PatrickPretty.com

Tag: WCM777

AFRICAN NATION NOT ON MLM FIRM’S ‘RADAR’: TelexFree Pushes Back On Reports In African Media Of Rwanda Ban And Money-Laundering: ‘Mistaken Identity’

UPDATED 8:45 PM EDT (U.S.A.) Already under investigation in Brazil and Massachusetts and linked to at least one affiliate allegedly involved in an earlier pyramid- and affinity-fraud scheme aimed at the Brazilian community, TelexFree acknowledged in a news release this morning that it had a presence in the economically challenged nation of Rwanda. But TelexFree…

Mar 28, 2014
MORE MLM WHACK-A-MOLE: (1) Quebec Securities Regulator Issues Warning On Karatbars International; (2) Cross-Border Colleagues Follow Suit; (3) Former Zeek Ponzi Scheme Pitchman Defends ‘Program’ As Others Push It Alongside TelexFree

UPDATED 12:21 P.M. EDT (MARCH 28, U.S.A.) Whack-A-Mole. Here’s the latest disturbing incarnation: On March 20, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) published a warning on a gold “program” known as Karatbars International GmbH. BehindMLM.com spotlighted the warning yesterday. From the AMF warning (bolding added): “With the company’s ‘Affiliates’ program, investors can make Internet-based purchases…

Mar 26, 2014
TelexFree, WCM777 (Etc.) — In Pictures

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…

Mar 22, 2014
EDITORIAL: MIXED MLM MESSAGING: As Herbalife Announces FTC Probe, TelexFree Cheerleaders Plant Seed That Obama Gave Their ‘Program’ An Exemption From Securities Laws

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…

Mar 16, 2014
Quebec Issues Investor Alert On WCM777

UPDATED 6:42 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has issued an Investor Alert on the WCM777 MLM “program.” Quebec’s securities regulator now joins at least nine other jurisdictions issuing Investor Alerts or filing actions against WCM777, also known as World Capital Market, Kingdom777 and Global-Unity. Global-Unity recently used a photo of a…

Mar 11, 2014
MORE FROM MLM LA-LA LAND: Is It A Taunt? Purported Successor Firm To WCM777/Kingdom777 Uses Image Of Golden Pyramid

Updated 6:24 p.m ET (U.S.A.) Members of the WCM777 scam, which morphed into Kingdom777 after regulatory actions were filed, have been informed by a “program” upline that the venture now is operating as Global-Unity, a source told the PP Blog today. Parts of the Global-Unity website appear to be under construction. The “News” tab, for…

Feb 26, 2014
FOR SPANISH-SPEAKERS: Telemundo 39 (Dallas) Report On WCM777

Here is a link to a Telemundo 39 (Dallas) report on the WCM777 “program.” Link. The unofficial total of jurisdictions or regulatory agencies filing actions or issuing Investor Alerts against WCM777 stands at seven: The country of Peru, the state of Massachusetts, the state of California, the state of Colorado, the state of Louisiana, the…

Feb 22, 2014
BULLETIN: Tata Group, Famous Business Concern In India, Says Fraudsters Trading On Its Name To Push HYIP Scheme; Purported Agriculture ‘Program’ Has Presence On The Ponzi Boards

BULLETIN: (3rd Update 8:32 a.m. ET, Feb. 20 U.S.A.) The Tata Group, a global conglomerate based in India, says its name has been stolen by an HYIP Ponzi scheme. The fraud scheme is associated with a domain styled TataAgro.com and has a presence on the MoneyMakerGroup, TalkGold and DreamTeamMoney Ponzi forums, according to search results.…

Feb 18, 2014
Why California’s WCM777 Action May Spell Trouble For HYIP Promoters On You Tube

Still using social-media sites to promote massive fraud schemes — even after the AdSurfDaily, Zeek Rewards and Profitable Sunrise debacles? Thanks to his presence on social media, Harold Zapata, a WCM777 YouTube pitchman named a respondent in a Desist and Refrain order announced last month by California’s Department of Business Oversight, may be trapped between…

Feb 16, 2014
BULLETIN: California Asks Residents Who Bought Into WCM777 To Contact Department Of Business Oversight ‘Immediately’; State Says Thousands Of Locals Bought Into Scam

BULLETIN: (UPDATED 6:38 P.M. ET U.S.A.) The state of California, which last month issued a Desist and Refrain order against the WCM777 MLM “program” and called it an “investment scam,” now is asking residents who invested in WCM777 to contact the Department of Business Oversight “immediately.” At least 5,500 Californians plowed money into the scheme,…

Feb 14, 2014
EDITORIAL: When MLM Is PR Poison: Footnote In Zeek Receiver’s Most Recent Filing Harkens Back To Scam Of Yesteryear — Also, Does Unrelated ‘Agape World’ Case Provide Clues About Tax Scam Within Ponzi Scam At Zeek?

Ah, those serially disingenuous MLM hucksters and commission-based Ponzi pitchmen: They’ll ultimately destroy their own brands while picking millions of pockets. Before doing so, they’ll use your brand as a temporary means of sanitizing themselves, bring PR disasters to your legitimate company and perhaps even find an insidious way to turn the government into their…

Feb 2, 2014