“Women’s Gifting Circles” or “Women Empowering Women Circles” pyramid schemes are operating in Hawaii, said Kauai Prosecuting Attorney Justin F. Kollar.
“These schemes are marketed as a way to entice women through a tiered investment model, often using language that speaks in terms of ‘empowering’ women spiritually or financially,” Kollar said. “The people at the top of the pyramid collect money from those at the bottom of the pyramid, plain and simple. The people at the bottom are promised future rewards that are based on recruiting additional followers to start new circles. These schemes are illegal and are designed by predators to extract money from people who trust them.”
A similar scam led last year to federal prison sentences for two Connecticut women. There were reports that “Women’s Circle” scheme also was operating in British Columbia in Canada.
From a statement today by Kollar’s office (italics added):
In many cases, women who are being recruited are told not to talk about the circle for various reasons, or are told that the practices are legal as long as the dollar amounts are under a certain threshold. However, violators can be subject to criminal and civil penalties under State securities laws.
In other cash-gifting fraud news, a source told the PP Blog today that members of a cash-gifting scam known as BlessingGoldClub are trying to offload “units” in the Better-Living Global Marketing HYIP scam for $500. The units purportedly are being discounted from $1,295.
BLGM members have been fretting about not getting paid. The “program” is similar to the Zeek Rewards’ Ponzi scheme.
TelexFree figure Scott Miller also has been a proponent of cash-gifting. Miller’s Facebook site for TelexFree, alleged in Brazil to be a massive pyramid scheme, appears not to have been updated since Jan. 10.