Is it a scam or a legit business opportunity? The calls are just “motivational speeches” on how/why one should “keep going and serve the people” not actual training on the services or products themselves. Do better research before posting false info. Win-Win. In exchange, the organization promises its new members a share of the money taken from every additional member that they recruit. Such organizations seldom involve sales of products or services with value. I ran across some Financial Education Services reviews online while looking at the different ways to earn money working from home. Since most of the members in the scheme are at the bottom, most participants will not make any money. ... TelexFree sold Internet telephone calling services, but federal prosecutors allege the business was really a massive pyramid scheme that may have been worth about $1 billion. These type of pyramid schemes will not go on forever as no wealth has been created, noting has been sold, no one has rendered any services and no investments has been made. Also you being a minister and saying you helping people is not true at all. The concept of FES is the same as a realtor & a broker. Such schemes operate as a queue, where the person at head of the queue receives an item such as a television, games console, digital camcorder, etc. I was unemployed for 8 months causing my credit score to drop to low 550’s. (1) The Commission is an independent government agency that Congress established in 1914. Pyramid scheme operators may reach out via phone, email or word of mouth. I don’t believe credit repair and the mlm business model are a good fit personally. Thousands of victims had invested their money in pyramids that promised them extraordinary interest rates. The money I save alone is going to be used towards paying off other debts. Let’s review. We’ve Never Seen A Legitimate Credit Repair Agency. Financial Education Services (FES) caught my attention after seeing videos on YouTube of people promoting it. (The Kiev Post also reports that some estimates are as high as US$150 million. Did you study personnel development? That was the exact quote from the Federal Trade Commission’s Chicago office. She found that all she had to do was make a small investment and get others to invest a little money too. You didn’t state anywhere they were breaking any laws, as dubious as it might be, so why should they move to placate you? It doesn’t paint an overall good picture for most of the people that joined the program. LOL doing all those things are still a joke. Did go to the meetings and supper Saturday’s? Best Answers Financial Education Services is a multilevel program involving products that claim to help it’s … Do better reading next time before assuming someone posted false info? BRB Columnists were invited to a World Financial Group (WFG) branch where they learned about “paying it forward,” the Exchange Principle, company-wide trips to Vegas, and everything it takes to make it rich by selling life insurance—all while our recruiter tried to sell us an insurance policy, hundreds of dollars of license fees, and the opportunity of a lifetime. [25], Pyramid schemes are illegal in many countries or regions including Albania, Australia,[26][27] Austria,[28] Belgium,[29] Bahrain, Bangladesh,[30] Brazil, Canada,[31] China,[32] Colombia,[33] Denmark, the Dominican Republic,[34] Estonia,[35] Finland,[36] France, Germany, Hong Kong,[37] Hungary, Iceland, India,[38] Indonesia,[39] Iran,[40] the Republic of Ireland,[41] Italy,[42] Japan,[43] Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands,[44] New Zealand,[45] Norway,[46] Due to this lack of financial education, millions are unwittingly having their pockets picked, in legal and illegal Ponzi (Pyramid) schemes. If your wondering how much money Financial Education Services agents make, then look no further that the disclosure statement. Click “Education, Jobs, and Making Money,” and then select the option to submit a report about “Multi Level Marketing or Pyramid Schemes.” You’ll be taken to a series of forms where you can include all the details you know, so the FTC can decide whether it needs to launch a formal investigation. I just joined as an agent, many of my friends and family were totally convinced when I pulled up in my new truck. Similar to the eight ball model, the Blessing Loom tricks one person by claiming to turn $100 into $800. Your income from the scheme is based on introducing other people to the scheme rather than selling a product or service. I would love to have you on my team, my contact information is on my site. It’s not always about the money! I cancelled after the second month. You said if you want to help people restore their credit just to stick to it. I find it unsettling that FES offers the service of LifeLock for identity theft protection. This fails because it essentially requires an infinite number of people to join the company. From maximizing your credit potential, protecting your identity, securing your assets to preparing for a stable financial future. Therefore, a pyramid scheme is characterized by a few people (including the creators of the scheme) making large amounts of money, while subsequent members lose money. It is also misrepresented as a Sou-Sou, a legitimate savings club model where the number of people paying into the pot is fixed and each person gets a payout on regular basis. FES? I mean they were sued by Atlanta GA for 1.75 million dollars scamming information people July 19 of last year. One hype around this product (aside from the amount of money you can make – see below) is that they will boost your credit score within months. Follow me on social media. Did you get on the calls ? A more recent variation known as the Living Workshop takes the names of plants, calling the tiers "seed", "sapling", "blossom", and "lotus". And most credit repair companies are fraudulent- either in their methods or their intent. Overall, I was surprised by the quality of their system and would recommend it for a good ground in financial education. There are many red flags that should warn you away from a business or financial opportunity, but the biggest is a lack of a product. For this reason, they are considered scams.[3]. Its complaint states that customers would pay a registration fee to join a program that called itself an "internet mall" and purchase a package of goods and services such as internet mail, and that the company offered "significant commissions" to consumers who purchased and resold the package. The FBI website states: Pyramid schemes—also referred to as franchise fraud or chain referral schemes—are marketing and investment frauds in which an individual is offered a distributorship or franchise to market a particular product. Now that you have got a look at the Financial Education Services opportunity, I thought that I would get a closer look at the industry of credit repair itself. Financial Education Services has created countless financial programs aiming to satisfy the need for financial security. If the money you make is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan. My pastor lives a humble life and he drives a Jeep. Ponzi schemes fall apart when the money owed to the initial investors becomes greater than the amount that can be raised from new investors. Once you get your debt paid off you can contact the credit reporting agencies to get some of the old stuff removed. So I thought I would see what the opportunity was about. In particular, when the scheme collapses, most members will be in the bottom layers and thus will not have any opportunity to profit from the scheme; still, they will have already paid to join. Thats like telling Google to stick to searches and leave advertising to others. “Higher education in this country has turned into a giant pyramid scheme. So after my initial research, it is my opinion that if your new and looking to start an online business and earn money working from home there are better alternatives. Is Financial Education Services A Pyramid Scam. Peru, Philippines,[47] Poland, Portugal, Romania,[48] Russian Federation, Serbia,[49] South Africa,[50] Singapore,[51] Spain, Sri Lanka,[52] Sweden,[53] Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,[54] Turkey,[55] Ukraine,[56] the United Kingdom,[57] and the United States. Each joiner is required to buy an expensive but potentially worthless item, such as an e-book, for their position in the queue. Financial Education Services fined $1 million for pyramid fraud. In other words they are a credit repair service. I can see a couple reasons why you might want to become a Financial Education Services representative. As I stated to the lady that left the comment above about the founders of FES. Looking at their homepage below, it might be mis-construed that they are trying to recruit new members making it look like a pyramid scheme? If you are dealing with a company that is sending a bunch of “it’s not mine” letters, that’s fraud- and it’s this kind of service that most credit repair companies offer- they never talk about the cause of the problem- the spending habits. We’ve covered the spectrum to create pieces for each part of the financial puzzle. They would do this by filling in the first three tiers (with one, two, and four people) with phony names, ensuring they get the first seven payouts, at eight times the buy-in sum, without paying a single penny themselves. For example, ten joiners may be required for the person at the front to receive their item and leave the queue. This is just the beginning and it’s a legitimate business opportunity for someone looking for Change and wanting to truly help people. Jan.15, 2021 in MLM Reviews. That’s no better than a pasture driving a Mercedes off of the people that put money in the church. If you read the article I even provided a link to the Federal Trade Commissions opinion regarding these types of companies. You see, Sally would need to find enough people to invest so that she and other recruiters above h… Along with that they offer a way to make money promoting their services to others using the MLM business model. More on this scheme later. That is why I don’t believe that Federal Education Services is a company that I want to work with myself. [66][67][68][69][70], BurnLounge, Inc. was a multi-level marketing online music store founded in 2004 and based in New York City. Thank you for producing such a high quality article. American arrested in Kyiv on suspicion of fraud – Nov. 26, 2008", "Prosecuting members of a £21m pyramid scheme cost taxpayers £1.4m", ACCC obtains restraining orders against operators of alleged pyramid selling scheme TVI Express, South African Sunday Times on TVI Express, Consumer Watchdog Botswana on TVI Express, "9th Circuit Affirms BurnLounge Judgment", "Vemma Agrees to Ban on Pyramid Scheme Practices to Settle FTC Charges", "Vemma reaches $238 million settlement with FTC", "Ufun fraudsters sentenced to thousands of years", "BE AWARE: 'Blessing Loom' scam is resurfacing on social media", Criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pyramid_scheme&oldid=1005014856, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from January 2016, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from September 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 5 February 2021, at 15:01. Some multi-level marketing plans have been classified as pyramid schemes.[1]. [22][23] These are different laws in every state, and they take different actions toward pyramid schemes, but multi-level-marketing is legal. The top ten famous pyramid schemes listed below all have one thing in common: they’re multilevel marketing companies designed to give benefits to existing members for recruiting new members. For the Teen Titans Go! The credit repair niche has a lot of experienced marketers that can funnel traffic to the opportunity and make money with it. I’m building my team, we are focusing on total restoration of credit, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If you google search "world financial group"... google automatically suggests adding "pyramid scheme". I’m not really sure that combining mlm with credit repair helps the end consumer. Is that the case here? Having read numerous articles in the past I can easily say with out a doubt this is one of my top favorite. Another instance was called the "Original Dinner Party" which labeled the tiers as "dessert", "main course", "side salad", and "appetizer". Learn how to start a profitable website in 7 steps! LifeLock was started by two Co-Founders; Todd Davis and Robert Maynard, Jr. Now, Robert Maynard, Jr served time in prison FOR identity theft! Thanks, but, NO THANKS! Shouldn’t you stick to writing? There are easier ways to start an online business with less competition to worry about in my opinion. Additionally, LifeLock has been under investigation by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) for false advertising and LifeLock was slapped with hefty fines not once but twice! I cannot speak to their success with actual credit repair because I have never used their services and of course all the customers I may have gotten from them have been disgruntled so it is not a good pool to draw from. They are marketing the opportunity to people that are are in debt and trying to clean up their credit. [24] Multi-level marketing lobbying groups have pressured US government regulators to maintain the legal status of such schemes. We have unlimited training and marketing material. Once you get everything squared away you will end up paying $89 per month for the opportunity to market the Financial Education Services credit repair products. If you work this as a business, it’ll work for you. [17], The Federal Trade Commission warns against becoming involved "in plans where the money you make is based primarily on the number of distributors you recruit and your sales to them, rather than on your sales to people outside the plan who intend to use the products. [58], In 2003, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed what it called an Internet-based "pyramid scam." I’m sure what you are saying is quite possibly true. There are many people that need help getting their credit back to a respectable score so they can buy cars, houses and get lower interest rates. All the negatives comments. Thanks for the offer but I am not into mlm so I will pass on this opportunity. In 2013, the company’s offices in Kentucky were raided, and Fortune Hi-Tech was placed in receivership, effectively shutting it down. Finally, after the riots, the Colombian government was forced to declare the country in a state of economic emergency to seize and stop those schemes. Thanks for the letting us know of your success Michelle. The scheme collapses when no more people are willing to join the queue. I do see people making it to the top but is it really worth it. The company is obviously a legal organization, since multi level marketing is considered legal. Programs that push recruiting over the sales of a product or service might be a pyramid scheme. If you had the right training, then this would be a good industry to promote. Pay off your debt and negotiate with the whoever you owe. Financial Educations services founders are Parimal Naik and Mike Toloff. Whichever euphemism is used, there are 15 total people in four tiers (1 + 2 + 4 + 8) in the scheme—with the Airplane Game as the example, the person at the top of this tree is the "captain", the two below are "co-pilots", the four below are "crew", and the bottom eight joiners are the "passengers". I personally see it as a conflict of interest. It seems that there were a lot of people promoting this MLM business opportunity and doing FES Protection Plan reviews with most coming in positive. I have never been in an MLM,until FES. I have zero skin in this game but you make a few bold and puzzling statements. The cost of bringing the prosecution was in excess of £1.4 million. The Criminal Court handed down prison terms totaling 12,265 to 12,267 years to 22 people convicted over the scheme, which conned about 120,000 people out of more than 20 billion baht. [61] Ireland has launched a website to better educate consumers to pyramid schemes and other scams. To me it seems like a conflict of interest because the majority of people that try to make money online are unsuccessful and the company knows it. Pyramid schemes are based on tiers where new members are at the bottom and the members at the top make the majority of the money. But if you are a minister I will continue to pray for you because in the long run you will see for yourself that it is scamming people that don’t have the money to do it. So if the buy-in were $5,000, they would receive $40,000, paid for by the first eight investors. In December 2016, Vemma agreed to a $238 million settlement with the FTC, which banned the company from "pyramid scheme practices" including recruitment-focused business ventures, deceptive income claims, and unsubstantiated health claims. They function like the textbook definition of a cult, and all reviews are mandated by their "uplines" Stay far away. Payments were made in Munich, Germany to skirt Irish tax laws concerning gifts. There are millions of people that have bad credit and need help fixing it. By 2006 the company reported 30,000 members using the site to sell music through its network. This sum (e.g., $40,000) goes to the captain, who leaves, with everyone remaining moving up one tier. [19][20][21] A pyramid scheme will ask their recruiters to sign up to the business with a big front-up cost. In 2007 the company was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for being an illegal pyramid scheme. Multi-level marketing (MLM) companies operate as pyramid schemes and consumers often confuse legitimate multi-level marketing with pyramid schemes. The real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new distributorships. )[64], In the United Kingdom in 2008 and 2009, a £21 million pyramid scheme named 'Give and Take' involved at least 10,000 victims in the south-west of England and South Wales. Therefore, the participants in the bottom three tiers of the pyramid lose their money if the scheme collapses. [2], People in the upper layers of the pyramid typically profit, while those in the lower layers typically lose money. STAY AWAY! If your a newbie trying to get started with your first online business, there are easier niches to jump into. If you can provide some proof of this I would like to see it so I can. As long as you are worried about your downline, you are never going to worry about whats going on at the frontline- your actual customer. If your going to be a FES credit repair agent then your emphasis should be on helping people with their credit. The Ponzi scheme is a popular well-known type of pyramid scheme. In order to be considered a pyramid scheme, FES would need to be making its money from the recruitment of independent representatives. Without creating any goods or services, the only revenue streams for the scheme are recruiting more members or soliciting more money from current members. Others focus on sharing circles or educational themes around "abundance" to divert attention away from the unsustainable structure. There is definitely a problem in this country with people spending more than they make so I can see why these credit repair agencies are thriving. "[18], Some commentators contend that MLMs in general are nothing more than legalized pyramid schemes. Prior instances of this scheme have been called the "Airplane Game" and the four tiers labelled as "captain", "co-pilot", "crew", and "passenger" to denote a person's level. So are these actual customers that used Financial Education  Services or are they just doing positive FES protection plan reviews so that they can sell the service to others and make money? The major similarity between Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes is that both require a continual flow of new investors in order to be sustained; once the flow of new investors begins to dry up, the scheme collapses. [74], The Airplane Game scheme resurfaced in 2020 as a savings club by the name of the Blessing Loom, Blessing Circle, Sending Flower, Gifting Flower, and so on. Meet Sally! The issue with FES, is that it is combining an already questionable industry with a questionable business structure. If you have something to say, why not just create your own post instead of being rude and inconsiderate. Regardless, you have to rep a company that has a terrible reputation amongst several consumers 2. If your ok with being charged $89 per month, then you better make a good effort to sell the credit repair services. FES IS A SCAM POINT BLANK PERIOD. Using Ethereum for Another Pyramid Scheme The concept of Ethereum smart contracts is a very interesting one. Most people are pushing the opportunity instead of the service itself. [60], In early 2006, Ireland was hit by a wave of schemes with major activity in Cork and Galway. Pyramid schemes have existed for at least a century in different guises. I was curious to know how the compensation plan was set up and whether or not you could make a full time income promoting FES. The commenter didnt say they were the FES founders themselves. No one tells you to stick to blogging as I see you page is monetized with advertisers. The FTC alleged that the company's program was instead and in reality a pyramid scheme that did not disclose that most consumers' money would be kept, and that it gave affiliates material that allowed them to scam others. This opened my eyes to the credit repair industry and the business opportunity to make money helping others. If you  already had a business that was in the credit repair niche or related to it, then you could make some decent money with this opportunity. In order to get started selling the credit repair services, you must first enroll in the FES Protection Plan. This type of business structure is completely legal, though there are many advocates against it. Of time speaks volumes to the level of training and personal development that is provided with this company. I don’t know about you, but I for one would not want to align myself as a customer OR a marketing agent with a company like FES whose Co-Founder went to prison for identity theft, the very crime that a company he co-founded claims to help thwart. Since the biggest terms in a geometric sequence are at the end, most people will be in the lower levels of the pyramid; accordingly, the bottom layer of the pyramid contains the most people. If you where in financial education services. Some countries have ruled that matrix schemes are illegal on that basis. "[63], The Kyiv Post reported on 26 November 2008 that American citizen Robert Fletcher (Robert T. Fletcher III; aka "Rob") was arrested by the SBU (Ukraine State Police) after being accused by Ukrainian investors of running a Ponzi scheme and associated pyramid scam netting US$20 million. Reviews done by other reps trying to get you to sign up through them. I have no problem with companies having multiple streams of income. The people mentioned above are not the founders of FES. It great that you saw some results but with a little effort you could have done it yourself without having to pay a company. With the sheer number of members that start and stop with no real knowledge of the industry on top of the conflicting goals- all of which are common with ALL mlm’s, your gonna have a lot of issues. Organizers can further profit by starting a scheme with a queue with shill names that must be cleared out before genuine people get to the front. TVI Express, operated by Tarun Trikha from India, has apparently recruited hundreds of thousands of "investors", very few of whom, it is reported, have recouped any of their investment. That is interesting and thanks for the information. Schemes may not reveal, or may attempt to exaggerate, a prospective joiner's queue position, a condition that essentially means the scheme is a lottery. Be sceptical if you are told about the scheme by word of mouth or personal invitation rather than it being openly advertised. PRIMERICA is not a scam it is not a pyramid scheme..it works like a brokerage ..clearly people who believe it's either have no idea how a business system works ..and frankly if you want to listen to bad reviews that's your perogative ..it won't stop this company from changing lives every single day..our reps their families and their clients ..I'm so proud to be a part of this great company. The thing is that even the government doesn’t consider these companies as legitimate. She found that ABC Skin Company was hugely popular and many people had decided to invest in it. 1) 2002, "Regulation on Prohibition of Pyramid Selling", "Proyecto De Ley Que Prohíbe La Venta Bajo El Esquema Piramidal", "Rahankeräyslaki 255/2006 – Ajantasainen lainsäädäntö – FINLEX ®", "Skema Piramida Dilarang, Nasabah Terlindungi", "Key GoldQuest members arrested in Iran Airport", "Sentence by the High Council of the Netherlands regarding a pyramid scheme", Laws and Regulations Covering Multi-Level Marketing Programs and Pyramid Schemes, http://www.asianlii.org/sg/legis/consol_act/mmapsac190538/mmapsac190538.html, Pyramid Schemes Illegal Under Section 83c of the Banking Act of Sri Lanka, Rada at first reading passes bill on banning financial pyramid schemes in Ukraine, FTC Charges Internet Mall Is a Pyramid Scam, "SS: Some WinCapita Ponzi scheme victims to soon receive compensation", Gardaí hold firearm after pyramid scheme incident, "Caught!