USDA.
The affiliate’s claim that Southeastern had the “sole right” in its market area for EBT Food Stamp transactions is dubious. A USDA database shows that at least 25 stores within 2.39 miles of Southeastern’s immediate market area in Pensacola are authorized to accept Food Stamp transactions, including a Walmart that is less than a mile from Southeastern’s business address.
A federal database shows that at least 25 retailers in Southeastern's immediate market area are authorized to accept Food Stamp transactions.
There also are two Winn Dixie supermarkets within 1.2 miles of the address, according to the federal database.
The claim has led to questions about whether MPB Today affiliates were trying to steer nationwide business to Southeastern at the exclusion of authorized Food Stamp retailers that do not charge shipping fees, do not seek to solicit customers for an MLM program and may be more competitive on shelf prices.
