Tag Archive for MLM Lawsuits

MLM Blacklist Member Clayton Thomas Sued By The SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Brentwood, Tennessee resident Clayton R. Thomas and the now defunct entity he controlled, Personalized Healthcare Solution, LLC, with selling fraudulent promissory notes and misappropriating investor funds.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, alleges that, from February until June 2019, Thomas and Personalized Healthcare Solution raised approximately $730,000 from a single investor, telling that investor that they would purchase certain medical devices and place the devices in medical offices to generate an investment return from usage fees.
In reality, according to the complaint, Thomas and Personalized Healthcare Solution overstated the purchase price of the medical devices and fraudulently inflated the medical devices’ anticipated returns.
The complaint also states that Thomas knew that the investment would likely be far less profitable than what he told the investor based on prior experience with a different investor in which the medical devices produced little to no return.
Finally, the SEC alleges that the investor lost substantially all of its original investments, and that Thomas misappropriated investor funds for his personal use by pocketing the difference between the actual cost of the medical devices and the amount that he represented to the

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Serial Ponzi Promoter Simon Stepsys Sentenced To Jail In The UK

Serial Ponzi promoter Simon Stepsys, 55, sold himself as an internet millionaire, posing with supercars.
His plugs to ‘get rich’ schemes were linked to further ‘misleading’ schemes Warrington Magistrates’ court (UK) heard he spent almost £200k on ‘living costs’.
He was sentenced to 16 weeks jail suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty.
A former road sweeper-turned-businessman who ran a ‘get rich quick’ scheme has avoided jail for failing to keep proper accounting records – but has gone bust owing the taxman £171,000.
Simon Stepsys, 55, from Nantwich, Cheshire, UK sold himself as an internet millionaire and flaunted his wealth over social media, with photographs of him posing with a Porsche, Bentley, Cuban cigars, gold watches and rings.
The former road sweeper’s plugs for the scheme, which promised £5,000-a-day returns to investors, turned out to be links to further ‘get rich’ schemes, He was subsequently told to stop making the claims by the Advertising Standards Authority which ruled them unproven and misleading.
Stepsys was sentenced to 16 weeks jail suspended for a year at Warrington Magistrates’ court after he pleaded guilty to failing to keep proper accounting records. He was banned from being a director of the company for seven years in 2020.
Stepsys was also ordered

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Avon Products Hit With $40 Million Verdict

Avon Products Inc. was ordered by a California jury to pay $10.3 million in punitive damages to a woman who blamed her cancer on talc in its cosmetics, in the first such case the company has lost in U.S. litigation.
The Los Angeles Superior Court jury that punished Avon Friday for hiding the risks that some of its talc-based powders can cause cancer had already awarded Rita Chapman $40 million in actual damages, bringing the total in the case to more than $50 million, according to court filings.
The $40 million award was intended to cover Chapman’s pain and medical costs tied to her battle with mesothelioma, a cancer specifically tied to asbestos exposure. Chapman alleged Avon’s powders contained asbestos-tainted talc that made her sick. The company – famous for its door-to-door saleswomen known as “Avon Ladies” – was acquired by Natura Cosmeticos SA in 2020.
“We are disappointed by this verdict and will vigorously pursue all available avenues to appeal,” Avon said in an emailed statement. “Avon is confident that it has strong grounds for appeal and will continue to defend its position.”
Avon faced almost 130 talc suits as of 2020, according to court records. That same year, the company said it

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SEC Files Action Against Former NewAge (Ariix, Morinda) CEO Brent Willis

According to a SEC Press Release:
Litigation Release No. 25562 / October 18, 2022
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brent David Willis, No. 1:22-cv-02744 (D. Colo. filed October 18, 2022)
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it filed charges against Brent David Willis.
The former Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of NewAge, Inc. (formerly known as New Age Beverages Corporation), alleging that Willis engaged in a multi-year fraud by disseminating numerous false and misleading press releases and making false public statements concerning NewAge’s business dealings, and aided and abetted NewAge’s disclosure of material information in violation of Regulation FD.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that between 2017 and 2019, Willis, while CEO, both through his role in drafting and authorizing NewAge press releases and in statements he made in earnings calls, investor conferences, and in media interviews and appearances, made numerous false and misleading public statements concerned a wide range of matters material to NewAge’s business.
As alleged, these matters included NewAge’s alleged development of a portfolio of CBD-infused beverages and its purported deals with the U.S. military and several large domestic and international distributors and retailers.
According to the complaint, Willis orchestrated this multiyear fraud and disseminated the false and misleading public statements to create the

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Former Khrysos President Dwayne Dundore Orded To Pay $20 Million To Youngevity

Youngevity International, Inc.  and its subsidiary Khrysos Industries, Inc today announced that the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit in and for Orange County, Florida, has issued an order against former Khrysos President Dwayne Dundore.
Granting Youngevity’s Motion for Summary Judgement on Counts III (Fraudulent Inducement) and IV (Breach Of Employment Agreement), awarding Youngevity $20,915,507 in damages.
A complete copy of the Order may be viewed by clicking here> in Case No.:2021-CA-002217-0 BUSINESS COURT.
No assurance is given that Youngevity will be able to collect on this award.
About Youngevity International, Inc
Youngevity International, Inc. is a multi-channel lifestyle company operating in three distinct business segments including a commercial coffee enterprise, a commercial hemp enterprise, and a direct marketing enterprise. The Company features a multi country selling network and has assembled a virtual main street of products and services under one corporate entity.
The Company offers products from the six top selling retail categories: health/nutrition, home/family, food/beverage (including coffee), spa/beauty, apparel/jewelry, as well as innovative services.
The post Former Khrysos President Dwayne Dundore Orded To Pay $20 Million To Youngevity appeared first on Direct Selling Facts, Figures and News.

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SEC Charges Eleven Individuals In $300 Million Forsage Crypto Pyramid Scheme

7 USA Promoters involved:

Mark F. Hamlin, of Henrico, Va. for receiving $565,828
Alisha R. Shepperd, of Dunedin, Fla. for receiving $549,075
Carlos L. Martinez, of Chicago, Ill. for receiving $462,925
Cheri Beth Bowen, of Pelahatchie, Miss. for receiving $303,000
Ronald R. Deering, of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho for receiving $267,075
Sarah L. Theissen, of Hartford, Wis. for receiving $130,118
Samuel D. Ellis, of Louisville, Ky. for receiving $72,405

MLM Blacklist members Faith Sloan, Vitaly Dubinin and Ankur Agarwal  are not charged, all-though deep involved.
The SEC press release:
Washington D.C., Aug. 1, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 11 individuals for their roles in creating and promoting Forsage, a fraudulent crypto pyramid and Ponzi scheme that raised more than $300 million from millions of retail investors worldwide, including in the United States.
Those charged include the four founders of Forsage, who were last known to be living in Russia, the Republic of Georgia, and Indonesia, as well as three U.S.-based promoters engaged by the founders to endorse Forsage on its website and social media platforms, and several members of the so-called Crypto Crusaders—the largest promotional group for the scheme that operated in the United States from at least five different states.

According to the SEC’s complaint, in January

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DreamTrips International Launches, Sells Out Pre-Launch Adventures

On July 29, 2022, DreamTrips International officially launched its travel lifestyle membership club with four, brand-new, exclusive membership levels that boast benefits unseen elsewhere in the direct selling industry; as well as three, distinct opportunity packages for Travel Ambassadors eager to make travel their business.
DreamTrips International went live with dozens of highly personalized and curated, international and domestic US DreamTrips set to capitalize on today’s global travel demand and industry momentum. Members can immediately access DTI’s exclusive, customized portfolio of tested DreamTrips, approved by more than a million travelers to 70+ countries since the product’s inception.
“We are truly a traveler’s club. We are built for someone who truly wants to travel and have fun and create memories,”
DreamTrips International CEO Mark Smith says.
And consumers are responding. Bookings for Dublin, Rome, Athens, Prague, Vegas and even Disney are underway now with dozens more slated for the coming weeks. During pre-launch over the past few months alone, DreamTrips International has sold out DreamTrips to Thailand, Dominican Republic (twice), Santorini and 3 trips to Dubai, to name a few.

The DreamTrips International mission is to inspire the world to create memorable experiences with family and friends through travel. And to get more people out

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MLM Blacklist – Tanya Jennings Cash FX – Cease and Desist?

Business For Home received a cease and desist letter from Tanya Jennings an australian citizen and promoter for Cash FX, a Ponzi scheme established in Panama, South America.
As a mature internet marketer she should know she is involved in a Ponzi. For that reason she was placed on our infamous MLM Blacklist.
For an analysis of the Ponzi payments and Tanya’s involvement please see this Facebook group.
As an ASIC alert,  Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.
As YouTuber Spencer Cornelia coverage (211,000 views):

The letter Tanya Jennings send on 8 July 2022:
———————-
“Attention Mr Nuyten,
It has come to our attention that businessforhome.org has made false comments regarding Tanya Jennings, listing her on the MLM Blacklist – businessforhome.org/mlm-blacklist
Tanya is an affiliate marketer for various software and has her own course helping hundreds of people earn online and grow their businesses organically. Visit ueconomylab.com/about-us
Cash FX is only the second MLM Tanya has ever been involved with in her decade online and is no longer actively promoting the program. Regardless Cash FX group is a decentralised program there is no evidence stating it is a “ponzi”.
Your statement is false and are a serious defamation to Tanya Jennings, causing personal injury. They are in contravention of the defamation legislation in

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La Colombiana María Alejandra, De ByDzyne, Alcanza Presidente 1-estrella

La producción de estrellas de primera línea se está convirtiendo en un sinónimo de la región latinoamericana, ya que ByDzyne da la bienvenida a su centro de liderazgo a otro presidente 1-estrella, la empresaria colombiana María Alejandra.
* Un Presidente genera más de 200.000 dólares en facturación durante un periodo de medio mes.
María, una empresaria de 31 años con amplia experiencia como abogada en derecho mercantil, compitió entre miles de personas por un valioso puesto en el gobierno colombiano y finalmente consiguió un puesto.
Aunque su carrera estaba teóricamente hecha a partir de ese momento, la idea de ser una esclava del reloj y tener un tiempo de vacaciones limitado simplemente la aterrorizaba.
Sabía que necesitaba un nuevo plan de juego. Sabía que había algo mejor ahí fuera. Sabía que su vida podía ser diferente. Y entonces, un afortunado día, lo fue.
“Mi vida se ha transformado completamente desde que empecé en ByDzyne. Ha sido un nuevo nivel de aprendizaje, un cambio de mentalidad, una verdadera orientación por parte de los mentores, y he conocido a gente maravillosa cada día.
Me siento muy honrada y agradecida por todo lo que esta empresa ha aportado a mi crecimiento personal, familiar y financiero”,
expresó una agradecida

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Hyperfund – Hyperverse Collapse, Kalpesh Patel Exit The Ponzi

Hyperfund, Hyperverse, Hypertech, Hyperone, and HyperNation, all rebrands in the past months of a very large Ponzi scheme.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam which generates returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors.
Kalpesh Patel was a (very) early investor and top Hyperfund promoter who made an estimated $4+ million per month.
He stated a typical “sorry for your loss “excuses on his exit in a followers group:
“I can not stand in integrity and keep showing up and mis leading the community on hot air where the founders themselves can not be bothered to show up for us since December.
Total disrespect. I know my correct decision will affect many of you adversely…
Please forgive me for the impact of my personal decision on your lives.
This place I find myself in is such a shame, if a day appears in the coming days where corporate do the right thing the I’ll be happy for you all and my prayers would have been answered, but I can not continue on this path any longer.
I’ll find another home, I’m sure. Ive loved the 1st 18 months and those are the memories I’ll travel forward with”
So the good news is that Kalpesh

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