In almost all business matters, I would not be so presumptuous as to claim more experience than Warren Buffett. However, the pernicious fairy story entitled 'MLM Income Opportunity' (which I have been studying for many years), has precious little to do with 'business' (in the traditional sense of the word) and, unfortunately, Warren Buffett still has lots of green reasons at risk preventing him from facing this reality.
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Warren Buffett (b. 1930) is an agnostic businessman from Omaha, Nebraska, who reportedly is worth $58.5 billions, but who likes to portray himself as just an average guy living modestly on his $100 000 annual salary as chairman and CEO of 'Berkshire Hathaway.'
As a little boy, Buffett already showed the same aptitude for making (but not spending) money, as he displays today.
  In 1936, Buffett (aged just 6) went door to door peddling: chewing gum (at a 2 cents profit per pack), Coca Cola (at 5 cents per bottle, making a profit of 5 cents on a 25 cent pack of 6 bottles) and weekly magazines. 
However, the young commercial prodigy was not acting entirely independently, because Warren's supplier was, in fact, his grandfather, Ernest P. Buffett, who owned a long-established grocery store in Omaha. During his high school years, Warren Buffett continued to make money in his holidays and spare time by delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and from various other traditional commercial enterprises.
When Buffett filed his first income tax return in 1944 (aged just 13), he deducted $35 for the expenses of a bicycle and a watch - by claiming that these were items he needed to operate his paper round.
 In 1947, Buffett (aged 17) and a young associate, Donald Danly, started a company called 'Wilson Coin Operated Machines.' They bought a secondhand pinball machine for $25 which they installed in the local barber's shop. Their initial investment immediately generated a steady net-profit of $50 per week. Within a few months, Buffett and Danly had bought, and installed, a total of 3 secondhand pinball machines in barber's shops, but, in 1948, the pair sold 'Wilson Coin Operated Machines' for $1200.  
Today, Warren Buffett is generally recognized as one of the most-influential people in the world. He has recently been treated (successfully) for prostate cancer. He has pledged to give away 99% of his personal fortune to philanthropic causes.
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May 9th 2013, I posted an article entitled:
Warren Buffett denies all knowledge of the 'Herbalife (HLF)' racket.
This article addressed all the thoughtless commentators who keep insisting that 'Multi-Level Marketing' can't be a fraud because Warren Buffett owns an 'MLM' company. In the introduction, I even explained that I'd once received a particularly absurd comment from a deluded 'Amway' adherent who was totally certain that Warren Buffett owns at least 10 'MLM' companies and that Warren Buffett recommends 'MLM' as 'the best way for anyone to become a millionaire.'
However, I did not disclose in my article that, when I'd previously tried to put my detailed concerns to Warren Buffett about the use of his name and iconic reputation, to commit fraud and prevent victims from complaining, neither he nor his attorneys had had the decency to respond. This was despite the fact that I'd gone to the trouble of telephoning Warren Buffett's secretary who had specifically invited me to submit my concerns in an e-mail to her boss.
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In summary:
Warren Buffett's company, 'Berkshire Hathaway,' owns 80 other corporate structures.
One 'Berkshire Hathaway' possession, is a kitsch, but apparently innocent, 'party plan direct sales' company known as 'The Pampered Chef (PC)' which has sold the public a so-called 'MLM income opportunity.'
Recently, the corporate officers of 'The Pampered Chef' were boasting annual sales of $400 millions via a sales-force of 60 000 persons (mainly women).
Even if the above, precisely-worded, passage of the 'MLM Income Opportunity' fairy story was entirely accurate, 'The Pampered Chef' would still be a far-from-ethical enterprise, in that its officers have been deliberately withholding key-information from the public in order to continue to exploit large numbers of non-salaried commission agents whilst, at the same time, requiring these ill-informed people to exploit their own ill-informed friends and relatives.
Even if the above, precisely-worded, passage of the 'MLM Income Opportunity' fairy story was entirely accurate, 'The Pampered Chef' would still be a far-from-ethical enterprise, in that its officers have been deliberately withholding key-information from the public in order to continue to exploit large numbers of non-salaried commission agents whilst, at the same time, requiring these ill-informed people to exploit their own ill-informed friends and relatives.
In theory:
participants in 'The Pampered Chef MLM Income Opportunity' (i.e. persons who have signed a take-it-or-leave-it annually-renewable, contract in which they were arbitrarily-defined as 'Independent Consultants', and who have paid the $155 fixed price for the so-called 'Business Starter Kit'), can choose to make money via:
regularly organizing 'Cooking Parties' at which they can sell banal products (kitchen appliances, utensils, etc.) to their friends, neighbours, relatives, etc., for a straight percentage profit (20-31%).
or:
an escalating system of percentage commission payments on the sales of further 'Independent Consultants' whom they have recruited, and on the sales of the recruits of their recruits, etc., ad infinitum.
In practise:
'Pampered Chef' participants are obliged to invest their time and to pay all the considerable, allied, operational expenses, but exactly how much of their own resources this will inevitably involve, is not disclosed to new recruits.
most participants are generally able to organize one or two 'Cooking Parties' and use their existing relationships (based on love and trust) to sell some 'Pampered Chef' products to a few supportive friends and relatives, but no participant could be reasonably expected to generate a significant, and sustainable, net-income by paying to organize these kitsch sales meetings time after time, for many years.
no common-sense limit has been set on the number of 'Pampered Chef' participants operating in any given area, whilst the participants are clearly offered incentives to be their own best customers and to recruit any other customers as competitors.
equivalent, or better quality, products to those offered by 'Pampered Chef' can be easily bought in all-manner of traditional retail outlets and On line.
all any free-thinking person (so desiring) has to do to obtain unused 'Pampered Chef' products, is go to the Internet, where there is always an unwanted mountain of the stuff going begging. (We are talking about many thousands of items listed on popular auction-Sites like e-bay each day, and at a substantial discount compared to their original fixed-price).
http://www.ebay.com/csc/i.html?_lncat=0&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=pampered+chef&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc
Thus, it seems that just as in 'Amway', 'Herbalife' , 'NuSkin', etc., a significant number of so-called 'MLM customers' have not been buying products from 'The Pampered Chef' in order to use them. On the contrary, the products might as well not have existed, because they appear to have been the classic'MLM' wampum; the real function of which has been to launder unlawful investment payments made on the false-expectation of future reward.
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/05/06/herbalife-makes-cameo-during-berkshire-hathaway-weekend/
The vital question of what distinguishes lawful direct selling from an unlawful pyramid scheme, was raised at 'Berkshire Hathaway's' annual shareholder meeting of May 4th. 2013.
Warren Buffett was asked by a concerned shareholder if Bill Ackman’s $1.2 billions short-selling bet that 'Herbalife' is an effectively-valueless company hiding a cruel fraud, will have a detrimental effect on Berkshire Hathaway's investment in 'The Pampered Chef?,' and if Warren Buffett considers Bill Ackman's analysis of 'Herbalife' as a fraud, to be accurate?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/05/warren-buffett-paperboy_n_1406505.html
Remember, Warren Buffett prides himself on being a living example of the 'American Dream;' in that he took his first steps in business in the teeth of the Great Depression, as an enterprising young lad working for himself going door-to-door in Omaha, Nebraska, regularly peddling: chewing gum, Coca Cola and weekly-magazines, to the general public for a profit. As far as I'm aware, Warren Buffet never operated as a commision agent for any direct selling outfit, but then he was undoubtedly encouraged, guided, and protected, by his father (a stockbroker turned Republican Representative) and his grandfather (a successful retail grocer). However, given his iconic status as the shrewdest, and most successful, investor of the 20th century, and considering the irrefutable facts that:-
the 'Herbalife' racketeers have steadfastly pretended that their business is based on selling products to thousands and thousands and thousands of 'end users,'
the bosses of various other members of the so-called 'DSA' (which were subsequently closed-down by the FTC as pyramid frauds) also shared the same extensive, and precisely-worded, thought stopping 'commercial' jargon which they employed steadfastly to pretend that their 'businesses' were based on 'selling products' to thousands and thousands and thousands of 'end users,'
- Warren Buffett's strangely-familiar and precisely-worded, responses to his shareholder's questions, demonstrate a staggering lack of knowledge of what actually constitutes economically-viable (and therefore, lawful) direct selling, and reveals the considerable risk he has taken (in this state of blissful ignorance) with his shareholders' money; for, self-evidently, when the blame-the-victim 'Herbalife' racket is finally closed-down as a pyramid fraud, whomsoever is left holding 'The Pampered Chef,' will also be in deep trouble.
Warren Buffett said:
'I have never looked at a Herbalife annual report and I do not know about its operation... Pampered Chef’s business is based on selling to the end user, and we have thousands and thousands and thousands of parties every week where people who are actually going to use the product buy from somebody. We are not making the money by loading up people and then having them leave the sales force…That should be the distinguishing characteristic if I were regulating the industry.'
Readers will observe that Warren Buffett very pointedly did not say that according to FTC guidelines, for any direct selling income opportunity to be lawful, it must involve its participants regularly retailing an overwhelming majority of products which they have bought from the sponsors (at least 70%) to the general public.
Warren Buffett merely repeated part of the so-called 'Direct Selling Association's' effectively-meaningless 'definition of direct selling,' i.e. 'selling to end users,' which has been specifically worded in such a vague way, that it can be taken to mean participants in 'MLM' schemes themselves.
I have some common-sense questions for Warren Buffett:
- What percentage of 'Pampered Chef ' recruits have actually remained with your company for more than: 1 year? 3 years? 5 years?
- What has been the average annual drop-out rate for 'Pampered Chef' recruits?
- Apart from the $155 'Business Starter-Kit,' what is the approximate amount of additional money that 'Pampered Chef' recruits have been required to find, to finance their first 12 months, non-salaried activities on behalf of your company.
- 'Pampered Chef's' corporate officers have recently claimed 'a sales-force of 60 000,' but since your company's instigation, how many different persons in total have bought their own 'Pampered Chef Independent Consultancy' from it, and, by extrapolation, what is the overall vanishing-rate for these so-called 'Businesses?'
- What lawful, and/or ethical, reason can you put forward to explain why the key-information contained in the answers to the above questions has been withheld by your company from prospective 'Pampered Chef' recruits?
- Why is the Internet loaded with unused 'Pampered Chef ' inventory for sale?'
- Hand on heart, would you personally recommend joining any so-called 'MLM income opportunity' (including 'The Pampered Chef'), as a viable and ethical means for ordinary people to earn extra income?
- Again, hand on heart, what would be your personal reaction if a member of your own family announced that he/she had signed up with 'Herbalife?'
- When you made your public statements relating to 'Pampered Chef' and 'Herbalife' at the recent 'Berkshire Hathaway' shareholders' meeting, were you aware that numerous, unsecured, Micro-Finance loans have been made to immigrants, and other poor persons, in the USA, via the 'Grameen Bank' (an institution which you were responsible for bringing to Omaha), in order that these vulnerable borrowers could start so-called 'MLM Businesses?'
- Before you made your investment in 'The Pampered Chef', had you actually seen any quantifiable evidence proving that more than 70% of 'Pampered Chef's' claimed 'multi-million dollar sales' have been authentic external retail sales to members of the general public (based on value and demand)?
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As variations of the pernicious 'MLM income opportunity' fairy story go, the one known as 'The Pampered Chef' appears to have been amongst the least cultic and damaging, but in my article, I clearly identified the activities of this dubious publicly-traded company as being part of an overall, pattern, and no one has attempted to refute my wider analysis.
My article on Warren Buffett's appearance in the tragicomedy entitled, 'MLM income opportunity,' has recently been visited by an anonymous commentator, pretending moral and intellectual authority, who has attempted to convince me that I'm wasting my time condemning 'Multi-Level Marketing,' because there is no substantial difference between all companies which use sales representatives, and 'MLM' companies. Laughably, this faceless individual claims to have 'been involved with' various 'MLM' companies (although he/she doesn't care to name them), but he/she does not claim to have made any money. Furthermore, this same anonymous commentator has also claimed that I am guilty of 'insinuation,' because no conclusion can be drawn from Berkshire Hathaway's attorney's silence on these matters, other than they cannot be expected to respond to every 'naysayer and critic of the company's investments.'
In reality, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway's attorneys' silence on these serious matters clearly demonstrates that, to date, they have only been interested in making money; for various people (including myself) have made them fully-aware that 'The Pampered Chef' has been hiding behind the same extensive, and precisely-worded, thought stopping 'commercial' jargon which has been employed by the bosses of 'Amway', 'Herbalife', 'Forever Living Products', 'Nu Skin', 'Xango', etc. steadfastly to pretend that their 'businesses' are based on 'selling products' to thousands and thousands and thousands of 'end users.'
Berkshire Hathaway's attorneys have access to a veritable mountain of evidence which proves that, by purchasing a company peddling a so-called 'MLM Income Opportunity,' Warren Buffett has become linked with a form of ongoing, major, racketeering activity (as defined by the US federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 1970). Furthermore, it has not been in the financial interests of Warren Buffett and his associates to face this reality and, consequently, they have made absolutely no attempt to protect their fellow citizens.
In the first week of November exactly 3 years ago, I posted an article on Shyam Sundar's Corporate frauds watch Blog, entitled:
Pokorny vs 'Quixtar' ('Amway') = Reason vs Insanity.
... in 2007, a class action civil lawsuit was filed against 'Quixtar' ('Amway') and various associated enterprises, and individuals, in California, under the State's own version of the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, 1970. Three directors and advisers of Pyramid Scheme Alert (including Robert Fitzpatrick) served as experts and consultants to the victims in this case. At first, 'Amway's' attorneys delayed proceedings (and incurred huge additional costs for the plaintiffs) by steadfastly pretending that the plaintiffs had no right to sue, because as the signatories of 'Amway' contracts, they had voluntarily accepted a 'binding (internal) arbitration agreement.' However, a Federal court ruled that the arbitration process was unenforceable and unfair. The judge said of 'Amway's' own parallel system of dispute resolution , 'the requirement …is substantively unconscionable, and exceedingly so,' and graphically described the contracts as a 'stacked deck' in'Amway's' favour.
The suit (which was handled by the firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner) was finally allowed to proceed. It charged that 'Amway' deliberately misled consumers with false income claims, sold them overpriced products and marketing materials, and secretly transferred the lost investments of virtually all new recruits to a tiny few at the top, year after year. The suit accused 'Amway' of operating an illegal pyramid scheme and it argued that 'Amway's' main revenue source is ultimately its own so-called 'sales force,' since the company has little retail sales and few retail customers. Thus,'Amway's' real product is a fake 'business opportunity' generating huge unlawful profits through the recruitment of ill-informed consumers to invest in a reality-inverting swindle promoted as a viable 'income opportunity.' The suit clearly explained that the overwhelming majority of 'Amway' recruits do not not make sales to the general public in an open market. Therefore, 'Amway' operates as a closed-market, dooming, by its 'endless chain' design, virtually all who join at the bottom, year after year.
November 2010, it was announced that 'Amway's' attorneys had halted the suit by agreeing to pay victims and cover litigation costs amounting to over $55 million in cash and goods. A judicially administered fund was going to be set up to pay refunds to two classes of victims, those who joined 'Amway' and quit within a year (usually paying only initial fees) and another group of those who stayed in longer (and lost much more). Another $50 million was to be paid in other costs incurred by 'Amway' to meet the terms of the settlement. Under terms of the settlement, 'Amway' was going to stop advertizing misleading income claims. In total, halting the suit was going to cost the billionaire bosses of the 'Amway' mob just $155 millions http://www.bsfllp.com/news/in_
In the usual terms of class action settlements, the bosses of the 'Amway' mob admitted no guilt. Laughably, however, they volunteered to pay back a fraction of what they had stolen, lower the fixed-prices of their effectively-unsaleable wampum and increase the alleged 'refund period' on it, pay all the victims' court costs and give them more piles of effectively-unsaleable wampum. 'Significant changes' were also to be made in the so-called 'tools business.'
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| This 'Amway' presentation is fraudulent. |
The above, Orwellian propaganda video (which employs covert hypnosis, ego-destruction, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, etc.) features various, exemplary, heterosexual 'Herbalife/MLM' shills acting out the fictitious 'Negative vs Positive' scenario which has always controlled the personalities, and behaviour, of the deluded 'MLM' economic cannon-fodder. In this particularly disturbing presentation of the comic-book 'MLM' world, the 'successful' shills steadfastly pretend to have been once like 'dirty', 'miserable' and 'broke' little rats trapped on a treadmill in a form of Hell (i.e. the world of traditional employment), but after exactly duplicating a 'Proven Step-By-Step System,' they have achieved redemption as superhumans in the miraculous, clean and pure 'Herbalife' Utopia, where no one works, but everyone is healthy, wealthy, happy and free....
..... and also drives a Ferrari, and/or a Hummer, and/or a Bentley, and/or a Porsche!
The perverted ritual belief system, that Warren Buffett's name and iconic capitalist image has become linked to (via his acquisition of a so-called 'MLM Direct Selling' company), almost beggars belief.
Earlier this year, a deeply-deluded 'Herbalife' fanatic from India (who didn't disclose his/her name) sent me a link to this recent, kitsch propaganda video (apparently produced by 'Herbalife India') complete with a typically-arrogant command to remove 'The American Dream Made Nightmare' and a scripted-accusation:
'... you are sick evil man for you try killing hopes and dreams of millions of my brothers and sisters...'
At 10 minutes 38 seconds into the video, a particularly-unconvincing Indian 'Herbalife' shill who steadfastly pretends to be living in a Utopia where everyone is beautiful, perfectly-proportioned, healthy, wealthy, happy and free (thanks to 'Herbalife' products and training), quotes from 'Chairman' Mao's 'Little Red Book.'
'...and let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, I had virtually no confidence, but I remembered the line of Mao Tse-tung, and he said you don't ought to be strong, but even if you are weak, if you are surrounded by strong people, you can lead to the top'
For the benefit of readers who are perhaps unfamiliar with these 'Communist' cultural references, the Indian Shill is asking the 'Herbalife' faithful to take Mao as their role-model. He is describing the step by step journey through the 'Herbalife' ranks to become a superhuman 'leader' (which he insists ordinary mortals like himself can undertake), and comparing it to Mao's 'Long March' which (although lasting 370 days during 1934-35 and totalling 8000 miles) is itself considered to be the 'Chairman's' first step towards the supreme leadership of Communist China. Mao later wrote that he was only able to complete his journey to the top, because of all the strong people around him.
When faced with persistent accusations of fraud, and/or cultism, and the possibility of criminal investigation, the bosses of various 'MLM income opportunity' rackets have publicly fingered, and then excommunicated, their own junior partners in crime, whilst steadfastly pretending that they were not only completely innocent of any wrongdoing themselves, but also completely unaware that any unlawful activities had been occurring within the ranks of their organizations. When the wider-picture is examined, these transparent tactics constitute obstruction of justice in order to continue to commit fraud. As such, they clearly form part of an overall pattern of ongoing, major, racketeering activity as defined by the US federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 1970).
 
As long ago as the 1980s, the bosses of the 'Amway' mob successfully dodged criminal investigation in France, when 'admired and respected Diamond Distributor,' Jean Godzich, was air-brushed out of the fairy story for 'breaking Amway's Code of Ethics.' This was after widespread French media accusations that 'Amway' had been hiding both a pyramid fraud and a form of cult. For years prior to these dramatic events, Godzich had, in fact, been allowed to peddle many millions of dollars of effectively-valueless publications, recordings, tickets to meetings, etc. on the fraudulent pretext that these 'optional training materials' contained secrets vital to achieving success in 'Amway' and 'Total Financial Freedom.' After this public excommunication, the 'Amway' racket virtually vanished in France, enabling Godzich to use his former 'Amway Network' as the launching pad for a copy-cat 'MLM income opportunity' racket, operated behind a new (apparently independent) corporate labyrinth known as 'le Groupement (GEPM).' It took a further 10 years, and at least 300 000 more French 'MLM' victims, before Godzich (who was facing a new criminal investigation) finally ran away to the USA taking several $ millions (stolen from his, now bankrupt, 'GEPM' front company) with him.
  An international arrest warrant (issued in 2010) is still apparently outstanding for Jean Godzich who, during his 'Amway' and 'Groupement' years, was closely linked to 'Amway's top earning Distributor',Dexter Yager (pictured above) via Doug Wead. 
In 2007, the bosses of the 'Amway' mob again successfully dodged criminal investigation, this time in the UK, when various 'admired and respected Diamond Distributors', including Jerry and Mandy Scriven (pictured above), were air brushed out of the fairy story for again peddling hundreds of millions of dollars of what 'Amway UK's' corporate officers now described as unapproved 'training materials' or 'tools.' Since the 1980s, the Scrivens had also been closely-linked to Dexter Yager and his labyrinth of front companies known as, 'International Business Systems.' Subsequently, a corporate officer of 'Amway UK Ltd.,' committed perjury when she submitted a false deposition to the UK High Court in which she steadfastly pretended that the company had been completely unaware of the deceptive practises used by the company's top UK distributors.
After excommunication, the Scrivens created a website on which they openly stated that, at all times, they had acted with the full-knowledge, approval and even enthusiastic participation of the corporate officers of 'Amway' UK Ltd.' Amazingly, the Scrivens were neither charged with fraud themselves, nor called as prosecution witnesses, when the UK government tried, but failed, to bankrupt, and close,'Amway UK Ltd. in 2008.
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| 'Herbalife' boss, and world-class liar, Michael Johnson. |
'Online Business Systems (OBS)' was a typical corporate front, or 'Network,' used not only to recruit 'MLM Income Opportunity' victims, but also to prevent, and/or divert investigation, and isolate the bosses of the 'Herbalife' racket from liability. Indeed, for years, the criminal activities of the ostensible bosses of'OBS,' brought in fortunes for the the bosses of 'Herbalife.' Thus, a
t all times, the corporate officers offers of 'OBS' had acted with the full-knowledge, approval and even enthusiastic participation of the corporate officers of 'Herbalife'
'OBS' had previously been known as 'Global Online Systems (GOS)' - a company judged to be a criminal 'scheme of pyramid selling' by a Canadian federal court in 2004. However, both these (apparently independent) corporate structures have in fact, merely been constituent parts of an overall pattern of ongoing major racketeering activity. This classic Mafia-style system has been used to perpetrate various advance fee frauds linked to the closed-market swindle operated behind the fake 'direct selling' company known as 'Herbalife.'
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N.B. In recent years, the thought-stopping term 'selling leads,' has been widely-used by 'MLM income opportunity' racketeers to hide a related-fraud in which shills have been used to steal countless millions of dollars by steadfastly pretending that one of the secrets of their own success, is they have access to 'computer software' which can 'generate endless lists of interested-prospects' who are all willing to sign up,and that they are willing to share this miraculous, perpetual, money-making technology with anyone (for a price).
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'GOS' appeared to be independently operated by Deborah Stoltz and her sister Marilyn Thom. Yet, the 2004 Canadian judgement required these corporate officers to reform their previously unlawful 'business practices,' and to make full disclosures about how much money the company had been taking from Canadian 'Herbalife' adherents by peddling them publications, recordings, tickets to meeting, 'leads,' etc.
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| Shawn Dahl, Deborah Stolz (left) |
In 2004, the corporate officers of 'GOS' were also required to notify all their 'customer's' of the company's criminal conviction. However, before the ruling was announced, the activities of 'GOS,'were transferred to a copy-cat corporate structure, 'OBS,' ostensibly run by Nicole Dahl (the daughter of Ms. Stoltz) and her husband, Shawn Dahl.
Propaganda websites previously operated by the bosses of 'GOS,' were simply re-labelled 'OBS.' One website persuaded 'GOS' adherents to register with 'OBS' and openly admitted that they would remain in the same 'network:'
'Your Herbalife lineage remains the same regardless of the changes to your new marketing system.'
The previous members of 'GOS network' became part of the Dahl’s own 'Herbalife network', immediately promoting the couple in the elite group of 50 exemplary shills in the so-called 'Chairman’s Club.'However, Ms. Stoltz and Ms. Thom also continued to be shills.
At the time, the 'Herbalife' Ministry of Truth described these events as:
'the company's 350-strong global distributor business practices and compliance team taking pro-active and responsive measures to identify, research, and address each and every infraction of Herbalife’s distributor rules and applicable regulation and law.'
In reality, faced with possible criminal investigation, the bosses of the 'Herbalife racket were merely distancing themselves from the criminal activities lurking behind 'GOS' and 'OBS.'
This prompted Mr. Dahl to abandon 'Herbalife' for another 'MLM Income Opportunity' racket where he could continue the profitable activity of peddling so-called 'leads.'
'Herbalife' subsequently, announced that it had 'banned the sale of leads to or by distributors entirely.'
Then, it was suddenly announced by 'Herbalife' boss, Michael Johnson, that his 'direct selling' company's top-earning 'salesman', John Peterson, had died in a tragic 'accident,'
At this point, I was immediately asked if I thought he could have been murdered? The same enquirer also asked me (in all seriousness) how many more people do I think will have to die, before the FBI investigates 'Herbalife?'
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| Expendable 'Herbalife' under-boss, John Peterson. |
For those readers who don't yet know, John Peterson's corpse was recently found slumped in a Ford pickup truck at his trophy-home in the upscale ski resort of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Although the 'Herbalife' Ministry of Truth initially said that Peterson's death was an accident, soon afterwards, the Steamboat Springs Sheriff's office informed the press that 'Herbalife's' top salesman appeared to have committed suicide via a single gun shot to the head. However, this explanation is by no means definitive, whilst 'Herbalife' now says it can't comment .
Thirteen years ago, the original author of the 'Herbalife' fairy story, Mark Reynolds Hughes, was also found dead in his trophy-home, in very mysterious circumstances. The background to Hughes sudden death (http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/22/local/me-32795), should have placed the dark scenario that he was the target of a Mafia-style hit (made to look like a suicide or tragic accident), very high on the list of possible explanations, but this doesn't seem to have been fully-investigated
Behind the fairy story, and all its impressive-sounding (made-up) 'Herbalife' ranks and titles, John Peterson (1955-2013) was only one of the organization's expendable under-bosses. For years, he was constantly presented in the reality-inverting 'Herbalife' propaganda as an exemplary role-model of limitless 'MLM' prosperity, happiness and freedom - earning $millions annually from commissions on the sales of products by 200 thousands 'Distributors' automatically-multiplying beneath him in the organization.
In the adult world of quantifiable reality, Peterson was a typically-excited, and avuncular, motor-mouthed shill dressed up as a businessman. It almost goes without saying that he was yet another (otherwise-mediocre) little, grinning charlatan play-acting the unoriginal comic-book role of ordinary poor working man: turned multi-millionaire 'MLM' superman (admired by men and desired by women) who was prepared to share his miraculous secret knowledge with anyone (for a price).
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http://scams.wikispaces.com/Three+Card+Monte
N.B. 'Shill' or 'Schill' (a.k.a. 'Outside Man'), is American slang for one of a crew of charlatans who is used to lure victims into frauds, particular rigged gambling games, by appearing to be an ordinaryeveryday guy in the crowd who keeps winning. In the classic sleight-of-hand scam known as, the 'Shell Game', (a.k.a. 'Three Card Monte', 'Three Card Trick', 'Three Card Molly', 'Chase The Lady', 'Chase The Ace', etc.), victims are deceived into believing that the game is genuine and anyone can win, by the use of innocent-looking shills, often with highly-distracting females on their arms. In the end, no victim can win, because they are up against a team of experienced criminals who all act-out a carefully-scripted, reality-inverting scenario. If a losing victim begins to challenge the honesty of the front man 'Handler' (a.k.a. 'Tosser'), other muscle-bound criminals, also pretending to be ordinary members of the crowd,will falsely-accuse the victim of cheating, kick over the table, start a fight or an argument, etc., all these are distractions created just to enable the 'Tosser' to run away with the money. Complaining-victims can also be silenced by telling them that they cannot go to the police, because they were breaking the law by gambling in the street.
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To date (November 2013), US federal law enforcement agents are still nowhere to be seen, whilst the constituent parts of the reality-inverting 'MLM Income Opportunity' propaganda machine remain in full swing all around the world.
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| http://josephjmyoya.com/what-the-worlds-richest-men-says-about-network-marketing/ 'MLM Income Opportunity' propaganda (like this) has been used to shut down the critical, and evaluative, faculties of victims, in order to defraud them and prevent them from complaining. |
Whilst millions of ordinary people continue to get burned by the pernicious, cultic fairy story entitled 'MLM Income Opportunity,' neither Warren Buffett nor his attorneys, have had the decency to address any of my common-sense questions, but particularly this one:
Mr. Buffett - even if (as you have publicly claimed), the (demonstrably-unethical) activities of the 'The Pampered Chef' are not (technically) illegal in the USA, are you aware that, due to your acquisition of this member of the so-called 'Direct Selling Association,' your name and iconic status have been habitually-used by 'MLM Income Opportunity' racketeers, and their propagandists, in order to commit fraud and to obstruct justice all over the globe?
David Brear (Copyright 2013)
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Footnote.
The Internet is alive with evidence that Warren Buffett's name has been used to lure struggling 'Pampered Chef' recruits into secondary advance-fee frauds a.k.a. 'Lead Generation' scams:
Warren is not the only successful business man that owns work from home company. What's of Mr . Trump? Donald Trump is currently inside the multi level marketing with his own mlm called Trump Network. Pampered Chef is a global company. They have a type of kitchen tools, cookbooks, and food items directed at consumers who're into cooking.
They've got more than 60,000 reps and over 700 corporate staff. Pampered chef was founded in 1980 when reps would perform a "party plan" when a rep would demonstrate the line of products in the homes of moms and house wives.
Most newbies to MLM avoid getting the proper multi-level marketing training. And also this can happen with any profession. The very first thing so many people are taught is to prospect their family and friends. While this is a means to quickly buy your first paycheck with Pampered Chef, also it really does work, it does not go far people because undergo their warm market list pretty quick.
Every network marketer experiences the same struggles at first. First they're excited to start their very own business. They become overwhelmed because of all the information.
Last but not least they become frustrated. They realize it's hard as they thought it might be. They end up chasing visitors to get them to join the organization. After all this, without results, it can be become pretty frustrating.
If you wish to become successful in different multi-level marketing company it is important to learn the insider secrets 97% of home business owners never learn. First, how to become a frontrunner and brand yourself. Second, generate leads daily so you have an audience you are able to present your business to and industry to. And finally, how to recruit leaders who are motivated to build the company. But there is a fix for your problem. It's referred to as Internet.'
I recently wrote a letter to the FTC about end users. "To Whom It May Concern,
ReplyDeleteI was being shown a plan for a Multi Level Business Opportunity and I was told that I did not have to be a salesman. In effect, that I could just sell to people I recruit into the business. I was told that the FTC says the business is legit as long as 70% of my sales are to "end users". Thus people I recruit could be counted as end users.
I responded that it makes no sense as I don't see how you can make money when you don't have sales to actual customers. It would be like some store only selling to their employees.
My question is what is the FTC legal position on "end users" of products? Is it true that my downline (people I recruit) can be end users and there would be no problems? It just doesn't sound right.
Thank you for your time and consideration".
This was the response:
"Your correspondence to the Federal Trade Commission was referred to the Consumer Response Center for reply.
Based on information we have about multilevel marketing, if you are being told you would just sell to people you recruit into the business more than likely this company is not legitimate. They are operating is called a pyramid scheme. Information on multilevel marketing and pyramid schemes is located on our website; we highly recommend you read this information http://business.ftc.gov/documents/inv08-bottom-line-about-multi-level-marketing-plans. In addition, we will send you a follow up letter via email with more information on multilevel marketing.
Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
H-240
Washington, DC 20580"
Joecool - This thoughtless response to your thoughtful enquiry, is typical of low-level US government robots, but they have been programmed by their thoughtless superiors who have been appointed by mercenary politicians.
ReplyDelete'Read our information about MLM and pyramid schemes' - is the equivalent of a squad of thoughtless robocops automatically replying to a thinking human - complaining that gangs of thieves are running riot on Main St - 'Yes sir, we already know, but we are only allowed to advise you to follow our example, and avoid Main St.'
I have to say that, as an experienced businessman, when confronted by my deluded Ambot brother in the 1990s (telling me that I didn't need to sell anything to become a millionaire in 2-5 years, merely buy 'Amway' wampum products and recruit others to do the same, etc. ad infinitum), it took me about 2 seconds to work out what characterized a pyramid scam dissimulated as a 'direct selling income opportunity.' i.e. These swindles (like all ponzis and pyramids) are closed-markets in which the victims are deceived into buying infinite shares of their own finite money.
Sadly, it took specialist economists at the FTC decades to calculate that at least 70% of the money flowing into any direct selling scheme has always to come from persons who are not participants, or the scheme is an economically-unviable fake.
Common-sense FTC guidelines, based on the above 70% external-revenue, academic analysis, were drawn up in the 1970s, but no common-sense, independent mechanism was put in place to enforce them. The obvious move would have been to pass a common-sense law making it obligatory for the sponsors of all direct selling schemes to supply independent regulators with concrete proof that they were operating within the law on pain of automatic closure and criminal conviction, but no such common-sense law was passed.
As you doubtless know, 'Herbalife' was recently judged an unlawful pyramid scheme in Belgium, because the company's shyster attorneys were unable to supply a Belgian commercial court with concrete proof that 'Herbalife' has had a significant and sustainable external source of revenue. This common-sense judgement (which is the subject of an appeal) was delayed for many years by 'Herbalife's' shyster attorney's who argued that they didn't have prove the company's innocence, the prosecutors had to prove its guilt.
In the USA, during the 1970s, faced with investigation and possible compulsory closure under the above common-sense FTC 70% external revenue guidelines, the bosses of 'Amway' simply pretended affinity with US regulators, and created their own fake '70% retail/10 customer rule' which appeared to be in full-compliance with FTC guidelines, but which specifically avoided all reference to selling to the general public. Thus, the effectively- meaningless terms, 'customers and end users,' became universally adopted by MLM income opportunity' racketeers and their propagandists, and this reality-inverting jargon has found its way into technical legislation all around the globe via corrupt, and or stupid, legislators and their corrupt, and/or stupid, legally-qualified academic advisers.
In reality, by swallowing this pseudo-economic bullshit, US regulators/legislators effectively gave a global license to thieve to all-manner of copy-cat US-based 'MLM income opportunity' cultic racketeers.
Unfortunately, due to the intellectual and moral mediocrity of successive generations of robotic policy makers at the US Federal Trade Commission, this agency has remained a significant part of the 'MLM' problem and not the solution to it.
David Brear (copyright 2013)
Is US government saying no MLM legitimate. Because Amway India saying outside selling with customers but Amway India recruits saying no need selling follow plan building business with buying recruiting buying recruiting buying recruiting for ever.
DeleteThank-you anonymous for telling us that Amway recruits are committing fraud in India (fortunately, certain high ranking Indian police officers are fully aware of this), but I'm not quite sure what point you actually trying to make here.
DeleteIn answer to your question: some minor US government agent has written to Joecool informing him that the FTC considers any 'MLM' scheme where recruits are only being instructed to buy and to recruit more buyers, etc. ad infinitum, is more than likely a pyramid scheme.
Thus, in effect, this minor US government agent is saying that no MLM scheme is legitimate.
However, this same agent doesn't explain why the FTC has been turning a blind eye to this obvious criminal activity for decades.
By saying the FTC can't stop MLM you advising investors to go long on Herbalife,
DeleteOccupy Wall St.- The 'investors' of whom you speak have long-since drawn essentially the same conclusions as me (about FTC policy-makers) and gone long on 'Herbalife.'
DeleteLet's be perfectly clear about this, I wouldn't advise anyone to touch a so-called 'MLM' company with a barge pole. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the small gang of Wall St. sharks who have knowingly helped the criminals behind 'Herbalife,' to re-inflate this counterfeit direct selling company's share price (and make fortunes themselves), should be charged as accessories to racketeering.
Other than the FBI, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is possibly the government agency which could take down the 'Herbalife' racket; for in order to float 'Herbalife's' effectively-valueless shares on Wall St., the racketeers behind this counterfeit direct selling company (enthusiastically aided by their shyster attorneys), lied to the regulators, financial institutions and the public about the real criminal nature of their enterprise.
David Brear (copyright 2013)