The following article has been posted specifically to educate senior US law enforcement agents and prosecutors, who apparently remain blissfully unaware that: The Chronic failure of US commercial regulators to identify, let alone tackle, the historically significant phenomenon of 'MLM Income Opportunity /Prosperity Gospel' cultic racketeering, has enabled it to infect the world.
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| Second generation 'MLM' racketeers, Doug De Vos and Steve Van Andel. |
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| Members of the DeVos and Van Andel clans. Billionaire 'Amway' Instigator, Richard De Vos (seated centre). |
Even though the original 'MLM' cultic racket has already been judged unlawful in India, this original version of the reality-inverting Utopian 'MLM' fairy story continues to poison the lives of millions of Indian citizens - generating huge profits for a gang of American criminals who remain beyond the reach of Indian justice.
In 2013, 'Amway India Enterprises' Chief Executive Officer, William S. Pinckney, was arrested for fraud; whilst senior Indian police officers openly described 'Amway' as an enormous 'racket.' (Pinckney is of joint American and Indian nationality, but holding an Australian passport).
Previously, the Indian police had issued clear warnings to the public not to get involved with 'Amway,' and they treated the matter of 'Amway' as criminal fraud disguised as 'legitimate business,' and therefore, nothing to do with civil regulators.
Predictably, in the wake of Pinckney's arrest, US-based 'MLM ' racketeers did everything they could to trivialise all these events and to have their own criminal activities effectively placed above the law in India. The 'Amway' Ministry of Truth swung into (reality-inverting) action, claiming that 'Amway' was a victim and that the Indian authorities simply don't understand how 'Amway' and 'MLM Direct Selling' functions.
Steve De Vos and Doug Van Andel issued a typically arrogant statement (June 3rd. 2014):
Predictably, in the wake of Pinckney's arrest, US-based 'MLM ' racketeers did everything they could to trivialise all these events and to have their own criminal activities effectively placed above the law in India. The 'Amway' Ministry of Truth swung into (reality-inverting) action, claiming that 'Amway' was a victim and that the Indian authorities simply don't understand how 'Amway' and 'MLM Direct Selling' functions.
Steve De Vos and Doug Van Andel issued a typically arrogant statement (June 3rd. 2014):
'The continued detention and harassment of Amway India CEO Bill Pinckney must end. Amway is a reputable company with 55 years of operating legally and ethically in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide. We have fully cooperated with all investigations and requests from authorities in India and will continue to do so. To continue with this investigative retention when we have worked to be entirely transparent about our business is unnecessary and unreasonable.
We understand the new Union government in New Delhi played no role in this police action and hope they will help in the immediate release of Bill so he can quickly and safely be returned to his family. We also ask for them to assist in moving quickly to resolve this situation and restore confidence in India’s investment potential.
Despite the challenging market conditions, we remain committed to doing business in India as well as to the 500 Amway India employees and more than 550,000 distributors across the country. We will continue to expand our investments in India including the new USD $100 million manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. And we will continue to provide an opportunity for Indian citizens to buy and sell our more than 140 high quality consumer products. It’s what we have been doing in India since 1998 and it’s what we intend to do for generations to come.
Ultimately, our goal is to find quick solutions that prevent events like this from ever occurring again. We want to operate under clear guidelines that enable us to continue to contribute to the growing prosperity of Indian citizens and the country as a whole.'
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Reality-inverting 'MLM' propaganda also appeared in the mainstream media
Reality-inverting 'MLM' propaganda also appeared in the mainstream media
http://online.wsj.com/articles/second-case-brought-against-amways-india-chief-1401388981
Sean MClain of The Wall St. Journal reported:
'Amway's' so-called 'MLM income opportunity' has already been closely examined, and judged unlawful, by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in 2007. At that time, the court even began to examine how the pernicious 'Amway/MLM' fairy story had got into India in the first place.
In June 1994, representatives of the US-based ‘Amway’ crime families approached the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Dept. of Industrial Development) bearing gifts.
Sean MClain of The Wall St. Journal reported:
NEW DELHI—The head of Amway Corp.'s Indian business was arrested for a second time this week as police investigate allegations that the American direct-selling company is violating a law against pyramid schemes.
Amway India Chief Executive William Scott Pinckney was already in jail in the Indian city of Kadapa when police from another municipality showed up Wednesday and transferred him to another jurisdiction for further questioning by police, in what Amway called "an interesting and curious sequence of events."
No charges have been filed in either case, and Mr. Pinckney has been remanded to custody for police questioning.
Mr. Pinckney had been arrested Monday at Amway's Indian headquarters outside New Delhi and taken to a police station more than 1,000 miles away in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
In both cases, police are investigating complaints alleging that Mr. Pinckney and Amway had broken an Indian law against informal lotteries and so-called money-circulation schemes, a kind of pyramid scheme.
Amway said neither Mr. Pinckney nor the company had done anything wrong, and that authorities didn't understand the nature of Amway's operations. Amway distributors earn money from products sold to consumers themselves and by other people they bring into the business.
The allegations are "frivolous and give a misleading impression about our business," Amway said in a statement. The company also noted the content of the complaints was "identical" and they were "filed by advocates or activists."
Police said both cases are related to alleged violations of the law banning pyramid schemes. The case for which Mr. Pinckney was first arrested was filed after P. Rama Jaganatha Reddy, a local lawyer, said he was approached to become an Amway distributor. The complainant in the latest case said he was told by other Amway distributors that he would lose his distributorship if he failed to recruit new distributors. Mr. Reddy couldn't be located for comment.
Mr. Pinckney, who was in custody, couldn't be reached for comment. His attorney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Indian courts increasingly are willing to consider criminal liability for executives related to the actions of their companies, said Mritunjay Kapur, head of risk consulting at KPMG in India.
The biggest risk corporations face, he said, "is compliance with the various regulations that are sometimes complicated and have gray areas."
A dispute over payments between a Samsung Electronics Co. unit and one of its suppliers led an Indian court in April to summon Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee to come to India to face criminal charges. Samsung has denied wrongdoing and said Mr. Lee has no connection to the case.
These sorts of business-related complaints aren't new, but what has changed recently is that Indian courts are now responding with arrest warrants.
"It's a mind-set change," said Harish Salve, an attorney who has represented Amway India in the past. "This began four-five years ago," Mr. Salve said, adding that before that, "there was a feeling that the rich and mighty were above the law."
In India, even some civil-code violations can lead to jail sentences, said Rajat Mukherjee, a partner at Indian law firm Khaitan & Co. He said statutes now prescribe jail terms for offenses such as not complying with labor regulations or failing to contribute to employees' social-security plans.
On Wednesday, a magistrate in Kurnool—where the original complaint was filed—denied bail to Mr. Pinckney after local police sought to keep him in custody at the Kadapa jail for questioning, police said. Later that day, officers from the city of Khammam arrested him at the Kadapa jail, said Ramana Moorthy, a police inspector from Khammam.
"We drove with him overnight for 10-12 hours and produced him before a magistrate at 8 a.m." on Thursday in Khammam, Mr. Moorthy said. A magistrate in Khammam has ordered Mr. Pinckney held in Warangal central jail, 340 miles from Kurnool. Mr. Pinckney is under judicial custody until June 10.
A local resident Gollaubudi Rama Rao had filed a complaint on May 19 with the Khammam police, Mr. Moorthy said. "He told us that he took membership with Amway in 2012 and they asked him to recruit other members. He was told that if he didn't recruit others then his membership would be canceled," Mr. Moorthy said.
Mr. Rama Rao couldn't be located for comment.
The Khammam police filed an arrest warrant with a magistrate in Khammam after seeing on television that Mr. Pinckney had been arrested in Kurnool, Mr. Moorthy said.
Amway and other direct-selling companies want a law in India defining direct selling to make it clear that they aren't the same as a pyramid scheme. "There is no clarity in the regulations; they think we're doing money circulation," Amway spokesman Yoginder Singh said.
A money-circulation scheme is an Indian term for a type of pyramid scheme in which money is paid to the enroller for adding members to the scheme.
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Unfortunately, 'The Wall St. Journal' completely failed to report these key- facts:
(Readers should note that the WSJ has previously participated in covering up the 'Amway' racket http://mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.fr/2012/03/chairman-and-ceo-of-amway-have.html).
In June 1994, representatives of the US-based ‘Amway’ crime families approached the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Dept. of Industrial Development) bearing gifts.
Furthermore, ‘Amway India Enterprises’ was obliged to file a separate agreement with the Reserve Bank of India, allowing the proposed subsidiary to transfer capital to, and from, its parent and, thus, act as a de facto, foreign exchange dealer.
Twelve months later, 'Amway India Enterprises' was legally-registered after final approval by the Indian 'Foreign Investment Promotion Board.'
Six years later, the destructive contents finally began to spill out. On August 8th 2004, the (apparently safe) original (biannual) agreement was mysteriously altered (at the request of the corporate officers of ‘Amway India Enterprises’) allowing the unregulated manufacture, and/or importation, of ‘Amway’s’ own range of effectively-unsaleable household, beauty and health products.
Typically, ‘Amway’ posed as an innocent victim under attack. Ignoring all quantifiable evidence to the contrary, the lawyers steadfastly pretended that their employer’s ‘MLM Business Opportunity’ is fully-approved by US and other regulators in dozens of different countries, making it entirely legal in India because ‘Amway India Enterprises’ had also been examined by, and was acting with the full-approval of, the Indian government officials. Therefore, the Andhra Pradesh police had neither reason nor authority to launch such a heavy-handed investigation and, thus, damage, a legitimate business. At the same time, both the lawyers and corporate officers of ‘Amway India Enterprises’ tried to convince the world that Satyanarayana was a pathetic liar who had filed a malicious complaint as the result of a marital/financial dispute which had, itself, resulted in his pursuing a vendetta against members of his family who were ‘Amway Distributors.’
Ironically, it was ‘Amway India Enterprise’s’ own malicious writs which brought the company under the rigorous scrutiny of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Simply by applying common-sense, Chief Justice Singhvi and Justice Reddy were immediately able to see that the ‘Amway MLM’ fairy story is far too good to be true. Then, by ignoring the scripted-lies of ‘Amway’s’ attorneys, and by concentrating on the compelling testimony of the victim (backed up by documentary evidence), they deduced that the so-called ‘MLM Income Opportunity’ is in breach of Indian legislation. Despite the mystifying, linguistic and mathematical complexity of ‘Amway’s’ corporate camouflage, de facto agents of the company actually propagate the self-gratifying delusion that limitless prosperity can eventually be obtained without any further effort simply by regularly purchasing products and recruiting others to do the same, etc., ad infinitum. As a consequence, the two writs were dismissed, and the High Court of Andhra Pradesh ordered that the Hyderabad Criminal Investigation Dept. should be allowed to continue to follow whatever procedures are permitted by law to hold the corporate officers of ‘Amway India Enterprises’ to account.
Today, a decade later, despite the boss of 'Amway India Enterprises,' and two other corporate officers, being arrested for, and charged with, fraud in the Indian State of Kerala in 2013, the 'MLM Income Opportunity' virus still continues to infect India, whilst Indian (state and national) legislators continue to be approached and groomed by the representatives of US-based racketeers who, obviously, do not wish to have their real activities rigorously investigated by independent Indian law enforcement agents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachin_Pilot
Although he was only 37 years old, Sachin Pilot (b. 1977) was the American-educated, Indian Minister for Corporate Affairs at the time of William Pinckney's first arrest in 2013. Sachin Pilot has previously worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation in India, as a well as for the American-based multi-national, General Motors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajesh_Pilot
Sachin Pilot, whose late father, Rajesh, briefly led the the Indian National Congress party, is a member of the same party (now led by an Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh) as well as a member of Indian Parliament and a serving, regular officer in the Indian Territorial Army.
Unfortunately, Sachin Pilot (like his American equivalent, Sarah Palin) seemed to have been promoted to his lofty governmental post more for his clean-cut, good-looks, than for his intellectual capacities; for, if he sincerely believes that 'Amway India Enterprises' is a 'law abiding and reputable company' (as reported), then he was probably far too stupid even to be making the tea at the Indian Corporate Affairs Ministry, let alone running it.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1841200/report-clearer-laws-on-tackling-fraud-schemes-soon-sachin-pilot-on-amway-issue
'it is disappointing that such an eventuality came about.'
'the government will remove as early as possible the ambiguities in laws aimed at tackling fraudulent investment schemes.'
'We (Corporate Affairs Ministry) will work closely with concerned ministries and industries to remove the ambiguity in the law (related to tackling ponzi and other fraudulent schemes) as soon as possible.'
'While steps should be taken to crack down on fraudulent companies running dubious investment schemes, companies that are reputed and abiding by the law must be delineated,'
'Such events might negatively affect the prospects of our country as an attractive investment destination,'
'While we take strong actions against ponzi schemes, we need to be careful not to create a vitiating atmosphere for reputed and law abiding companies.'
When translated into plain English, Sachin Pilot has apparently said that he had absolutely no intention of allowing the Indian police or the courts to do their job and protect the people of the republic of India from the biggest 'MLM income opportunity' racketeers! On the contrary this fellow is reported as having steadfastly pretended moral and intellectual authority whilst, at the same time, foolishly broadcasting his urgent intention to place all the biggest 'MLM income opportunity' racketeers above the law of the land, before their Indian agents can be convicted of fraud and sent to prison.
Apart from the fact that Sachin Pilot had already been approached by countless deluded 'MLM' adherents, begging him to save their 'businesses,' there is another explanation for his morally, and intellectually, bankrupt commentary. Namely, the billionaire racketeers whom Sachin Pilot apparently claimed he selflessly wanted to protect in the wider-economic interests of the people of the Indian republic, have been following the same subversive tactics which have enabled them to dodge criminal prosecution in the USA, and elsewhere, for decades.
Thus, I have some common-sense questions which I would still like to put to Mr. Sachin Pilot:
In an ideal world, it wouldn't be me putting these common-sense questions to Sachin Pilot. Self-evidently, if they have been reported accurately (and I have no reason to doubt that they have), Sachin Pilot's thoughtless pronouncements are further evidence that, due to the length of time it has survived and amount of capital it has already unlawfully-generated, the absurd, but nonetheless pernicious, lie entitled 'MLM Income Opportunity,' represents an ongoing threat to democracy and the rule of law, all around the globe.
More than half a century of quantifiable evidence, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that what has become popularly known as 'Multi-Level Marketing' is nothing more than an absurd, cultic, economic pseudo-science, and that 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 organized 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 closed-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, recruitment lead generation systems,' etc.).
Ironically, it was ‘Amway India Enterprise’s’ own malicious writs which brought the company under the rigorous scrutiny of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Today, a decade later, despite the boss of 'Amway India Enterprises,' and two other corporate officers, being arrested for, and charged with, fraud in the Indian State of Kerala in 2013, the 'MLM Income Opportunity' virus still continues to infect India, whilst Indian (state and national) legislators continue to be approached and groomed by the representatives of US-based racketeers who, obviously, do not wish to have their real activities rigorously investigated by independent Indian law enforcement agents.
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Although he was only 37 years old, Sachin Pilot (b. 1977) was the American-educated, Indian Minister for Corporate Affairs at the time of William Pinckney's first arrest in 2013. Sachin Pilot has previously worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation in India, as a well as for the American-based multi-national, General Motors.
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| Sachin Pilot with his party, and nation's, leader, Manmohan Singh. |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajesh_Pilot
Sachin Pilot, whose late father, Rajesh, briefly led the the Indian National Congress party, is a member of the same party (now led by an Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh) as well as a member of Indian Parliament and a serving, regular officer in the Indian Territorial Army.
 |
Unfortunately, Sachin Pilot (like his American equivalent, Sarah Palin) seemed to have been promoted to his lofty governmental post more for his clean-cut, good-looks, than for his intellectual capacities; for, if he sincerely believes that 'Amway India Enterprises' is a 'law abiding and reputable company' (as reported), then he was probably far too stupid even to be making the tea at the Indian Corporate Affairs Ministry, let alone running it.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1841200/report-clearer-laws-on-tackling-fraud-schemes-soon-sachin-pilot-on-amway-issue
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1841200/report-clearer-laws-on-tackling-fraud-schemes-soon-sachin-pilot-on-amway-issue
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/corporate-minister-sachin-pilot-pitches-for-distinction-between-ponzi-genuine-schemes/articleshow/20345636.cms
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/corporate-minister-sachin-pilot-pitches-for-distinction-between-ponzi-genuine-schemes/articleshow/20345636.cms
Despite his previous, apparently well-informed pronouncements, on hearing of the arrest of the managing director of 'Amway India Enterprises' on fraud charges in 2013, Sachin Pilot is reported as saying:
'it is disappointing that such an eventuality came about.'
'the government will remove as early as possible the ambiguities in laws aimed at tackling fraudulent investment schemes.'
'We (Corporate Affairs Ministry) will work closely with concerned ministries and industries to remove the ambiguity in the law (related to tackling ponzi and other fraudulent schemes) as soon as possible.'
'While steps should be taken to crack down on fraudulent companies running dubious investment schemes, companies that are reputed and abiding by the law must be delineated,'
'Such events might negatively affect the prospects of our country as an attractive investment destination,'
'While we take strong actions against ponzi schemes, we need to be careful not to create a vitiating atmosphere for reputed and law abiding companies.'
When translated into plain English, Sachin Pilot has apparently said that he had absolutely no intention of allowing the Indian police or the courts to do their job and protect the people of the republic of India from the biggest 'MLM income opportunity' racketeers! On the contrary this fellow is reported as having steadfastly pretended moral and intellectual authority whilst, at the same time, foolishly broadcasting his urgent intention to place all the biggest 'MLM income opportunity' racketeers above the law of the land, before their Indian agents can be convicted of fraud and sent to prison.
Apart from the fact that Sachin Pilot had already been approached by countless deluded 'MLM' adherents, begging him to save their 'businesses,' there is another explanation for his morally, and intellectually, bankrupt commentary. Namely, the billionaire racketeers whom Sachin Pilot apparently claimed he selflessly wanted to protect in the wider-economic interests of the people of the Indian republic, have been following the same subversive tactics which have enabled them to dodge criminal prosecution in the USA, and elsewhere, for decades.
Thus, I have some common-sense questions which I would still like to put to Mr. Sachin Pilot:
- What exactly has been your own, and/or your political party's, financial connection, with the foreign-controlled, major, organized crime group known as 'Amway?'
- What exactly has been your own, and/or your political party's, financial connection with the foreign-controlled, parallel organization known as the 'Direct Sellng Association?'
- What quantifiable evidence have you seen to prove that any member of the so-called 'Direct Selling Association' has actually been regularly retailing goods, and/or services (based on value and demand) to the Indian public, rather than operating a dissimulated closed-closed market swindle, or pyramid scam, in which unlawful investment payments (based on the false expectation of future reward) have been laundered as retail sales simply by offering a never-ending chain of temporarily-deluded victims of the swindle, effectively-unsaleable wampum?
- What possible lawful reason can you supply to explain why you urgently didn't want the above serious matters to be fully-investigated by independent Indian law enforcement agents and put before independent Indian judges by independent Indian prosecutors?
In an ideal world, it wouldn't be me putting these common-sense questions to Sachin Pilot. Self-evidently, if they have been reported accurately (and I have no reason to doubt that they have), Sachin Pilot's thoughtless pronouncements are further evidence that, due to the length of time it has survived and amount of capital it has already unlawfully-generated, the absurd, but nonetheless pernicious, lie entitled 'MLM Income Opportunity,' represents an ongoing threat to democracy and the rule of law, all around the globe.
More than half a century of quantifiable evidence, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that what has become popularly known as 'Multi-Level Marketing' is nothing more than an absurd, cultic, economic pseudo-science, and that 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 organized 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 closed-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, recruitment lead generation systems,' etc.).
David Brear (copyright 2016)
Do you think the FTC ruling on Herbalife will change things in India?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - The dodgy FTC vs 'Herbalife' deal has already been spun as a victory for 'Herbalife,' when clearly it was a defeat. That said, any American 'Herbalife' boss or shill peddling the 'MLM' fairy story in India, will now be in breach of the agreement with the FTC.
DeleteThe 'Herbalife' racket has been effectively ended in the USA by the FTC's somewhat timid and ambiguous ruling, but I fear that until major 'MLM' racketeers actually get long prison terms for fraud and obstructing justice in the USA, and are stripped of all their stolen wealth, this phenomenon will continue to infect the world.
Amway's defence in India has been that 'MLM' is fully-approved by US and other regulators in dozens of countries. The FTC's ruling on 'Herbalife' still assumes that 'MLM' can be lawful, if tightly controlled.
In reality, decades of quantifiable evidence proves that the FTC's assumption is both laughable and dangerous. The question now is;
How much longer are US (and other) law enforcement agents and prosecutors, going to refuse to face this self-evident truth?
David - It never ceases to amaze me how few media people really understand MLM. The WSJ report on the arrest of Pinckney was a platform for lies. Thank-you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - The misleading way the FTC vs 'Herbalife' ruling was immediately reported by the mainstream financial media, led to the 'HLF' share price climbing. It took several days for the real nature of the ruling to sink in, and the share price then began to fall.
DeleteWith just a few notable exceptions, the thoughtless media reports all said that 'Herbalife had been fined $200 millions, but found not to be a pyramid scheme,' when in reality, the FTC produced a ruling which forbids 'Herbalife' to follow practises all of which identify a dissimulated closed-market swindle or pyramid scheme. The $200 millions is to compensate the victims of a fraud which the FTC still refuses to call a fraud.
'Herbalife' also was reported as refusing to accept all the findings of the FTC investigation, which itself seems to be in breach of the agreement.
I'm now wondering if the FTC ruling extends to reality-inverting 'Herbalife' propaganda broadcast by persons pretending to be independent observers?