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
Tag Archive for MLM Lawsuits
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Rosy Rivera Achieves Diamond Rank With Vida Divina
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Vida Divina, a global direct marketer of nutritional and healthy lifestyle products, announced today that Rosy Rivera has obtained the rank of Diamond.
Working with Vida Divina from the very beginning of the company in 2016, Rosy Rivera has reached Diamond rank in what anybody would deem as an example on how to make the best out of a chance. Rosy lives and works in Puerto Rico, just 20 minutes away from San Juan, and in the comfort of her home Rosy gladly reveals, during a phone interview, in the last month she registered earnings in the 5 high figure mark.
“That includes only the profits from networking, but not from the direct sales of products, so I assume the check is a little ‘bigger’”,
says Rosy, with a smile on her face.
That’s really amazing considering her background. Some years ago, Rosy Rivera had no choice but to live on a welfare house with her two daughters. “Now I have four properties in Puerto Rico that I rent to the government. So, it’s kind of a funny situation. You know, going from being dependent to becoming more than independent,” she says.
For Rosy, life has been hard, and she has no problems in
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Vietnam Penalizes Oriflame, Unicity and Greenlife For MLM Violations
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Competition Agency (VCA) has just announced the decision to fine three multi-level companies, including Greenlife Corporation, Stella Ivy Cosmetic Co., Ltd. (Oriflame), and Unicity Marketing Vietnam Co., Ltd.
Specifically, Greenlife Corporation (Pho Yen town, Thai Nguyen province) will be fined VND510 million ($22,600) for conducting multi-level sales activities without the approval of the Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade. Additionally, the company’s amended business registration certificate did not include some of the company’s activities among the fields of operation.
VCA has decided to revoke the business registration certificate of Greenlife Corporation.
Greenlife also failed to properly and completely fulfil its training obligation for multi-level sales participants and did not grant multi-level sales network member cards to participants.
The company also failed to periodically report to competent state agencies and provided wrong or misleading information about the use of its goods to entice sales people to joint its multi-level sales network.
As a result, VCA has decided to revoke the business registration certificate of Greenlife Corporation. Previously, this company has been infamous because its members had led students to mortgage facilitates for usury loans, then poured the money into the multi-level company to become distributors.
VCA decided to issue
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Enagic Hit By Lawsuit
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Water-ionization system manufacturer Enagic is alleged to have engaged in an unlawful telemarketing campaign.
Valentina Higgins filed a complaint individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated on June 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Enagic USA and Does 1-10 alleging violation of the Telephone Consumers Protection Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that beginning in 2015, the defendant contacted her via text and phone call to solicit its products.
She alleges she has never had a business relationship with the defendant and never provided it her number.
She alleges the defendant contacted her 40 times in a 12-month period.
The plaintiffs hold Enagic USA and Does 1-10 responsible because the defendants allegedly engaged in an unlawful practice of using an autodialer to place calls to cellular phones and contacted consumers whose numbers were listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against defendants, certify class action and an award of actual and statutory damages for each and every violation.
She is represented by John P. Kristensen, David L. Weisberg and Christina M. Le of Kristensen Weisberg LLP in Los Angeles.
About Enagic
For over four decades, Enagic International has been the
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Judge Finds Young Living Acted In Bad Faith And Awards doTERRA Nearly $2 Million
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Utah Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Christine S. Johnson issued a ruling that awarded doTERRA Defendants $1,810,344.11 in attorney’s fees and approximately $50,000 in out-of-pocket costs.
doTERRA’s Founding Executive and General Counsel Mark Wolfert thanked the Court for its ruling and expressed hope that all involved parties could concentrate on a more harmonious and productive future.
“doTERRA was gratified in 2017 when an objective judge and citizen jurors found that doTERRA, its executives and distributors had done nothing wrong and accordingly dismissed all charges and awarded no damages. We are now pleased that one year later, the judge has definitively confirmed that Young Living’s case was not only ill-advised, but brought in bad faith.
Nevertheless, we look forward to a less contentious relationship with Young Living and a time where both companies may now focus on their respective missions and sharing essential oils.”
This ruling hopefully closes the six years of litigation that Young Living instigated on June 21, 2012 (nearly five years after the events allegedly occurred), when it filed its initial complaint, “alleging: breach of contract, violations of Utah’s Trade Secret Act (“UTSA), unfair competition …., and multiple tort claims.” (Ruling on Defendants’ Joint Motion for Fees and Costs, July 10, 2018,
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Young Living Appeals Recent Court Ruling In doTERRA Lawsuit
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
As the originator and ongoing leader of the modern-day essential oil movement, Young Living knows that innovation will always be followed by imitation. We know that success will always breed envy. We have never and will never hesitate to protect our members, our company, our quality, and our reputation.
Earlier this week, the court in the case against doTERRA ruled that Young Living is to pay a portion of legal fees to the defendants’ attorneys as part of a pretrial summary judgment ruling.
We deeply respect the judicial process but had hoped for a different outcome, as many key claims and pieces of evidence were not allowed to be presented at trial due to legal technicalities such as the statute of limitations ruling and other rulings made by the court.
In fact, this ruling did not address the merits of Young Living’s claims but focused on alleged reasons why Young Living waited to present one of its claims.
These technicalities resulted in Young Living never being able to tell the full story of doTERRA’s true formation. As alleged in the complaint, this included breaches of non-solicit and confidentiality agreements by members of the then-Young Living executive team and our CEO Mary Young’s personal assistant.
The defendants in
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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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Judge Orders Longaberger Parent Company JRJR Networks Into Court
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Representatives of the parent company of Longaberger have been ordered to appear in a Columbus courtroom to show how they will pay more than $2 million.
The order was issued by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark Serrott last week and orders John P. Rochon, John Rochon Jr. or other representatives from JRJR Networks, the parent company of Longaberger, to appear on June 8.
The order was in response to a motion by Tami Longaberger‘s attorneys seeking information on payment of more than $2 million she was determined to be owed earlier this year. More than $1.2 million of the money owed is for Longaberger’s salary, as well as an additional $608,000 in deferred salary.
Longaberger had sued to be reimbursed for a loan she had given prior to her resignation from the company in 2015. JRJR Networks, previously known as CVSL, had purchased a majority ownership of Longaberger in 2013.
In early May, Longaberger’s attorney had filed a motion requesting JRJR representatives appear in court to determine how they will pay the money owed. Serrott granted the motion and set a hearing for June 8. At the hearing, a representative for JRJR will have to discuss the payments, revenues, assets, bank accounts or other
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Rodan + Fields Faces A Second Lawsuit Over Eyelash Enhancer
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
CBS NEWS– Skincare products company Rodan + Fields is facing a second federal class action lawsuit alleging that the multi-level marketing company failed to disclose the harmful side effects of a key ingredient in its Lash Boost eye serum which it claims gives users “the appearance of lush, longer-looking lashes.”
As in an April 13 lawsuit, the new case singles out isopropyl cloprostenate, a type of medication called a prostaglandin analog that’s used to treat glaucoma and other eye diseases. It has been linked to dry eye, eye irritation, eye inflammation, eye redness, and macular edema, the latest lawsuit says, and had the lead plaintiff, Melissa Ryan of San Diego, known about the “documented health risks” of the chemical, she wouldn’t have purchased Lash Boost or would have paid less for it.
“R+F (Rodan + Fields) further claims that for ‘best results,’ use Lash Boost daily for 8 weeks, which would likely require a customer to buy at least two tubes of the costly (retail price of about $150) Lash Boost and further exposing the consumer to potential serious health effects,” according to the court filing.
Attorneys for Ryan and a spokesperson for Rodan + Fields couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. San Francisco-based
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Nerium International Announces Leadership Promotions
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
Nerium International Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Olson is proud to announce the executive promotions of Deborah K. Heisz, formerly President, to Co-CEO of Nerium International, and Bo Short, previously Chief Sales Officer, to President of the award-winning, age-fighting skincare and wellness products company.
“These top leadership promotions represent an exciting time for Nerium International,”
said Jeff Olson.
“We are experiencing transformational shifts in our business that are allowing us to develop plans and implement strategies to build a multibillion dollar legacy company.”
The new appointment of leadership roles is a seamless transition and prime opportunity for Nerium International to grow to new heights, becoming one of the most dynamic forces in the beauty and wellness space worldwide. Deborah’s Co-CEO role adds focus to the global company’s total enterprise management as she strategizes, leads and shares the bold Nerium vision with Founder and CEO Jeff Olson.
“We have strong leadership at headquarters and in the field to help contribute to long-term sustainable growth. I am honored to lead the charge with our Founder and CEO Jeff Olson, alongside our executive team.
We will continue building a life-changing and outstanding business opportunity while Making People Better,”
said Deborah Heisz.
There is a new synergy within Nerium’s