On this thought-provoking Blog, Englishman, David Brear, guides us to the dark heart of a modern-day, totalitarian labyrinth and shines a piercing light on its manipulative rulers and manipulated inhabitants. First, he provides a spool of unbreakable thread so that we can all find our way safely home. Blog readers may contact David Brear via: axiombooks@wanadoo.fr
When we've communicated in the past, I knew from reading your book that this was personal for you, but wow, I can only now fathom how much so. At the time I dared not ask you how the story (regarding your brother) concluded for I sensed there was some serious personal detriment involved. Now I understand your passion for exposing "mlm" as the racket it truly is. Thank you for sharing. -Eric
Thanks Eric - If anything, the rest of my nightmare experience with my 'Amway'-controlled family, became even worse. At no stage, did I find anyone in law enforcement in the UK who had knowledge of how blame-the-victim cultic rackets function, let alone the courage to help me to save my family from the 'Amway' thieves.
On the contrary, when (in 2007) UK trade regulators took notice of me, and finally launched a civil investigation/prosecution of 'Amway UK Ltd.,' the cultic racketeers behind this fake 'Direct Selling' company employed Peter Kiernan, a former Deputy Director of the UK Serious Fraud Office.
This is the type of question that I usually put to 'MLM' victims, and your putting it to me, has suddenly confronted me with just how difficult it is to calculate the cost of an encounter with an 'MLM' cult.
My total financial losses certainly run into the millions of Euros. I lost my increasingly-valuable home and my business and many years of revenues from both.
For a long time, the financial losses I incurred, seemed to be completely unimportant compared to personal losses I suffered. I was defrauded and effectively murdered my members of my own family, who kept insisting that they were only acting in my interests.
Other than through lawsuits, I had no contact with mother for the last 7 years of her life. When my mother died in 2004, my brother made no attempt to let me know she was dead for 6 months ( by that time probate had been granted on her estate - my brother was the sole executor and beneficiary of my mother's will).
When finally I discovered that my mother was dead, I went to England and discovered that not even my mothers lawyers (of 40 years standing) knew she had died. My brother placed no announcement in the local newspaper, and had previously persuaded my mother to make another will with another firm of lawyers, but without informing her original lawyers.
Until I produced a copy of my mother's death certificate, my mother's original lawyers actually thought that I was lying.
I also lost contact with several persons whom I had considered to be close friends, but who absolutely refused to confront what had happened to me or help me to reason with my family.
In financial terms, my brother obtained (in property and cash) from my mother, a sum in excess of £ one million. Most of this was given to him prior to my mother's death. By the time of her death, virtually nothing remained exclusively in my mother's name.
My brother sold two large properties which he was given by my mother. These today, are worth around £ 900 thousands, but I have absolutely no idea how much money he lost in 'Amway'.
That said, from what I know of cultic groups, it's a certainty that my brother disclosed confidential information to his 'Amway' handlers about his family's realtionships and assets. He was then given detailed instructions how to defraud his own mother and me, but only so that he could be bled dry by his 'Amway' handlers in allied frauds.
Anonymous - Contrary to the Utopian fairy story that you have apparently mistaken for reality, more than half a century of quantifiable evidence, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that:-
-what has become popularly-known as 'Multi-Level' (or 'Network') 'Marketing' is nothing more than an absurd, cultic, economic pseudo-science.
- the impressive-sounding made-up term 'MLM,' is, therefore, part of an extensive, thought-stopping, non-traditional jargon which has been developed, and constantly-repeated, by the instigators, and associates, of various, copy-cat, major, and minor, ongoing organised crime groups (hiding behind labyrinths of legally-registered corporate structures) to shut-down the critical, and evaluative, faculties of victims, and of casual observers, in order to perpetrate, and dissimulate, a series of blame-the-victim rigged-market swindles or pyramid scams (dressed up as 'legitimate direct selling income opportunites'), and related advance-fee frauds (dressed up as 'legitimate training and motivation, self-betterment, programs, recruitment leads, lead generation systems,' etc.).
Hello David,
ReplyDeleteWhen we've communicated in the past, I knew from reading your book that this was personal for you, but wow, I can only now fathom how much so. At the time I dared not ask you how the story (regarding your brother) concluded for I sensed there was some serious personal detriment involved. Now I understand your passion for exposing "mlm" as the racket it truly is. Thank you for sharing. -Eric
Thanks Eric - If anything, the rest of my nightmare experience with my 'Amway'-controlled family, became even worse. At no stage, did I find anyone in law enforcement in the UK who had knowledge of how blame-the-victim cultic rackets function, let alone the courage to help me to save my family from the 'Amway' thieves.
DeleteOn the contrary, when (in 2007) UK trade regulators took notice of me, and finally launched a civil investigation/prosecution of 'Amway UK Ltd.,' the cultic racketeers behind this fake 'Direct Selling' company employed Peter Kiernan, a former Deputy Director of the UK Serious Fraud Office.
You can imagine what I had to say to Mr Kiernan.
David - Can you put a figure on how much money your brother's involvement with 'Amway' cost you personally?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
DeleteThis is the type of question that I usually put to 'MLM' victims, and your putting it to me, has suddenly confronted me with just how difficult it is to calculate the cost of an encounter with an 'MLM' cult.
My total financial losses certainly run into the millions of Euros. I lost my increasingly-valuable home and my business and many years of revenues from both.
For a long time, the financial losses I incurred, seemed to be completely unimportant compared to personal losses I suffered. I was defrauded and effectively murdered my members of my own family, who kept insisting that they were only acting in my interests.
Other than through lawsuits, I had no contact with mother for the last 7 years of her life. When my mother died in 2004, my brother made no attempt to let me know she was dead for 6 months ( by that time probate had been granted on her estate - my brother was the sole executor and beneficiary of my mother's will).
When finally I discovered that my mother was dead, I went to England and discovered that not even my mothers lawyers (of 40 years standing) knew she had died. My brother placed no announcement in the local newspaper, and had previously persuaded my mother to make another will with another firm of lawyers, but without informing her original lawyers.
Until I produced a copy of my mother's death certificate, my mother's original lawyers actually thought that I was lying.
I also lost contact with several persons whom I had considered to be close friends, but who absolutely refused to confront what had happened to me or help me to reason with my family.
In financial terms, my brother obtained (in property and cash) from my mother, a sum in excess of £ one million. Most of this was given to him prior to my mother's death. By the time of her death, virtually nothing remained exclusively in my mother's name.
Do you know how much your brother's losses were?
DeleteAnonymous
DeleteMy brother sold two large properties which he was given by my mother. These today, are worth around £ 900 thousands, but I have absolutely no idea how much money he lost in 'Amway'.
That said, from what I know of cultic groups, it's a certainty that my brother disclosed confidential information to his 'Amway' handlers about his family's realtionships and assets. He was then given detailed instructions how to defraud his own mother and me, but only so that he could be bled dry by his 'Amway' handlers in allied frauds.
What a sad encounter with the beautiful business model called Network Marketing.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Contrary to the Utopian fairy story that you have apparently mistaken for reality, more than half a century of quantifiable evidence, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that:-
Delete-what has become popularly-known as 'Multi-Level' (or 'Network') 'Marketing' is nothing more than an absurd, cultic, economic pseudo-science.
- the impressive-sounding made-up term 'MLM,' is, therefore, part of an extensive, thought-stopping, non-traditional jargon which has been developed, and constantly-repeated, by the instigators, and associates, of various, copy-cat, major, and minor, ongoing organised crime groups (hiding behind labyrinths of legally-registered corporate structures) to shut-down the critical, and evaluative, faculties of victims, and of casual observers, in order to perpetrate, and dissimulate, a series of blame-the-victim rigged-market swindles or pyramid scams (dressed up as 'legitimate direct selling income opportunites'), and related advance-fee frauds (dressed up as 'legitimate training and motivation, self-betterment, programs, recruitment leads, lead generation systems,' etc.).