After nearly seven years of a “David vs. Goliath” fight against the FTC, Neora, a leading science-based skincare and wellness company, celebrates a historic victory. On Thursday, Sep. 28, the judge overseeing the case, Fed. Trade Comm’n v. Neora LLC, Civil Action 3:20-cv-01979-M (N.D. Tex. Sep. 28, 2023), ruled that the FTC’s claims were invalid, handing a monumental victory to Neora.
“When we proactively filed suit against the FTC on Nov. 1, 2019, challenging the over-reach of the FTC, we knew we would have a battle on our hands, but we were supremely confident that the facts and data would show the truth,”
says Jeff Olson, CEO of Neora.
“Living out our mission statement of making people better sometimes means taking the road less traveled, making the hard choice to defend what is right at all costs. This isn’t just a win for our industry, it’s a win for American entrepreneurship.”
According to Olson, the FTC’s overreach poses a real risk for American small business, the backbone of the U.S. economy. These efforts are so egregious, that one of the FTC’s own commissioners, Christine Wilson, recently resigned from the agency. In doing so, she cited her concerns over the FTC’s leadership and its
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Amway USA 15% Retail Sales Not Compliant With The FTC Business Guidance For MLM?
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
The FTC consider any USA company with a network marketing compensation plan and retail sales below 51% as a Pyramid Scheme and regular attack smaller companies who are not compliant with the FTC Business Guidance For MLM.
In 2012 a Wall Street Journal reporter asked Doug DeVos and Steve Van Andel, in an interview:
What percentage of the products that Amway sells to the distributors, are resold to end-user customers who are not also distributors?
The Amway co-CEO’s told the Wall Street Journal that 50% of the sales that are made to distributors are resold to actual retail customers. The other half is not resold by the salespeople to anyone.
That seems to be not true, at least not for the USA…
Amway nowadays release the retail numbers at their achievers conference every year and have not gotten over 15% in the USA market.
Average is around 12-13% and Amway tries to improve those retail figures. International retail sales might be higher.
I am not after Amway, I am not trying to poke a bear, however as an international Direct Sales reporter in my opinion it’s a strange situation the FTC goes after smaller MLM companies and let a Network Marketing giant get away with minor retail sales for the past 25+ years.
Its measuring
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FTC Action In The USA Halts My Online Business Empire (MOBE)
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Matt Lloyd from Perth, Australia started his home based company, My Online Business Empire (MOBE) in January 2012, from scratch. MOBE is structured around the concept that the more leads a marketer’s website generates, the more success and more money they will make from their website. Matt Lloyd is founder and CEO.
In 2013 Business For home had an interview with him.
The Federal Trade Commission has charged three individuals and nine businesses with bilking more than $125 million from thousands of consumers with a fraudulent business education program called MOBE (“My Online Business Education”).
A federal court halted the scheme and froze the defendants’ assets at the FTC’s request.
According to the FTC, the defendants behind this international operation target U.S. consumers—including service members, veterans, and older adults—through online ads, social media, direct mailers, and live events held throughout the country. This action follows the agency’s recent action against Digital Altitude, LLC, a competing business opportunity scheme that was also halted by court order.
The FTC alleges that the defendants falsely claim that their business education program will enable people to start their own online businesses and earn substantial income. They claim to have a “proven” 21-step system for making substantial sums of money
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FTC Hits Digital Altitude – Aspire With A Temporary Restraining Order
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
According to their website:
“Digital Altitude teach digital entrepreneurs how to start and grow a profitable online business with our unique coaching products and world class live events.”
“You want to start an online business… But you don’t know where to start. Want to learn to turn your Passion into Profits? Or maybe you have already started one and don’t know what to do next.
In Aspire, you will gain access to resources that will set you on the right track.”
The FTC:
At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court has temporarily halted an operation that took more than $14 million from consumers seeking to start their own online business.
The operation misrepresented that its purported business coaching program would enable consumers to earn substantial income, such as “six figures in 90 days or less.”
According to the FTC, the defendants induced consumers to pay for a series of tiered memberships with increasing fees, falsely claiming that consumers would learn how to make substantial income with an online business.
They promised consumers they would receive individualized coaching from successful marketers that would provide what they needed to build a successful business, but, in reality, these were merely salespeople selling higher membership levels in the defendants’
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Herbalife Paid a $200 Million Fine – Then the FTC Screwed it Up
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
According to an article in Forbes, Herbalife Paid a $200 Million Fine and then the FTC screwed it up:
Three weeks ago, on Jan. 10, the Federal Trade Commission announced what sounded like great news for people who had lost money with Herbalife, the multi-level marketer of weight-loss shakes and nutritional supplements: Their checks were in the mail.
It was the final outcome in the FTC’s lengthy battle with Herbalife (hlf, +0.32%), which in July agreed to pay $200 million in a controversial settlement.
And it was supposed to be a great victory for the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who had poured $1 billion into a bet against Herbalife stock and long argued that Herbalife was scamming immigrants into loading up on weight-loss shakes they’d never be able to sell at a profit.
But
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Legal Shield CEO Jeff Bell Open Letter To The FTC On Pyramid Schemes
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Jeff Bell is CEO of LegalShield, an USA based leading provider of affordable legal plans and identity theft solutions for individuals, families and small businesses, serving more than 4.2 million people across North America.
He has send the next open letter to the FTC:
When Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez steps down in a few days, we will remember her speech at the Direct Selling Association’s Business and Policy Conference in Washington last October, where she clearly laid out what it means to be operating a pyramid scheme.
Her remarks were important, and they were necessary. Because the Direct Selling Association (DSA) can’t seem to enforce the ethical codes and standards it created, the FTC had to step in to clean house. While some companies, such as LegalShield, embrace network marketing as a powerful
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Vemma CEO BK Boreyko Launches New – FTC Proof – Compensation Plan
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
As the USA network marketing landscape changes before our eyes, the focus for this $32 billion industry moves to customers.
Real sales to real customers was the mandate given by FTC Commissioner Edith Ramirez who is stepping down in a matter of days as the Trump administration takes over.
As major companies search for ways to adopt the guidelines laid out in the recent Vemma case, watch for customers to become a cornerstone topic.
In a recent Tony Cannuli show, Vemma CEO BK Boreyko took viewers behind the scenes on the challenges his company faced in the last 16 months.
Joined by MLM attorney Kevin Thompson and MLM expert Len Clements, Tony’s show brings new light to this change in the regulatory climate in the US MLM industry. Watch it here.
Now Boreyko launches a new
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FTC Speaks Out About Vemma, Herbalife And The Network Marketing Industry
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Lesley Fair, senior attorney at Federal Trade Commission has published the next article.
“industry members can learn a lot by reviewing the conduct the FTC says violated the law and understanding the principles underlying those orders”
As part of the FTC’s historic $200 million settlement with Herbalife, about 350,000 Herbalife distributors should be watching their mail for a partial refund check.
The FTC has more information about the refunds and advice for people thinking about investing in a multilevel marketing opportunity. But it’s also a good time for some straight talk with members of the MLM industry.
The FTC has a more than 40-year history challenging unfair and deceptive MLM practices, including recent law enforcement actions against Herbalife and Vemma. The specific terms of those orders – which require the companies to restructure their operations
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If The FTC Raid Your USA Based Company
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the USA raid your network marketing company, the results are devastating for distributors, employees as the owner(s).
Distributors are losing their commissions and credibility under their friends and family (I told you it was a pyramid..), employees are fired and the owners personal assets are seized.
After Vemma settled with the FTC, the rules are clear for companies based in the USA, if you like it or not:
– 51 % volume has to come from customers sales.
– Mandatory auto-ships to qualify for commissions are not permitted and/or a distributor person order can not count towards qualifying for bonuses.
We at Business For Home are surprised that so many USA network marketing companies are not changing compensation plans immediately, and therefore putting their distributors under great danger. Many of
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FTC Press Release: Vemma Agrees To Ban On Pyramid Scheme Practices To Settle FTC Charges
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Arizona-based Vemma Nutrition Company will end the business practices that the FTC alleged created a pyramid scheme.
The multi-level marketing (MLM) company, which sells health and wellness drinks through a network of distributors called “affiliates,” will be prohibited under a federal court order from paying an affiliate unless a majority of that affiliate’s revenue comes from sales to real customers rather than other distributors. The order also bars Vemma from making deceptive income claims and unsubstantiated health claims.
“Unfortunately, extravagant income claims and compensation plans that reward recruiting over sales continue to plague the MLM industry,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“MLM companies must ensure that their promotional materials aren’t misleading, and that their compensation programs focus on selling goods