FTC closes 'Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing' before trial.

The following article was published on Shyam Sundar's 'Corporate Fraud's Watch' more than 2 years ago .

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http://www.joseph-isaacs.com/



'Amway' and 'FHTM' are the American Dream made Nightmare.

The criminogenic organization known as 'Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing' is an 'Amway' copy-cat. i.e. 'FHTM' is the reality-inverting label over the entrance to yet another self-perpetuating 'MLM Income Opportunity' cult. 'FHTM' was instigated, and is run, by a gang of exceedingly-greedy, but otherwise-mediocre, little racketeers from Kentucky. These narcissistic parasites have begun to grow rich by peddling an unoriginal lie whilst steadfastly pretending moral and intellectual authority.

In the adult world of quantifiable reality, the authenticity of the 'FHTM' lie is currently being challenged all over the USA, after the State of Montana charged that 'FHTM' was actually a dissimulated pyramid scheme. However, exactly like the billionaire bosses of the 'Amway' mob, the millionaire bosses of the 'FHTM' mob posed as innocent Christian businessmen/philanthropists under attack and instructed their aggressive echelon of attorneys to negotiate a 'settlement' with the plaintiffs. i.e. Without admitting any fault, they agreed to hand-over a significant chunk of their ill-gotten gains in Montana, in order to continue their clandestine criminal activities elsewhere.

It is common knowledge in the USA that 'FHTM' is a pernicious blame-the-victim scam http://www.youtube.com/watch... . Indeed, it is common knowledge in the USA that all so-called 'Multi-Level Marketing' companies are shielding essentially the same, dissimulated closed-market swindle. 

This general video warning has been recently produced by the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the US Federal Trade Commission http://www.youtube.com/watch... . However, it beggars belief that senior FTC officials like Eileen Harrington can use public funds to pretend that the FTC wants to protect the American people from 'business opportunity' fraud, when, for decades, other senior FTC officials have allowed this cancer not only to gnaw its way into the USA, but also into the rest of the world.

Despite more than half a century of damning-evidence, senior US government trade officials prefer to remain blissfully-ignorant of the fact that behind all so-called 'MLM' companies has lurked the ongoing historical phenomenon of criminogenic, or pernicious, cultism. Meanwhile, the self-appointed bosses of these reality-inverting, totalitarian groups continue to rake-in vast fortunes by peddling variations of the same Utopian fiction as fact. 

'MLM Income Opportunity' fraud is undoubtedly a form of major organized crime spawned in the USA. It should never have been left to ill-informed, and/or corrupt, American regulators to deal with this internal threat to democracy and the rule of law.

David Brear (Copyright 2011)

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Even in the light of the following news from the FTC, David Brear has not changed his overall analysis.

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For Release: 01/28/2013

FTC Action Leads Court to Halt Alleged Pyramid Scheme

FHTM Promoted Itself as a Path to Financial Independence, But Most People Made Little or No Money

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission and the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and North Carolina, a federal court has halted an allegedly illegal pyramid scheme pending trial.  The FTC and the state attorneys general seek to stop the allegedly illegal practices of the Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing (FHTM) operation, which claimed consumers would make substantial income by joining the scheme.  The operation affected more than 100,000 consumers throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico, and Canada.  In some areas, including Chicago, the scheme targeted Spanish-speaking consumers.

“Pyramid schemes are more like icebergs,” said C. Steven Baker, Director of the FTC’s Midwest Region.  “At any point most people must and will be underwater financially.  These defendants were promising people that if they worked hard they could make lots of money.  But it was a rigged game, and the vast majority of people lost money.”

According to the complaint filed by the FTC and the state attorneys general, the defendants falsely claimed consumers would earn significant income for selling the products and services of companies such as Dish Network, Frontpoint Home Security, and various cell phone providers, and for selling FHTM’s line of health and beauty products.  Despite FHTM’s claims, nearly all consumers who signed up with the scheme lost more money than they ever made.  To the extent that consumers could make any income, however, it was mainly for recruiting other consumers, and FHTM’s compensation plan ensured that most consumers made little or no money, the complaint alleged.

“This is the beginning of the end for one of the most prolific pyramid schemes operating in North America,” Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said.  “This is a classic pyramid scheme in every sense of the word.  The vast majority of people, more than 90 percent, who bought in to FHTM lost their money.”

As alleged in the complaint, FHTM promoted itself as a way for average people to achieve financial independence.  Some FHTM representatives claimed they earned more than 10 times as much as their previous earnings in their second and subsequent years with FHTM.  One person claimed that another representative earned more than $50,000 in his sixth month and millions of dollars in subsequent years.  Another person promoted a recruitment meeting on her Twitter account, stating, “Bring ur friends & learn how 2 make $120K aYR.”  At its 2012 national convention in Dallas, FHTM called its top 30 earners to the stage to present them with a mock-up of a $64 million check, which several of them shared as a photo on social networking websites.

To participate in the scheme, consumers paid annual fees ranging from $100 to $300.  To qualify for sales commissions and recruiting bonuses, they had to pay an extra $130 to $400 per month and agree to a continuity plan that billed them monthly for products unless they canceled the plan.  Those who signed up more consumers and maintained certain sales levels could earn promotions and greater compensation, but contrary to FHTM’s claims, the complaint alleged, its compensation plan ensured that, at any given time, most participants would spend more money than they would earn.

According to the complaint, recruits were told they could earn high commissions by selling products to people outside the operation, but instead only minimal compensation was paid for sales to non-participants, and few products were ever sold to anyone other than participants.  The scheme provided much larger rewards for recruiting people than for selling products, and more than 85 percent of the money consumers made was for recruitment.

In addition to charging the defendants with operating an illegal pyramid scheme and making false earnings claims, the FTC charged them with furnishing consumers with false and misleading materials for recruiting more participants.  The attorneys general offices of Illinois, Kentucky and North Carolina joined the FTC complaint, as well as alleging violations of their respective state laws.

The defendants are Paul C. Orberson, Thomas A. Mills, Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Inc., FHTM Inc., Alan Clark Holdings LLC, FHTM Canada Inc., and Fortune Network Marketing (UK) Limited.  On January 24, 2013, the court halted the deceptive practices, froze the defendants’ assets, and appointed a temporary receiver over the corporations pending a trial.

The Commission vote, including Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0.  The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

For more information about the case, in English and Spanish, consumers can call 202-326-2643.  To learn more about multi-level marketing, read the FTC’s Multilevel Marketing and  Business Opportunity Scams ( Estafas de Oportunidades de Negocio ).

NOTE:  The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest.  The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law.  The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Frank Dorman
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-267

Allison Martin, Director of Communications
Kentucky Attorney General’s Office
502-696-5651

Maura Possley
Illinois Attorney General’s Office
312-814-3118

Noelle Talley, Public Information Officer
N.C. Department of Justice
919-716-6484

 

STAFF CONTACT:

David A. O’Toole
FTC’s Midwest Region
312-960-5601