Archive for April 2011
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing loses Verizon Wireless from product offering
http://www.articlemonster.com/busine…-offering.html
So many questions and not enough answers. In a world fighting for customers and companies watching over their reputations like a hawk, what do these companies all have in common? I am referring to major Fortune 100 icons like General Electric, DuPont, Time, Verizon Wireless and AT&T as well as some smaller ones like Travelocity, Peter Lamas and BSP Rewards Mall.
The answer is simple, somehow over the past 10 years and probably unbeknownst to them, they became aligned with a Multi-Level Marketing company known as Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing (FHTM). This was mainly accomplished because Fortune Hi-Tech does business with some of their authorized dealers and 3rd party affiliates. Fortune’s attempt to prove it’s legal by association has backfired, as it normally does. It is very difficult to build your reputation at the expense of someone bigger, when they have no idea who you are.
Should these companies have a say in who gets to use their brand in the pursuit of the almighty dollar? For the first time in FHTM’s history the number of companies represented by it on the menu board at fhtm.net is shrinking. How can that be good?
According to court documents and a major USA Today expose, last September, none of these companies had direct relationships with FHTM.
In March 2010, Monica Lindeen, the Securities Commissioner for the State of Montana, issued a cease and desist against Fortune HI-Tech Marketing for operating an illegal endless recruiting pyramid scheme. Since then Texas has demanded documents in an investigation, South Carolina AG Roy Cooper, has opened an investigation into Fortune’s business practices, as part of the FTC’s “Operation Empty Promises”, and its own home state of Kentucky has done the same.
Two blistering heart pounding class-action lawsuits have pummeled FHTM in 2010 as well. The first was filed in Federal Court in Kentucky in September 2010 and the other in Federal Court in Southern California two days before Christmas last year too. Neither of these lawsuits have been certified as a class yet, and mainly due to some extensive manipulation of the legal system by the Fortune legal team.
What is the cost of that battle? Some estimate legal costs upwards of $500K monthly. That certainly will take a huge chunk out of any business’ cash flow. Fortune is not the first MLM or pyramid scheme to be involved in major lawsuits. Amway just agreed to pay a record settlement of close to $150 Million. Most top law firms and executives know they can’t win these types of suits, and mainstream media leaves a negative impact on their business. Attorneys have very little defense to RICO and pyramid scheme allegations, and after spending millions trying to defend the allegations, usually make arrangements for settlement conferences. They may win some of the small battles but not the war. What is the depth of the scars these lawsuits leave to deter others to join?
So the important question now remains, why did these huge conglomerates allow their names and reputations to potentially be smeared by a company like FHTM? The answer is simple – they didn’t know what was happening.
According to ex-representative, Joseph Isaacs from Tampa, Florida, “When these companies find out that their trademarks, names, logos and reputations are being used by FHTM in order to aide FHTM in proving its’ legitimacy they will issue a cease or desist, insist on the actions to stop or not allow FHTM to market their products”. Which others will walk when they find out the real business model and litigation history of Fortune Hi-Tech?
As of March 2011 every one of the companies listed above has either issued a cease and desist or no longer allows itself to be aligned with Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing. How has this affected their aura of legitimacy? How do they explain all of this to new and even existing independent representatives?
In reviewing some FHTM business presentations on YouTube, it was apparent that the logos of GE, DuPont, Verizon and AT&T were there for one reason. What are the repercussions of only being legal by association? According to Joseph Isaacs, “Top leaders would tell prospects during the business presentation that they must be legal because no iconic Fortune 100 company would affiliate with a scam”. “All of these major companies sent their CEO’s and legal teams to meet with founder Paul Orberson to evaluate FHTM and check out their books. This cannot be so and was nothing more than a lie used to recruit”, he added. What rhetoric do these leaders use today to explain the loss of such major brands? Only time will tell.
Will FHTM leaders and owners blame the latest Verizon fiasco on the reps like they did in their announcement pertaining to DuPont only a few weeks ago? How long will this saga continue? Which other company will research the true business model of Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing and un-align themselves next? It is too early to tell but this story is far from over.
If the massacre continues then Fortune will be nothing more than a vitamin and dog food MLM. That is not very hi-tech and not too many fortunes will be made by affiliation. How much representative revenue has been lost as a result of these major companies walking away? How many current representatives are scrambling to replace so many customer points? How many Regional and Executive managers won’t get bonuses because their team points are greatly depleted because of the latest loss? We searched high and low for the answers but didn’t find any.
Fortune Hi Tech Marketing: Real money made from recruiting, not product sales
Posted on March 31st, 2011
http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2011/03/31/fortune-hi-tech-marketing-real-money-made-from-recruiting-not-product-sales/
Earlier this week I showed you how Fortune Hi Tech Marketing appears to be a pyramid scheme, rather than a legitimate “direct sales” company or multi-level marketing opportunity. Today we are taking a look at the recruiting aspect, which is what I believe makes FHTM cross over the line into the world of pyramid scams and Ponzi schemes. Last time I cited claims from participants in FHTM that recruiting was the true focus of the “business,” and today we’ll look at that a little more in depth.
There are so many ways to get people to buy into the idea of joining an MLM. These days, you will hear about unemployment and financial pressures, and how companies like Fortune Hi Tech Marketing offer an opportunity for unlimited earnings. The recruiters will tell you that even if you don’t get rich with FHTM, you can still make some money to help pay bills.
Be your own boss… make an unlimited income… control your own financial future… provide a better life for your family… pay a few bills each month… make money from things you’re already buying… All of these things sound attractive to almost anyone, and that’s why they are used in recruiting pitches.
Former Fortune Hi Tech Marketing independent representative Joseph Isaacs said in an interview with USA Today that “.. the company targets desperate unemployed people, Hispanic immigrants and others who are struggling to make ends meet.” Of course, those still in Fortune spin that. The article reports: “Joanne McMahon, a national sales manager speaking at a training session USA TODAY attended here, said it is the people who can’t afford the fee to join Fortune who need the company the most.”
One common “hook” that multi-level marketing companies use to get people in is the “low cost” of startup. Representatives boast that $299 to start your own business is cheap! What other business can you start for such a small cost? Yet add up $299 for every recruit (plus another $250 for each recruit that signs up for the “optional” package), and you can see that FHTM can take in tons of money from recruiting.
Who is making money in Fortune Hi Tech Marketing (FHTM)?
Posted on April 4th, 2011 by Fraud File Blogs (see full story at http://www.sequenceinc.com)
Are people really making money from all this recruiting of FHTM Independent Representatives? The vast majority aren’t.
An income disclosure statement for Fortune Hi Tech Marketing from January 2010 shows exactly how dismal the financial results are for its representatives:
- 54% of representatives who qualified for commissions got an average of $93 per month
- 41% of representatives who qualified for commissions got an average of $256 per month
These figure are before all business expenses. Those who have been involved with multi-level marketing know that there are plenty of expenses, including fees for meetings, travel expenses, promotional materials, sign-up fees, renewal fees, and marketing costs. I doubt many of these 95% of representatives receiving commission checks actually turn a profit.
But here’s the best part of the above disclosures: They exclude the 28% of FHTM representatives who got $0 in commissions. Only a careful reading of the disclosure statement reveals this fact.
If we re-run the numbers using all of the representatives of Fortune High Tech Marketing, we find that:
- 28% of reps receive commissions of $0
- 39% of reps receive commissions of $93 per month
- 30% of reps receive commissions of $256 per month
In total, we see that 97% of people participating in FHTM make between $0 and $256 per month, before deducting any business expenses. Clearly, it’s almost impossible to make a living in this scheme.
And here’s another important fact to note: The 72% of all representatives who received a commission check during the year included in the income disclosure statement didn’t necessarily receive that average commission every month. They only had to receive one monthly commission check to be included in the 72% receiving commissions.
But don’t take my word for it! Stuart Watson, a television reporter in North Carolina dissected the same income disclosure statement from FHTM and came to the same conclusion:
In the paragraphs under the chart, FHTM notes that during the reporting period covered in the chart (January 23, 2009 to January 20, 2010) “…71.85 percent of all active independent representatives earned at least one commission or bonus payment.”
That leaves 28.85 percent of sales reps earning nothing.
Additionally, the statement says the reported average monthly income only includes the months that sales reps received some payment.
Robert FitzPatrick of Pyramid Scheme Alert took the analysis further:
The data revealed:
– 28.15% — Earn nothing
– “Manager” Level: 39% — earn $93 on average (only on the months they got a check)
– “Regional Sales Manager” Level : 29% — $256 on average (only on the months they got a check)
The first three levels at the bottom constitute 96% and the maximum, on average, earned by these three levels is $256. When the average for each level is multiplied by the number in the level and the sums are totalled, an aggregate for this 96% group is revealed:
The average paid out to the bottom 96% is $115 per mo. This is less than the initial and monthly cost of participating, not counting all other normal business costs.
Related posts:
- Fortune Hi Tech Marketing: Real money made from recruiting, not product sales
- Fortune Hi Tech Marketing: Multi-level marketing scam or pyramid scheme?
- Who is making money as a United First Financial agent?
- Scam Busting: Another cosmetics MLM
- Does this describe your MLM?
In ‘MLM business opportunity’ frauds, direct association with trusted brands has been a lie by Shyam
In a previous post, I drew your free-thinking readers’ attention to some remarkable optical illusions which clearly demonstrate that the human mind can be easily deceived simply by changing the context in which we see things http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11553099 . A stalking-panther, when photographed in a jungle environment, is almost invisible to the human eye if shown only in black and white, but the same dangerous predator is immediately obvious to us when shown in color. Two squares of identical color and shade, appear to be of completely different color and shade when each one is surrounded by squares which alter the context in which our minds automatically see them.
No one now seriously disputes that deluded, core-‘MLM’ adherents look at ‘MLM business opportunity’ frauds only in two dimensions, ‘positive’ and ‘negative.’ A growing mountain of quantifiable evidence proves that vast numbers of ill-informed people have been deceived into entering this style of camouflaged totalitarian cult, then, on the pretext that ‘the duplication of a step-by-step positive plan will lead to success,’ they have been intellectually-castrated (without their fully-informed consent) so that their minds will only accept what their leaders have arbitrarily defined as ‘positive,’ and to exclude what these same charlatans have arbitrarily defined as ‘negative.’ When seen only in the fake ‘positive’ context of: ‘Business’, ‘Independence’, ‘Financial Freedom’ , ‘Direct Selling’, ‘Low Risk’ , ‘Income Opportunity’, etc. ‘MLM business opportunity’ frauds can appear to be authentic. This dangerous inversion of reality has been further confirmed by (apparently independent) : celebrity endorsements, glossy-advertizing, ‘Direct Selling Associations’ , etc.; all of which form a pattern of ongoing, major, racketeering activity, because all these artificially-created, fake ‘positive’ contexts have actually been financed by the profits of fraud in order to continue to perpetrate the same fraud. It is only when you take ‘MLM business opportunity’ frauds out of their artificially-created, fake ‘positive’ contexts, that their true, predatory nature becomes immediately obvious.
One of the most-deceptive, fake ‘positive’ contexts in which ‘MLM business opportunity’ frauds have been presented is there apparent direct association with trusted brands. Currently, in the USA, the millionaire racketeers behind the ‘Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing’ lie are being challenged in court for having pretended direct association with some of America’s most famous companies: including: General Electric, DuPont, Time, Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Travelocity, Peter Lamas and BSP Rewards Mall. For, according to documents presented in court, none of these companies has ever had a direct association with ‘FHTM.’ Furthermore, the officers of all these companies were actually unaware that their valuable brand-names and trademarks were being used by racketeers to commit fraud. The only connection that the ‘FHTM’ fake has had with all these authentic companies is that ‘FHTM’ has been a corporate customer of their products and services. Yet again, the use of this devious technique of psychological persuasion has been copied from the original ‘MLM business opportunity’ fraud, ‘Amway.’
According to an ‘FHTM’ whistleblower, Joseph Isaacs: ‘When these companies find out that their trademarks, names, logos and reputations are being used by FHTM in order to aide FHTM in proving its legitimacy they will issue a cease and desist order, insist on actions to stop or not allow FHTM to market their products’. Indeed, currently every one of the companies listed above has either issued a cease and desist order against ‘FHTM,’ or no longer allows itself to be aligned with ‘Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing.’
Again, according to Joseph Isaacs, ‘FHTM leaders would systematically tell prospects during presentations that FHTM must be legal, because no iconic Fortune 100 company would affiliate with a scam‘ and that ‘all of these major companies had sent their CEO’s and legal teams to meet with FHTM founder, Paul Orberson, to evaluate his MLM company.’ Self-evidently these scripted-lies were part of an overall pattern of ongoing, major, racketeering activity.
Written by David Brear (copyright 2011)
According to the North Carolina AG office and the FTC press release:
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing lies about its 3A1 D&B rating to entice people to join its pyramid scheme. See full current report at http://www.fhtmclassaction.info
FTC Steps Up Efforts Against Scams That Target Financially-Strapped Consumers
More Than 90 Actions Brought By Commission and Its Law Enforcement Partners
Attorney General Roy Cooper today joined state attorneys general from across the country and the Federal Trade Commission to announce a national sweep targeting business opportunity scams, including actions against four companies that have targeted North Carolina consumers.
“When jobs are scarce, claims to help people make money fast become plentiful,” Cooper said. “Consumers think they’re buying into a great way to earn a living, but they could end up paying far more than they’ll ever make.”
In challenging economic times, many people in the state are looking for work. Unfortunately, sometimes they find scams instead of legitimate opportunities. Complaints to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division about business opportunity, work-at-home schemes, and other employment related scams were up 11 percent last year, from 177 complaints in 2009 to 197 complaints in 2010.
Operation Empty Promises is a national sweep by the FTC, Cooper and other state attorneys general aimed at stopping business opportunity scams and educating consumers about how to avoid them. Announced as part of the sweep are actions taken by Cooper’s Consumer Protection Division against four companies including Fortune Hi Tech Marketing who claims that people who buy into its business earn thousands of dollars a year. Based on consumer complaints, Cooper’s office launched an investigation into FHTM in mid 2010. Consumers say they paid money to the company but were only able to make money by recruiting others into the scheme, not by selling any actual goods or services. A total of 25 consumers have now complained about FHTM, and Cooper’s office is investigating the company. Although this case is currently under investigation, it’s important for consumers to know that a pyramid scheme is a violation of the law and is defined as any plan in which a participant pays money for the chance to receive money upon the introduction of new participants into the program.
“We’re looking closely at business opportunities that seem to offer false hopes, and also reaching out to educate consumers on how to recognize and avoid fraud,” Cooper said.
Later this month, Cooper’s office plans to launch a tool kit to educate consumers on fake business opportunities which will include print, web and video materials. The goal is to prevent North Carolina consumers from losing their hard-earned money to scammers trying to take advantage of a tough employment market.
“Don’t let scammers use empty promises of jobs with high earnings to take your money,” Cooper warned consumers. “Before you agree to invest in any business, check it out thoroughly and always be skeptical of claims of guaranteed profits.”
Cooper has taken action against a number of other kinds of scams fueled by hard times. For example, his Consumer Protection Division has won 13 cases against foreclosure assistance and loan modification scams in the past five years, including two so far in 2011.The Federal Trade Commission today stepped up its ongoing campaign against scammers who falsely promise guaranteed jobs and opportunities to “be your own boss” to consumers who are struggling with unemployment and diminished incomes as a consequence of the economic downturn.
“Operation Empty Promises,” a multi-agency law enforcement initiative today announced more than 90 enforcement actions, including three new FTC cases and developments in seven other matters, 48 criminal actions by the Department of Justice (many of which involved the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service), seven additional civil actions by the Postal Inspection Service, and 28 actions by state law enforcement agencies in Alaska, California, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
In a press conference at the FTC, David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, was joined by Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice; Greg Campbell, Deputy Chief Inspector of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper; and a California consumer who had bought into a program to start his own Internet business.
“The victims of these frauds are our neighbors – people who are trying to make an honest living,” said David C. Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Under pressure to make ends meet, they risked their limited financial resources in response to the promise of a job, an income – a chance at a profitable home-based business. But these turned out to be empty promises – and the people who counted on them ended up with high levels of frustration and even higher levels of debt.”
The FTC has updated consumer education materials to help consumers avoid falling victim to these scams. Screen shots from the websites of some of the operators charged in this law enforcement sweep, as well as video footage of FTC Consumer Protection Director Vladeck and FTC attorney Daniel Hanks, are also available at the FTC website.
Did another one bite the Dust? It appears as if Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing reps can no longer sell Verizon Wireless. When checking the Simplexity website this afternoon it was obvious that the Fortune referrer URL’s only displayed plans and phones for Sprint, T-Mobile and Nextel. http://www.cellstores.com/mobile/?referringdomain=fortune&Eid=7070537
Simplexity is still an authorized dealer of Verizon Wireless according to the disclaimer on the bottom of the page but FHTM is NOT! See for yourself. What does this mean to all of the current FHTM reps? They have lost the ability to market for the two largest cellular phone providers in the USA in the past 30 days.
confusedrep 