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Tag: Southeastern Delivery

  • Bizarre Pitch For MPB Today Paints Walmart As Soul-Stealer And Asks Prospects Not To Accept Gift Card; One Apparent Walmart Fan Displays Visa Card In Separate MPB Promo

    First there was a bizarre political attack on President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a bid to drive business to a Florida-based, multilevel-marketing (MLM) firm known as MPB Today.

    Now, at least one promo that asks prospects to register for MPB Today is attacking Walmart.

    As affiliates of MPB Today continue to publish images of checks drawn on a distressed Florida bank and Walmart gift cards to provide “proof” that the MLM is real, a Facebook site paints Walmart as a soul-stealing corporation that does not deserve to benefit from MPB’s business.

    The site plants the seed that it is possible for customers to pay MPB Today $200 one time and “Totally Eliminate” their grocery bills. It then paints Walmart as the devil, saying “we have a SOLUTION” for the customer who identifies himself or herself as a “WALMART HATER.”

    If you “hate Walmart and have written a 603 page manifesto on how Walmart is trying to take over the world and steal your soul,” you should “stop making that pipe bomb and read how you can avoid Walmart and still make bank,” according to the pitch.

    Although some MPB Today promoters have claimed Walmart endorses the MLM program and images of Walmart routinely have been used in sales pitches for MPB, the Facebook site urges prospects to say, “NO, I don’t Want A Walmart Card! I’ll take my $200 in groceries bought online and delivered to my door!”

    MPB Today says its charges up to 50 percent of the cost of an order for shipping. A person who pays MPB Today $200 potentially loses up to $100 of purchasing power by ordering groceries from the firm, which is tied to a Pensacola business known as Southeastern Delivery.

    The Facebook site publishes a URL for prospects to visit. When the URL is inserted in a browser window, it redirects to MPB Today’s website.

    Walmart has not responded to a request for comment on the MPB Today program from the PP Blog. MPB Today removed images of Walmart from the homepage of its website last week.

    An MPB Today affiliate displays a Walmart MoneyCard in a YouTube video. On Walmart's website, the company says the card can be used "everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted worldwide" and also to "Get cash from millions of ATMs worldwide."

    Separately, a “proof” video for the MPB Today program from another affiliate shows an image of a prepaid Visa card that apparently was acquired by using the credit from a Walmart gift card. Prepaid Walmart Visa cards can be used to make merchandise purchases at  retailers other than Walmart, and also can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs.

    Although MPB Today positions itself as a “grocery” retailer, some affiliates have suggested that the best use of the Walmart gift cards MPB sends out is to convert them to Visa cards that can be used to make purchases at places other than Walmart or withdraw cash for any purpose under the sun.

  • Are MPB Today Members Posing Security Risk To Bank That Is Operating Under FDIC Consent Order? 2×2 Matrix Cycler Fans Publish Check-Waving Videos On Websites, YouTube

    As giddy members of Florida-based MPB Today flock to YouTube to post check-waving videos as “proof” of the MLM’s legitimacy, the bank used by the purported grocery company is operating under an FDIC consent order issued in January, records show.

    The FDIC had no immediate comment when asked this morning by the PP Blog about the videos, which clearly show the names of MPB Today and its purported grocery arm, Southeastern Delivery of Pensacola, along with the name of Gulf Coast Community Bank of Pensacola.

    A call to Gulf Coast for comment was not immediately returned. The Blog left a detailed voicemail message with a bank official, and also left a message with an employee who answered the phone.

    MPB Today appears to have paid members by issuing checks drawn on both its name and the name of Southeastern Delivery. The checks are drawn on Gulf Coast accounts, according to the videos on YouTube and other sites. Affiliates say the business opportunity has attracted more than 16,000 members since April.

    Affiliates reportedly receive checks for $300 drawn on Gulf Coast when they “cycle” by recruiting new affiliates and causing $1,200 of business within an MPB Today downline group. Affiliates also receive $200 Walmart gift cards or “In Store Credit” cards.

    The Walmart cards also are prominently featured in the videos that display Gulf Coast’s name.

    Gulf Coast is rated “zero”stars by Bauer Financial, the tracking firm’s lowest rating on a scale of zero to five stars. The Blog confirmed the rating with Bauer this morning.

    Gulf Coast is listed on the FDIC website as a party to a January consent order that raised the issue of unsound banking practices. The bank was given time to comply with the order and implement new business procedures to address the FDIC’s concerns.

    Some Florida banks are being battered by the recession and a surge in nonperforming loans and mortgage foreclosures. It was not immediately clear if Gulf Coast now is operating to the satisfaction of the FDIC.

    Also unclear is whether the bank knows that its name is being used on YouTube in promotions for MPB Today, and under whose authority MPB Today affiliates are acting when displaying the checks drawn on Gulf Coast.  At the same time, the volume of the business MPB Today and Southeastern conduct with the bank is unclear.

    MPB Today uses a 2×2 cycler matrix, a business model the U.S. Secret Service referenced in court filings in a Ponzi scheme probe last year in Seattle that involved a company known as Regenesis2x2.

    Regenesis2X2 was promoted on known Ponzi forums such as ASAMonitor, TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. MPB Today’s 2×2 matrix is being promoted on the same forums. At least one of the promoters of the alleged Regenesis2x2 Ponzi scheme also is promoting MPB Today, and some of the MLM’s affiliates are targeting churches in sales pitches. Others are targeting Food Stamp recipients, foreclosure subjects and victims of the alleged AdSurfDaily (ASD) Ponzi scheme.

    In August 2008, the Secret Service alleged that ASD, which also operated in Florida, was conducting a Ponzi scheme that gathered nearly $100 million from investors. The agency seized Bank of America deposits totaling at least $79 million in the ASD case.

    Meanwhile, the ASAMonitor, TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup forums are specifically referenced in a criminal case filed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in May. The case, which was filed in the Southern District of Illinois, alleges that a firm known as Pathway To Prosperity was operating an international Ponzi scheme that attracted more than 40,000 investors and gathered more than $70 million.

    In July, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued an alert about online fraud schemes that use forums and social-media sites to spread virally.

    MPB Today is a subject of a “review” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) amid affiliate claims the company is an attractive option for Food Stamp recipients and is endorsed by the government. Some affiliates also have claimed that Walmart, the retail giant, endorses the program.

    Walmart has not responded to a request for comment from the PP Blog. MPB Today removed the images of a Walmart store from its website last week. Also removed from the site were images of business titans Donald Trump and Warren Buffet. It is unclear if Walmart, Trump and Buffet forced the removal.

    MPB Today is operated by Gary Calhoun. Calhoun was the subject of a 2006 inquiry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the marketing of a product that claimed to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, among other serious medical conditions.

    Calhoun was ordered by the FDA to stop violating provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. His company, Trim International, later failed. Southeastern Delivery began to operate in Florida in January 2010, according to state records. The firm previously was known as William Lindsay Properties LLC.

    A number of MPB Today affiliates have posted check-waving videos that clearly show Gulf Coast’s name and other identifying information. The videos potentially expose MPB and the bank, which has a high ratio of troubled assets, to security breaches.  The video posters potentially are exposing themselves to identity theft.

    In January, Gulf Coast agreed to a consent order that required its board of directors to meet at least monthly to review reports of “income and expenses; new, overdue, renewal, insider, charged-off, and recovered loans; investment activity; operating policies; and individual committee actions,” according to the FDIC.

    Florida has one of the highest rates of bank failures in the United States and one of the highest foreclosure rates.

    “Within 90 days from the effective date of this ORDER, the Bank shall have and retain qualified management,” the FDIC ordered on Jan. 28.  “Each member of management shall have qualifications and experience commensurate with his or her duties and responsibilities at the Bank.”

    Gulf Coast consented to the order “without admitting or denying any charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices, or violations of law or regulation relating to weaknesses in asset quality, capital adequacy, earnings, management effectiveness, liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk,” according to a stipulation.

  • Like DNA, MPB Today Affiliate Targets Churches: ‘Get $200 Walmart Gift Cards And $300 Checks Over And Over Again’; Another Affiliate Advises Prospects To Focus On The Money, Not The Groceries

    UPDATED 7:06 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) TO INCLUDE GRAPHIC OF SEARCH-WARRANT APPLICATION IN THE  U.S. SECRET SERVICE PROBE OF THE REGENESIS 2×2 MATRIX CYCLER PROMOTED AT THE ASAMONITOR FORUM.

    An MPB Today affiliate is targeting churches in a video animation. MPB Today is a Florida-based multilevel-marketing (MLM) program tied to a grocery business known as Southeastern Delivery of Pensacola.

    Like yet-another Florida-based MLM — Data Network Affiliates, which purports to collect license-plate data that can help law enforcement and the AMBER Alert program rescue abducted children — the MPB Today program is being targeted at people of faith. DNA advised churches that it was their “MORAL OBLIGATION” to help it sell a purported mortgage-reduction program aimed at foreclosure subjects and positioned the MLM program as a “Church Fundraisers (sic) DREAM Come True.”

    A video for MPB Today titled “MPB Today . . . the movie,” meanwhile, positioned a salesperson for the purported grocery program as on the cusp of enrolling “Jill, her parents and her church.

    “The church is enrolling as a fundraiser!” the video exclaims.

    MPB Today also is referenced on the ASAMonitor Ponzi forum as a good opportunity for churches. ASAMonitor is referenced in court filings in a criminal case against the alleged Pathway to Prosperity Ponzi scheme as an outlet from which Ponzi schemes are promoted. Also referenced in the Pathway To Prosperity filings are the TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forums — two other places from which MPB Today is being promoted by affiliates.

    In an Aug. 28 post at ASAMonitor, an MPB Today affiliate claimed he had “just signed up a minister who is going to use this as a fund raising method to help his church… should be interesting. Sure beats selling cookies or flower bulbs!”

    The animated video for MPB Today, which is accessible through a website that features multiple video promotions for the firm, shows a male character apparently angry for not listening to a female promoter who earlier urged him to join.

    “Ben, no need to be angry,” the video soothed, “want to know more about MBP Today (sic) call me . . .”

    The video urges Ben to “call me tonight if you want to get $200 Walmart gift cards and $300 checks over and over again . . .”

    A separate video accessible at the same site shows a 46-inch Samsung TV and other electronics acquired at Walmart through MPB Today’s MLM program. Walmart has not responded to a request for comment from the PP Blog. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting a “review” of claims about the MLM program, which also is targeting Food Stamp recipients, foreclosure subjects, victims of the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, senior citizens and opponents of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

    Obama and Clinton were positioned as Nazis in a video promo for MPB Today that now has been removed from a video site. First Lady Michelle Obama, the mother of two daughters, was depicted as in need of the product “Beano” after experiencing an embarrassing  gas attack in the Oval Office after consuming “beans” at a Sam’s Club Store. In the video, the First Lady apparently was knocked out after getting conked in the head by Clinton, a former First Lady and the mother of one daughter.

    Clinton was called “Hitlary” in the video, and was depicted as being a whining drunk who barged into the Oval Office bawling.

    In the video pitch that showed the 46-inch TV, an MPB Today affiliate said he’d initially dreamed of purchasing a 60-inch TV — but fell 14 inches short of his goal. Still, the affiliate noted, a 46-inch model was easy enough to live with.

    MPB Today affiliates can get anything and everything, a promoter said — including this 46-inch TV for Monday Night Football.

    “Any[thing] and everything that is at Walmart or Sam’s Club — both on- and offline — you can get at no cost because our program will put mailbox money and Walmart gift cards in your hand daily, weekly, monthly, hourly,” the narrator claimed.

    “It’s really up to you how much you want to get out of this program by simply sharing the program with other people,” the narrator said.

    Although the video is 4:08 in length, the word “groceries” appears to be curiously absent, even though MPB Today purports to be a grocery program.

    The narrator said he’d use his new TV to watch Monday Night Football.

    Countless Ponzi schemes have been promoted from ASA Monitor. In July 2009, for instance, the U.S. Secret Service alleged that a cycler program known as Regenesis 2×2 was operating a Ponzi scheme.

    Among the Regenesis 2×2 promoters was ASAMonitor member “Ken Russo,” who also is promoting the MPB Today 2×2 cycler at the ASA Monitor forum.

    “Ken Russo” was keeping up with MPB Today developments and commentary at ASA Monitor this afternoon, according to the forum log published at the bottom of the discussion thread on MPB Today.

    Separately, yet-another video promo for MPB Today is featuring a narrator who tells prospects not to bother buying their groceries from MPB Today — even though the firm purports to be in the grocery business.

    “If you’re joining this program to buy groceries, don’t bother . . .” the narrator said, lamenting MPB Today’s purportedly high shipping costs and explaining that the company sells a “grocery voucher” that is more cost-effective to use elsewhere.

    “I’m guessing you turned on this video because you heard you could make a lot of money and maybe not have to ever pay for groceries or gas again. So, you’re swimming around the ship — and not even seeing the boat — if you think this is about groceries and these other perks,” the narrator said.

    The narrator then recommended that prospects start recruiting other affiliates to make “serious money” in MPB Today.

    A snippet from the search-warrant application by the U.S. Secret Service in the investigation of the alleged Regenesis 2×2 matrix cycler Ponzi scheme, which was pitched from the ASAMonitor forum.

  • Images Of Walmart, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet Removed From MPB Today Website; Testimonials Go Missing, Too; Affiliate Bashes Obama, Hillary Clinton In Promo

    An animated promo for MPB Today portrays President Obama as a weakling who cowers to Secretary of State "Hitlary Clinton," who is depicted as a drunken, sobbing Nazi wearing "puke colored" clothes purchased at Big Lots, a discount store. First Lady Michelle Obama is portrayed as suffering from a gas attack in the Oval Office after sampling beans at a Sam's Club store.

    UPDATED 7:32 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Images of a Walmart store and business tycoons Donald Trump and Warren Buffet have gone missing from the landing page of a website operated by MPB Today, a multilevel-marketing (MLM) firm that operates a 2×2 cycler matrix tied to a grocery business known as Southeastern Delivery in Pensacola, Fla.

    The website images appear to have been removed yesterday. It was unclear if Walmart, Trump and Buffet forced the removal. It is common for promos for MLMs to imply endorsements from famous companies and people — even if no such endorsements exist.

    Testimonials from customers purportedly happy with Southeastern’s grocery-delivery business also have been removed.

    Separately, an animated affiliate promo for MPB Today is bashing the Obama administration, painting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a Nazi and showing a cowering Obama saying “Heil Hitlary” and giving Clinton — who apparently is drunk on wine — a  left-handed Nazi salute while First Lady Michelle Obama is conked out on the floor of the Oval Office.

    A prompt in the animated video says it was produced by a “Real Mentor, Not Merely a Marketer” for MPB Today. It was not immediately clear if the affiliate was seeking to build an MPB organization that consisted solely of Obama opponents. Also unclear is why the affiliate believed it prudent to bash the President of the United States in his or her bid to woo prospects and recruit affiliates.

    As Michelle Obama is emerging from a comatose state, a thought balloon attributed to her animated image asks, “I feel so woozy, like I got clunked in the head with Hitlary’s whine, what just happened??”

    The 1:40 video is filled with sophomoric and caustic humor — a dog is shown thinking that Clinton is a “Brown Noser” and the animation tries to pull off a gag about Michelle Obama’s need for the product Beano while in the Oval Office, for example.

    An embarrassed Michelle Obama is shown observing that her gas problem was caused by “beans” she sampled at Sam’s Club, a chain of stores under the Walmart flag. President Obama is shown saying he “borrowed” $200 to join MPB Today and “wrote it off” — apparently at the expense of taxpayers.

    “You what??” a horrified Michelle Obama counters. “You borrowed the money to join MPB Today? Who’d loan YOU money??”

    Walmart did not respond to a request for comment last week from the PP Blog about the use of its name in MPB Today promotions. Some MPB affiliates routinely are using Walmart’s name in sales pitches. One affiliate in a separate video claimed that MPB Today had a “contract” with Walmart and that the MLM program was “Govt. certified with Food Stamps!”

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said last week that it was conducting a “review” of claims made about the program. The agency said today that it was continuing to review the situation.

    The animated pitch featuring the Obamas and Clinton asks prospects to visit a website that suggests that “just” a $200 One-Time” purchase with MPB Today can “Totally Eliminate Your Grocery Bill.”

    MPB Today has been targeted at Food Stamp recipients, Ponzi scheme victims, foreclosure subjects and people of faith — and now, apparently, at people who are not enthusiastic about Obama’s presidency, U.S. policy at the Department of State and Hillary Clinton’s clothing choices.

    Before

    After

    Before

    After

  • MPB Today Operator Was Subject Of Inquiry By U.S. Food And Drug Administration For ‘Cell Rejuvenator’ Product That Claimed To Treat Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome

    This MPB Today pitch claims a $200, "ONE-TIME" grocery purchase from Southeastern Delivery can "TOTALLY ELIMINATE" future grocery bills.

    Gary Calhoun, the operator of a multilevel-marketing (MLM) program that is targeting Food Stamp recipients, Ponzi scheme victims, foreclosure subjects and people of faith, received a warning letter in 2006 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for his marketing of a product that claimed to treat multiple diseases, according to federal records.

    Calhoun, who now operates an MLM program known as MPB Today and a grocery business tied to the program, was ordered by the FDA to stop violating provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The grocery business is known as Southeastern Delivery LLC.

    On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it was opening a “review” of claims made in the MPB Today program and the associated grocery business.

    The FDA’s letter pertained to a Calhoun-operated business known as Trim International and a now-defunct website known as MyTrim.com. Calhoun also operated a business known as United Pro Media LLC, which became a subject of complaints to the Better Business Bureau and was given an “F” rating, the BBB’s lowest rating on a 14-step scale.

    In 2006, according to the FDA, Calhoun was marketing a product known as “TCR Cell Rejuvenator.” The agency said the product was positioned as a treatment for “Neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, axonal and other neuropathies, Down’s and other syndromes.”

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) commonly is referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in recognition of the famed New York Yankees’ first baseman, the subject of the tear-jerking 1942 movie “The Pride of the Yankees,” which starred Gary Cooper. Gehrig died in 1941.

    TCR Cell Rejuvenator also was positioned as a treatment for “recurrent Herpes, common cold and flu,” amid MyTrim claims it could be used “to treat patients with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer and other infectious diseases and neurological disorders,” according to the FDA.

    Meta tags on the site also referenced “prostate cancer,” the FDA said.

    Calhoun was ordered by the FDA to notify it “in writing within 15 working days of receipt of this letter about the steps that you have taken to correct” violations. The company eventually went out of business.

    “[T] he introduction or delivery of a new drug into interstate commerce without an FDA-approved application is a prohibited act,” the FDA advised Calhoun. “No such applications exist for this product.

    “Furthermore, many of the diseases or conditions for which this product is offered are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners,” the FDA said. “Therefore, adequate directions for use for these conditions cannot be written so that a layman can use this drug safely for its intended purposes.”

    The agency said Calhoun had misbranded the product because the “product’s labeling fails to bear adequate directions for its intended uses for those diseases or conditions which are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment.”

    MPB affiliates claim a single grocery purchase of $200 through Southeastern Delivery can result in free groceries for life.

    Read the FDA’s warning letter to Calhoun.

  • 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.

  • BULLETIN: USDA Conducting ‘Review’ Of Food Stamp Claims Made By MPB Today Affiliates; ‘We Take This Matter Very Seriously,’ Agency Says

    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.).”

    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.