Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 1 hour ago, row_33 said: i have done expert witness accounting reports both prosecuting and defending pyramids/ponzis/whatever.... it's complicated Reading that, it immediately brought to mind John Vernon’s courtroom scene in ‘Airplane! II’. >>”Mr. row_33, please give us your impression of the legality of this MLM venture.” “I’m sorry, I don’t do impressions...”. << Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 11 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said: Reading that, it immediately brought to mind John Vernon’s courtroom scene in ‘Airplane! II’. >>”Mr. row_33, please give us your impression of the legality of this MLM venture.” “I’m sorry, I don’t do impressions...”. << i'd have to woodenly explain that impressions are not part of my expertise or mandate.... [although after 50 hours of cricket commentary from Oz the last month has given me a great imitation of Shane Warne, he let fly with an F-shot at least once, it was silence for a few seconds before they resumed] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 And while we’re on the subject of Mr. Vernon, does anyone here remember his superhero tie in? Hopefully, without using Google... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 On 12/17/2018 at 12:11 PM, \GoBillsInDallas/ said: There was a great story from about 30 years ago when long distance phone service was opened up to competition and there were salesmen calling up people people left and right to try to get them to switch. A guy got a hold of various lists of church members and would call them up. The conversation went something like this: Church Member: Hello? Salesman: Hi, Mrs. AAA. This is Rev. BBB. I had lunch last week with your pastor Rev. CCC and he suggested that I call you. Oh, my other phone just rang. Can I place you on hold and get back to you in 10 seconds. Church Member: OK. Salesman: (10 seconds later) Sorry, Mrs. AAA - that was my Bishop on the other line and I need to talk to him.. Call I call you again tomorrow? Church Member: Sure. After a couple of months, the church members found out that their phone service had been switched to a new higher-priced long distance service (and the salesman got a commission each time). So what happened? Well, the long distance service that they were switched to had the name of "Holy Order Long Distance". In short, "H.O.L.D." So when the salesman asked if you could be put on "hold" and you said yes, you gave your permission to be placed on "H.O.L.D" and have your phone service switched. That is some crafty bull#### Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 On 1/3/2019 at 11:13 AM, LabattBlue said: The wife of someone I friended on Facebook is into the "BeachBody" pyramid scheme. She tags him on all her BeachBody posts, so I constantly see them. If you are not familiar with it, just google "BeachBody Scam". Yet here she is touting it as the greatest thing ever. People are gullible. And unhappy. So many of these schemes seem to be self help related. "Quit your job" "Be your own boss" I'd love to be my own boss and never worry about money. I know its far more likely to happen if I bust my ass here everyday instead of selling *insert piece of crap here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheElectricCompany Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 "Betting on Zero" gets into the Herbalife MLM model, it's a great documentary, despite making Bill Ackman out to be some kind of martyr. My wife and I have a good friend who is a National Director / Board of Directors member at a well known MLM. She has hustled for years to get where she's at and is very good at what she does. I believe she is in the Top 150 of sellers and grossed about $80K last year (key word, grossed, MLMs are notoriously for misrepresenting earnings!). Not bad money, but you'd think it be raining cash at the top. Not at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 36 minutes ago, TheElectricCompany said: "Betting on Zero" gets into the Herbalife MLM model, it's a great documentary, despite making Bill Ackman out to be some kind of martyr. My wife and I have a good friend who is a National Director / Board of Directors member at a well known MLM. She has hustled for years to get where she's at and is very good at what she does. I believe she is in the Top 150 of sellers and grossed about $80K last year (key word, grossed, MLMs are notoriously for misrepresenting earnings!). Not bad money, but you'd think it be raining cash at the top. Not at all. An enterprise can be shady and take advantage of a lot of stupid/greedy/duped people. We are free to consider all kinds of things in life that we don't like to be scams or brainwashing of others. Getting it deemed a major tax evasion or criminally fraudulent is another matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheElectricCompany Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 22 minutes ago, row_33 said: An enterprise can be shady and take advantage of a lot of stupid/greedy/duped people. We are free to consider all kinds of things in life that we don't like to be scams or brainwashing of others. Getting it deemed a major tax evasion or criminally fraudulent is another matter The FTC had Herbalife on the ropes, they could have gone for the knockout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 30 minutes ago, TheElectricCompany said: The FTC had Herbalife on the ropes, they could have gone for the knockout. i've been watching it, and hoping for some way to "help bring justice"... One has gotta be careful as well because many of these entities are VERY VERY VERY litigious, often religious based, to remarkable extents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 ------------------------- So how about.... 1) An independent financial advisor uses TV and radio ads to tell people "why give your huge fees to big brokerage houses"? 2) Promises returns well above the recent market and prime rate. Is this a fraud to draw in people? Seen enough of them cross my desk with millions gone with the wind after they blow apart. They made sure their friends and relatives got that 12% return quarterly... When asked I unofficially posit that your fees to a real brokerage is a kind of insurance such that if something goes haywire with the broker, you are covered to an extent. And that nobody beats the market consistently year after year after year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 ————— or friends/family who consider themselves artists and want you to buy their work, discounted due to the relationship, for say.... $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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