Herbalife

Perhaps you remember the TelexFree ad by a promoter who introduced “Aunt Ethel” by way of an artist’s rendering and accompanying narration. Ads for MLMs and network-marketing “programs” that depict an artist’s hand “drawing” the story are somewhat common. The ads are designed to make you want to jump right in. After all, if the […]

MLM, witness your latest PR train wreck — as voiced by alleged Zeek “winner” and purported “revenue sharing” consultant/trainer and Florida “Expat” T. LeMont Silver. (Video below.) In a consolidated motion in response to motions by various alleged Zeek “winners” to dismiss the clawback lawsuits against them, the court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi- […]

California-based WCM777, an MLM “program,” got booted out of Massachusetts in November 2013, amid allegations of securities fraud and affinity fraud targeted at the Brazilian community through hotel pitchfests. WCM777, purportedly operated by Ming Xu and recruiting affiliates to conduct business over the Internet, later got booted out of California. In addition to the Brazilian […]

UPDATED 12:07 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) You can’t blame legitimate MLMers if they’re feeling a little jittery. Herbalife, one of the industry’s stalwarts, is under investigation by the FTC, which has many duties, including enforcing laws against false advertising and pyramid schemes. Precisely why the FTC is investigating Herbalife is unknown. Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman says […]

BULLETIN: Sen. Edward J. Markey, D.-Mass., has called for an investigation of Herbalife, an MLM program. “There is nothing nutritional about possible pyramid schemes that promise financial benefit but result in economic ruin for vulnerable families,” Markey said in a statement. “Herbalife may be a purveyor of health and wellness products, but some of its […]

The PP Blog’s take on Bill Ackman’s take on Herbalife is that the Los Angeles-based MLM firm dupes prospects into believing they’re boarding the bus to Disneyland, but it’s really the bus to Jurassic Park. Latinos, African Americans and other vulnerable populations pile on bus after bus and become financial protein for the pyramid scheme […]

If you’re an MLM company facing a PR problem or a crisis involving the firm and its distributors, don’t expect fellow MLM firm Empower Network to solve it for you. In fact, it’s probably prudent to expect that Empower Network will only magnify your bad press or virally blab the things you’re trying to keep […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: The PP Blog called the Federal Trade Commission to get its take on these news releases, which use the agency’s name and imply that the FTC  recently has given several MLM “opportunities” a clean bill of health. The agency did not immediately respond. What would you think if you read a headline on […]

Shares of MLM company  Herbalife were halted this morning after its auditor — KPMG — issued a statement yesterday that it was informed “late last week” that “the partner in charge of KPMG’s audit practice in our Los Angeles business unit was involved in providing non-public client information to a third party, who then used […]