Pyramid scheme: Difference between revisions

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Connection to multi-level marketing: not all countries permit mlms
 
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The U.S. 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."<ref name="ftc.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/invest/inv08.shtm |title=Multilevel Marketing |date=4 January 2018 |publisher=Federal Trade Commission |access-date=2018-06-20 |quote=There are multi-level marketing plans – and then there are pyramid schemes. Before signing on the dotted line, study the company's track record, ask lots of questions, and seek out independent opinions about the business.}}</ref>
 
Some commentators contend that MLMs in general are nothing more than legalized pyramid schemes.<ref name="Carroll 2003 235">{{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Robert Todd |title=The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions |publisher=Wiley |year=2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/skepticsdictiona00carr_024/page/n241 235] |url=https://archive.org/details/skepticsdictiona00carr_024 |url-access=limited |isbn=0-471-27242-6}}</ref><ref name="Coenen 2009 168">{{cite book |last=Coenen |first=Tracy |title=Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide |publisher=Wiley |year=2009 |page=[https://archive.org/details/expertfraudinves00coen_262/page/n172 168] |url=https://archive.org/details/expertfraudinves00coen_262 |url-access=limited |isbn=978-0-470-38796-2}}</ref><ref name="Salinger Editor 2005 880">{{Cite book |editor-last=Salinger |editor-first=Lawrence M. |title=Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime |publisher=Sage Publishing |year=2005 |volume=2 |page=880 |isbn=0-7619-3004-3}}</ref> There are differentLocal laws in everymay statevary, and they take different actions toward pyramid schemes, but multi-level-marketing is often legal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/pyramid-schemes.html|title=Pyramid Schemes|website=Findlaw|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-29}}</ref> Multi-level marketing lobbying groups have pressured US government regulators to maintain the legal status of such schemes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/8/5590550/alleged-pyramid-schemes-lobbying-ftc|title=How lobbying dollars prop up pyramid schemes|website=TheVerge|date=8 April 2014|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-20}}</ref>
 
== Legality ==