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Technorati tags:Amway | Quixtar | lgtwo | letsgetthewordout | merchantsofdeception | mlm

Technorati tags:Amway | Quixtar | lgtwo | letsgetthewordout | merchantsofdeception | mlm

They used our love to line their pockets My husband and I were childhood sweethearts; we grew up in suburban middle class America. He loved to hunt, fish, and camp. My passions ran deep--horses, dogs, art in many forms. We married soon after he completed college and entered corporate America as a professional. I was a relatively well-paid secretary, but did not like this profession. Because my education stopped at High School, options were few. This was all I knew how to do. Within three months I was pregnant with the first of our three children. This came as a complete surprise, and we were absolutely thrilled. Pregnancy proved to be difficult, and within a short period of time I was no longer able to work. We moved to a run-down apartment in a very desirable suburb. Our family was out of state, we did not have much money, and my husband traveled quite a bit. Still, it never ocurred to me to not stay home with the our son. I loved being home with him. It was while I was pregant with our second child that our lives would change in a way that would impact our family's entire future. One night my husband came home from work late--he was so excited he was bouncing off the walls. He had seen an incredible business opportunity from a colleague and could hardly sleep that night. He said we needed to have a meeting at our apartment and gave me a tape to listen to, on how to invite people. After listening to this tape I called all my new acquaintances (we were new in town) and proceeded to ruin all potential friendships with these kind, stay at home Moms. No one wanted to have anything to do with me after that. How could I blame them when I wasn't allowed to tell them that it was Amway or anything about it. Even though I really didn't want to make these phone calls, I wanted to support my husband and was behind him. We had that meeting (this was about 23 years ago) and I got to see the plan for the first time. Of course it was just a bunch of writing on a white dry erase board up on an easel, and all I can recall is something about retiring in 2-5 years, and making all this money. Bill (the man who was STP--Showing the Plan) was not someone I particularly liked. It sounded hokey to me, and it just never made sense how anyone could have a business and retire from it and still get paid in such a short period of time while putting in a small effort. I don't remember the exact number of hours per week, but it was only a few and something you did in your spare time. We got our kit that night, and I can remember something being thrown away that came with the manual, and I do remember that retailing was part of the business and we learned about it at the 'Open'. I did retail some products, but it was hard because they were so expensive. My husband went every week to the 'Opens'. After attending several of these 'Opens' or 'Training Sessions' myself, I found that I didn't care much for the Business or many of the people. At that time there were only a few cassette tapes available, and they were purchased right there at the 'Open.' Two things that I do remember very clearly are : 1) Our sponsor was close to 7,500 PV one month, and at that time you had to have all your orders called in by 12:00 midnight. He had called in the order earlier, and when we found out how close he was, we all put together another small order to add to it so he would reach the 7,500 PV (Silver) level Somehow this small order was 2-5 minutes past midnight deadline and someone upline would not accept the order. I never knew why they would reject that order, but today I wonder whether it was because it effected the income of someone upline who had sponsored wide enough to make money by our sponsor not achieving the Silver level. My husband got mad and stopped doing anything with the business, and did not renew our distributorship for the following year. 2) We lost the $10,000 my father had given to us and more. Remember this was 23 years ago. That's probably $20,000 today. What did we spend it on? Four major Functions are held each year, and there are food, gas and hotels to pay for. The few times I did go to the 'Open' or Weekend Seminar and Rally, we had to pay for that and a babysitter. The products were very expensive (and most of them were not very good), and we were also 'encouraged' to try new ones. After leaving my very young son with a babysitter for the second time, I had become extremely nervous about this practice. I knew I was supposed to be with him. He was all I could think about when I was away from him. Also, my spouse wanted to move closer to the city so he could build the Business faster and easier. It was devastating to me to even think about living in a big city when I was trying to get us to the country. At this time our upline Diamonds were Angelo and Claudia Nardone. This was part of the Britt orgaization, or BWW. This was not the last time we were to lose thousands of dollars to the Business. Several years later my spouse found the Business again, this time under a different line of sponsorship. It was the same thing, except that there were a lot more tapes and books, and even Standing Order Book. Here we go again on the roller coaster ride, spending money we need for other things, more indoctrination from tapes and books, more products...we sponsored some people, one was a friend of mine. I was a little more involved this time, the children were older, not babies anymore. But they still needed me. I really don't know how much money we spent this time, but I did the aweful paperwork that never added up correctly, and the P.V. checks, and then my husband decided to take some time off. Somewhere in here I suffered a bout of depression. I just did not like this business. And I didn't like leaving my young children home alone at night to go to some 'Open'. It was still the same teachings about retiring, helping people, getting the money problem out of the way. Oh, and lest I forget...I can remember getting a call from our upline Diamond asking us to order something "if we need it" to help our sponsor either go Silver or maintain the Platinum level. I found this tacky. Eventually, after about three years we quit and didn't renew. But we still were not done with Amway. A few years later he did it again. He tells me Amway is gone, now it's all online and it's called Quixtar. We had barely recovered from our move into our home not far from Nashville, Tennessee. This Quixtar is upscale and he's just got to do it this time. So what am I supposed to do? Say "No, you can't do it."? We don't work that way. He says he's just going to go slow and whatever happens, happens. Well, husband get's committed and cranks out the tapes and CD's. I can't stand them. I can't stand Bill Britt or Larry Winters, the Big Shots in the business. I find them to be arrogant with a capital A. And now I see the business for what it is--a cult. Yes, a cult. That's what I called it. Now up to this point we've probably lost $20,000-$25,000 in our Amway 'career'. Slowly he becomes more and more entrenched into this cult of greed. He is never home. People are nothing but a resource to him of potential distributors. We start to get deliveries of so much consumable product that we are taught we should eat and drink! And the prices are so inflated even before shipping (which is taxed) and tax. There are boxes of tapes, CD's, and books in the spare room. There are thousands of dollars worth of tools! He is STP during the day and at night, putting a lot of miles on the car, and ignoring his marriage. We are taught to be 100% self-use, a couple should be doing 300 PV (that's about$750+)per month, and a single 150 PV ($350+)per month. When the plan is shown there is not one word about the 50 PV retailing requirement. The presentation avers that there is money to be saved by purchasing from your own business, and that when one reaches a certain level the products are 'free' in that you are making that much money. Another claim is that by working 5-10-15 hours a week in your spare time, within 12-18 months, by following the 'System' you can make $50-$60,000 per year. My husband is building a team of people and none of us are making any money after expenses. On the contrary, we're losing lots of money! He becomes arrogant and treats me badly. Actually, every time he has tried to build the Business he has gotten this way to some degree. But this time it's different. I'm afraid of what he's doing, how much money he's spending, how this will affect the lovely people who have become part of our group. These beautiful people that we cannot form a true friendship with because of the structure of the business. I go completely Negative. I'm OUT. One night I walked past him in our bedroom and knocked into him going by. I was angry, sad, lonely. He retaliated and hit me. He had become such a bully...see, I am not the female doormat that is required in this Business. I'm a free spirit and won't cowtow to these bullies. That night I did not know the man in my bedroom. I almost went to the women's center. He tried to say it was an accident. But I don't think so. This was a result of the brainwashing effects that were in conflict with his spirit. His spirit did not accept them, and I believe this is what was happening. Something else that I feel is very important to mention here is something that my precious husband did that I believe is directly linked to the sleep deprived, domineering, mentally numbed bully he had become. He had a dog that loved him dearly, and he loved that dog with every fiber of his being. This dog was a 'high maintainence' type, and a one-person dog. Though she and I got along well in our familial unit, I did not have the time, nor did I want to split myself to accomodate her 'needs.' I was getting mighty angry about being left with taking care of all that he had abandoned in the pursuit of so-called 'financial freedom', read 'bondage and destitution', especially this dog. After more fighting, he said our marriage was more important than the dog, and got rid of it. Now this dog would not bond with another owner, that is how loyal this dog was, so when I say he got rid of it, I mean for good. She is gone forever. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I know that this would not have happened if he had not been so exhausted and indoctrinated in the AmquixSand Business. To this day, I still feel it is my fault that this animal no longer is with him. Dear reader, there is more to this story than can be written here, but as I live and breathe, the Business is no good. My husband will suffer for the rest of his days because of this incident that transpired in his AmquixSand Career. You had to know the two of them to truly understand. He waited 20 years for a dog like that. Then, at only two years of age, the dog was gone...now was someone saying something about how much the Business does for the person? After finally getting him into a conversation at a later time, I tried to break through, but he did not want to hear Negative. Somehow I was able to get a few chinks in there, I think by talking about what he loves to do, like fish and hunt. I began to see little glimpses of his true self. The real breakthrough began after he spoke with Eric on the telephone, and began to read Eric's book "The Merchants of Deception." This book confirmed everything I had experienced in 23 or so years of this ghastly Business and more. It revealed things that I suspected happened, and things I found hard to even comprehend. I had no idea how big this thing was. Well, let's just say that I knew there had to be some type of mutual cooperation for this kind of thievery. After another $25,000 down the tubes, or should I say up to the Big Pins, here we are. After all these years, $50,000 went UP to the Big Pins. Not down to the people doing the work. Am I angry? Yes. That is why I am here. It is a righteous anger borne out of the AmquixSand Experience that has bilked God knows how many people out of millions of dollars (my guesstimate). In the name of freedom! How dare they call it a Business! A righteous anger arises from knowing that the precious couples and singles that were in our 'organization' were duped by us, who had been duped by 'them'. Righteous anger that knows that the very way the system works--locking everyone in by guilt, greed, love, shame, deception--the system of tool sales that keeps lining the Pig Pen's pockets--the system of tools that 'they' don't want you to know about is sordid, vile, and beyond me how it can possibly be legal. When my spouse started adding up the amount that was going into the pockets of the Big Pins at the Functions, and even the weekly take at the local 'Open' after room charge, he began to realize that this was another job. I'm not even good at math and I had done the math, what had taken him so long? Because of the CD's, the tapes he listened to constantly, and the books he read as much as he could, he was going to make a difference and impact the world for God, so wasn't thinking for himself yet. It looks like quite a few of these books are written to support the Business thought process; I don't think they are independent of the Business. If I am wrong about this, please someone show me. Our upline Diamonds were Barry and Pat Grove. It was puzzling to me why they are/were part of a lawsuit that has been/was going on for some time. In addition, why did the Diamond couple they sponsored, the Lucks, disappear? If the business is so wonderful, what's going on? We are in the process of decompressing and making everything right. This is not an overnight thing. Our family is a mess. There is a lot of anger. When someone has been in a cult and victimized, the effects are longlasting. A trust has been broken, and it can be very hard to re-enter the world after even a relatively short time under cult influence. In my opinion, there are some positive aspects if one does not succumb to the cult influences. I have seen people who were afraid to talk to others come out of that and grow in confidence. The same thing happened for me, and this had a positive impact on my own business (outside of Quixtar). It led me to books that were of significance for self-improvement. That being said, the Bible is probably the best self-help book ever. And you only have to buy it once. If you can't afford one, I'll send you one. One of it's tenets is to treat every other person as if he or she were Jesus himself (my paraphrase). They don't have to be the 'sharpest knife in the drawer' or 'have money to buy products'. Dear reader, if you are in the Business now, were in the Business, or are contemplating being in the Business, may I share this with you. The Emeralds and Diamonds are coming out and sharing what happened to them in Amway/Quixtar. Take advantage of what they have to say. Read "Merchants of Deception" by Eric Shiebeler. He's done the homework and Alticor/Amway is coming after him. If this was such a great business, why is there so much controversy on the internet, why is it so hard to sponsor people, why did Eric write the book? Why would people like me take our resouces and stick our neck out? I don't have an axe to grind. Just want to help get the word out. Been in and out of this thing for 23 years and have seen, experienced and heard a lot. Our story is not an isolated instance. This happens over and over and over again. It's a zero sum game. The money flows up, not down. See if you can stop listening to the tapes and reading the books for a week. Can you miss an 'Open' meeting? Try it. There is a saying "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." I don't know who said this, but it seems to hold true many times. The same thing with fame. We were not made to have a lot of power or fame. We cannot contain it. It contains us. There is not a one who is unsusceptable to mind control. Sleep deprivation is a powerful tool for achieving this. It would behoove us all to lead a balanced life. Eat good food, get enough rest, exercise, and thank God for another day, another breath. Today is a new day, it is precious. We are cancelling out all the things we don't want to do, that are meaningless. We are enjoying ourselvesmy and the little things in life. The smell of my horses, the comfort and company of my little dog. He's fishing, hunting and camping again. Doing the things that make him happy. Enjoying good products that smell good! We are free from the bondage, free indeed! Technorati tags:never home | divorce | Barry and Pat Grove | STP | Nashville, Tennessee | losing lots of money

A few heady years in BWW I was 22 and it was the summer of 1997, two months after my graduation from college. I'd just started working as a process engineer in my hometown of Houston, TX. One day I was browsing through music albums at a Best Buy store when a gentleman I didn't recognize came up to me and claimed that he'd met me somewhere before. He initiated a conversation that I nervously and half-heartedly participated in; I was pretty sure I'd never seen the guy before in my life. Well, it turned out that he was a chemical engineer like me (though in his 40s) and we had a bit in common after all. Still, the conversation was awkward and after a few uncomfortable minutes, he have me his business card and asked for my contact info. That was seven and a half years ago but I remember the moment well. I found out a few weeks later that what he had done was "cold contacted" me, a process that I would get quite accomplished at over the next few years. Anyway, I got a call from him the following week and he mentioned a business opportunity called "private franchising" with a company called Britt Worldwide. I'd never heard of it but was interested, so I agreed to meet with him since he wouldn't give out any specifics on the phone. He showed me a short version of the plan that week at a coffee shop and I was intrigued enough to go to an "open meeting", where a bunch of prospects like me were shown the full plan by an accomplished distributor. The plan I was shown was the same one that Amway approves in their SA-4400: the 6-4-2 structure and modest income for a Direct (now Platinum). But then when the speaker described the Emerald and Diamond levels, he added in money from "other sources" and assigned them annual income levels of $100k and $250k respectively. I also found out at the meeting that my new friend was a Direct in the business and that I was extremely lucky to have been prospected directly by him, since with him as a sponsor I would have the best possible help and advice. Also, his sponsors were Emeralds and their sponsors were the Diamonds Kulin & Mina Desai, who were personally sponsored by Kanti & Lata Gala. I was told that I surely couldn't lose with such an outstanding line of counseling with no "deadwood" in between. In addition, I was struck by the number of professionals in the room: a couple doctors, lawyers, lots of engineers, etc. Also quite a few business owners. To make a long story short, I was sold and bought my kit a few days later. My first function was only a couple weeks later and I made the choice to sacrifice a valuable weekend to ride in a rented van to Dallas for Free Enterprise Weekend. The function ticket was $65, which we were told was an outright bargain for the information that was to be shared. Well, what can I say about the function? It was incredible, a tremendous motivational boost! Several new Emeralds and Diamonds shared their experiences and these were emotional stories about overcoming huge challenges but now enjoying the fruits of victory. Many big pins spoke with inspiration that weekend, including Bill & Peggy Britt, Paul & Debbie Miller, Ray & Carol Youngblood, and Larry & Pam Winters. I returned to Houston "fired up" and within a couple months I'd committed fully to the tools system: all functions (including the $100 Britt School), three tapes a week (Standing Order, Leadership, and WWDB), *many* extra "classic" tapes, book of the month, *all* functions and meetings and "meetings after the meetings", Amvox voice messaging, extra tools inventory for prospects, Diamond lifestyle videos, various flipcharts and prospecting materials, etc. In 1999 I began keeping records of all expenses (business and personal) so I know that I spent approximately $3000 per year on tools and functions while involved, not counting vehicle gas and maintenance. None of my friends joined (some bought products out of politeness) so I had to learn to tackle the "cold" market. I remember that the first cold contact I ever made was a very friendly Colombian guy, and the conversation went so well that I drove home in great excitement and even called my sponsor that night to tell him that I was surely going to be a millionaire, contacting was so easy! Many later contacts, of course, didn't go so well and I often went home dejected. Over time I became quite good at contacting strangers, adding 10-15 names and phone numbers to my contact list every week. My icebreaker line was similar to what my upline had used on me: "Hey I think I know you from somewhere, you look familiar." Or sometimes I'd be in a store and ask a stranger about the merits of such and such product on the shelf. Sometimes these days I'll look back on my contact list (dozens of pages of numbers, email addresses, and brief notes to help me remember them for the phone call the following week) and gape in amazement. Over at least three years, how many hours per week of my life sacrificed in walking around the stores to meet people? Easily five to ten, even more counting driving time. Well, I made all those phone calls and showed so many plans, but due to the turnover rate my group never exceeded five people! I never even went 1000 PV. I did go 600 PV a few times, but mostly because I was close and my upline often encouraged me to stock up on inventory to get to the next bonus level for recognition. I'd always suspected that there was a profit in the tools because I'd done cursory research on the Internet before I joined. But at that time, the critical expose sites by former pins weren't around. All we had was the anecdotal stuff on Schwartz's Untold Stories site, which I summarily dismissed as consisting of exceptional cases from other systems. Most of the experiences sounded bizarre and totally unlike what I saw in my line of sponsorship. Well, sometime in late 2000 is when I discovered Scott Larsen's site and from there linked to Jeff Probandt's site. Jeff & Joni Probandt are former Emeralds in the Yager system. They created the site out of protest for what they saw as abuse of the tools income. For the first time I'd seen, actual figures straight from the horse's mouth were disclosed about system income as Emeralds, and the numbers were shocking! Thousands of dollars a month were coming to them from the system for speaking at functions and moving tools through the downline. Jeff states that at the time, their group was generating $50,000 per month in system money for the upline! I couldn't believe what I was reading, but I knew it was true. Then I read the transcripts of the Directly Speaking tapes. That was the turning point for me. It was like a switch had flipped, I could see the whole charade. But since I was so involved in the system and so close to my upline and crossline buddies (I was even the best man at a crossline's wedding, didn't even know him before the business), I didn't have the courage to abruptly quit and cut off all these very nice people. In fact, even today I'm still close friends with my sponsors and visit them (they have gone inactive as well). Anyway, over the next year or so I gradually weaned myself off the system, by cutting back to one tape a week (and not listening to it), sporadically skipping the incredibly boring open meetings (during which I'd often fallen asleep even when active), cancelling the ridiculous Amvox service (now CommuniKate or something), and finally giving an excuse not to attend a major function (the cost had snuck up to $90 a person and I told my sponsor it wasn't worth that much to me, he didn't try to convince me otherwise). Of course it was clear to me why the function costs had risen so much over four years: after the launch of Quixtar and then the dot.com crash there was tremendous attrition, so the costs had to be raised to keep system money flowing. Well that's my story. This may sound strange, but overall it was a positive experience for me. I made some friends, I learned many people skills, and received a healthy measure of confidence. But I'm also incredibly grateful to be out now, to be able to have hobbies and to live a normal life again. I'm so thankful for the Internet for making the truth so accessible. Who knows what my situation would be if I'd joined ten years earlier? Not knowing the tools secret, I probably wouldn't have quit. I'd be worse off by tens of thousands of dollars! Btw, to the author of the site, great job on the design! I really think that with sites like this and the other exposes by former big pins, the tide has turned and that the secret tools businesses may soon be shut down and hopefully prosecuted. Technorati tags:Houston | Gala | Kulin | Desai | |

Passing on Quixtar Recently I was approached to become an IBO in Quixtar. I had never heard of this system before and only had heard of Amway in passing. Initially my recruiter brought a pamphlet and audio disk. Both were long on pie in the sky goals and rhetorical questions – “Wouldn’t you like: to be financially independent; to have more time for your family; to be your own boss with a six figure income?” Of course they were short on hard verifiable facts. In fact, there was nothing in this original material that mentioned the process, Quixtar or any other business entity that I could research. He mentioned at our original meeting that the “system” was all about changing your point of purchase. So I was ready for an MLM or Pyramid contrivance. He came back a few days later and showed me the “plan”. He told me about Quixtar but never mentioned Amway. Sure enough it was an MLM pyramid and I said as much. He mentioned some extra controls were put in place that ensured it was not an illegal pyramid. (I later found out that this was bogus). He originally said that you could buy anything with the system – but as the conversation progressed the greater value of the Amway product lines vs. the third party products became apparent. He also stated the following: 1.) You get a 3% commission on products purchased from yourself or down-line 2.) Products you buy for yourself as an IBO are at 30% discount from retail (i.e. Costco, Sam’s, etc.) 3.) I got the impression that he as not a Direct, Pin holder or Emerald. 4.) He had recruited around 111 people in the past 7 years 5.) He said that he had a net 12K to 13K a year in profit in the system for 12 hours of work a week. 6.) You go Direct with 15K of sales a month or 7500 Points. At this level of sales you are ensured 50K of income a year. 7.) He never even mentioned retail sales or if they were required. 8.) Once 4 people in your down-line get on the BDS (Business Development System) you may start another leg. 9.) BDS membership is only $60 a month. In regard to #6 - minutes after he left I multiplied (15K * 12 months), which is 180K and 3% of that, is 5400. How did he come up with 50K? Did his statements above have any grounding in reality? With the given information could he be making that much? Where some of his claims outright lies? Now I won’t go into the dirty details - that is done much better in other places. But after only a few days of research I found out enough to raise the hairs on the back of my neck. The broad strokes: 1.) Everyone knows this, but Quixtar is Amway – plain and simple. 2.) Without retail sales in the loop this system is completely funded by IBOs down-line. This makes the system (in practicality) an illegal pyramid. 3.) Amway/Quixtar gets around this fact – by stating that retail sales are required, but not enforcing it. 4.) As with any Pyramid scheme the more legs (width) per member – the more money will flow up-line. 5.) BDS are nothing more than the Motivational Organizations – the tools business. These are designed to siphon money off the IBOs in the guise of training and selling tools. 6.) Combine 4 & 5 and it is clear why new legs start when you get your down-lines on the BDS. It’s a classic double dip – increased tools sales – increased money flowing up-line. 7.) According to Amway/Quixtar – IBOs on average gross around 2300 a year before expenses. Add in expenses and motivational materials/activities and most run at a net loss. 8.) Aside from my “recruiter” I have not heard of any IBO with his level of business activity (12 hours of work a week and 111 down-lines - not all of which are active), that makes as much as he says (12k a year). 9.) The Kingpin diamonds do not make the majority of their money from product Sales. They make it from the tools business - anywhere from 70 to 95 percent. 10.) Amway permits this abuse, as they have a symbiotic relationship with the Kingpins. They get their products sold for dirt-cheap by hapless IBOs and the Kingpins make a fortune motivating the IBOs to do so! 11.) Amway/Quixtar is aware of the information on the internet about them and in an attempt to dilute it, recently bombed Google with pro-Quixtar sites and blogs. They got caught doing this red-handed by Google and other bloggers. Why would a company resort to this measure if it did not have anything to hide? 12.) The Amway/Quixtar system is currently being investigated by the FTC and FBI. There are also numerous civil and criminal lawsuits against Amway and/or their kingpin distributors. As I was researching – I fired off a quick email to my recruiter, which simply stated in a friendly way “Hey I found some interesting information on the web.” And I sent links to the Dateline piece, and some other Quixtar news sites. I genuinely wanted to discuss these things with him. I considered him to be basically a nice guy. Even with all that I had found out – I still gave him benefit of the doubt about Quixtar. I was thinking there has got to be another side to this thing for him to be so enthusiastic about it. What happened next was a surprise. First there came a long email lambasting me about not thinking for myself. About how Dateline has an axe to grind and anyone who has a problem with or criticism of Quixtar/Amway is a failed businessman. The email went on to then glorify the system: ‘honest, moral, faith filled, honors our country, Christ, and teaches people to help each other’ Clearly he took what I had sent to him personally. I merely wanted to have a dialog with him about the business – but he seemed to defensively pre-empt any discourse by criticizing me and justifying himself. I don’t like to get into email arguments with people, so I did not respond immediately and waited till I next saw him. He had dropped off some additional materials at our “plan” meeting and had to come and pick them up. I viewed this stuff and again it was long on dreams short on facts. Essentially more infomercials on how great Quixtar is. It was interesting when he came to get the materials. Now mind you – my last communiqué to him was the short email about the interesting links. When he came to my front door, I could tell he did not want to discuss anything or have anything to do with me. He barely even made eye contact! He clearly had come to the conclusion that based on what I had found on the Internet - I would not be interested. Now of course he had no way of knowing if I had found out anything positive about Quixtar. It was almost like once corrupted by the Internet – I was a tainted goods, a lost cause as a potential IBO. With his inappropriate email and change in demeanor – I realized that he was probably deep into the motivational aspect of the system. Staying away from the negative, having stock and belittling responses to objections on the system, and generally interacting with someone based on their usefulness to you in the system. But now we get to my real problem. I would not have put the time or research into this issue if my “recruiter” where just some guy off the street. I met him at a church meeting, we both had a love of Rome and Italy and he is a fellow Knight of Columbus. The faith aspect of the Amway distribution system is very troubling. My recruiter clearly had leg up with me because of our common faith. I look around my parish - at the older retired people and the young Hispanic families with no money and think that they are easy marks for the Quixtar folk. What is even more troubling is I believe that the Amway/Quixtar motivational system is so effective, that the recruiters don’t even realize they are selling people a bogus bill of goods. They themselves are still holding on to the dream of making big money when most are losing it. Technorati tags:Amway | Quixtar | lgtwo | letsgetthewordout | merchantsofdeception | mlm

How can you ever be sure? My background is in mathematics (computer science) and business. I've got quite a bit of worldwide experience and education, plus have travelled in Europe and North America - Canada and USA. My first exposure to MLM was in a high-tech networking lunch meeting where there was some 1-minute introduction of everyone in the room and a guest speaker would then talk about their new startup etc. I expected everyone in the room to be in the high-tech field so was intrigued when one guy came to me afterwards and asked if I wanted to meet him the next day to discuss an "opportunity"... "What kind of opportunity?", I asked. "Helping me import products and building the business", he said. So we met a few days later over a coffee and he started asking about my current situation and we started to discuss the concept of multiple streams of income. Up till this point I still had no idea what the business was, so I started to ask just what he was after. It slowly evolved from "helping start his company importing products" to joining Amway. I backed off at that point - although I was sold on the idea of multiple income streams I still wanted to make use of my IT background and recent MBA. Selling household products just didn't seem to make sense for me. The next MLM that came along was Nikken bracelets. The rep. tried the old "I'll lend you the video and come back in a few days" so that he was guaranteed a second shot at his pitch. Once again I just didn't believe enough in the product to take it further. A friend of my wife tried to get us into Amway and once again we were not excited by the products. That friend never called us again - another risk of involving friends and family in your MLM. The fourth MLM that I was introduced to was Quixtar. We went as far as going to someone's house, but all the talk about e-commerce just didn't make sense to me as this was during the dot com boom and I figured I could do better with a real IT company than a "Amway on the web". So I focused on my IT and business skills, did lots of fun international consulting work, and lately have been helping companies with their sales processes. I also am a rep for a few high tech companies helping build their business here in North America. I have time for some other MLM and recently I heard about Gano Excel, which is a 10 year old company from Malaysia doing over $100M in business via their MLM system. Gano has several products all based on the Ganoderma mushroom and there is a ton of third party independent research done on the benefits of the mushroom. The big seller is Gano coffee. I love to drink coffee so here is a product I can relate to. I don't spend alot of time promoting it but now and then someone comes along that just "gets it" and wants to learn more about the coffee. I have had great success with this product and looking back it was the only MLM that I myself seeked out and was not solicited by anyone to try it. I called the company to find out when the next local meeting was, and walked in by myself to find a sponsor. My own curiosity drove the process more than anyone else "pushing" me. If you are interested in learning more visit my site at www.healthycoffeeshop.com The site is a bit hokey I know, but poke around and if you want more information send me an email. I promise not to pester you - just answer your questions and leave it up to you. Keep it simple and personal. That's the way most MLM's should be, in my opinion. Technorati tags:Gano coffee | Best MLM | MLM experiences | Find an MLM | Better opportunity |

Amway and Christianity See http://www.tedsherwood.blogspot.com Technorati tags:Amway | Quixtar | lgtwo | letsgetthewordout | merchantsofdeception | mlm

Another One Bites the Dust My name is Shawn Derrick and they got me. But more on that later... Here's a little background on me: I'm 29, have been married for 9 years now, just joined the Gideons (the people that put Bibles in hotels), I play piano and guitar by ear (can't read music to save my life), we just adopted a black cat that we named "Scratch", and I am extremely proficient at composing run-on sentences. I worked at a construction company in the accounts payable department during my involement with the Amway/Quixtar business, but now I am self employed as a real estate investor (I am no Donald Trump by any means). I was attracted to the idea of network marketing because passive income made sense to me. The following is a letter I wrote in 2001 detailing my involment in the Scamway (whoops, Freudian slip) Amway business. Be warned; it's a long one. If you need to go to the bathroom or pop some popcorn, now would be a good time. *************************************** January 22, 2001 Re: History of Involvement in the Amway Business / Harteis System. NOTE: The following abbreviated story is my personal recollection of my involvement with the Amway Business and the system of information designed to support the business (a.k.a. ?the system). The author assumes the reader has a limited knowledge of the lingo common to all distributors / IBO?s that participated in the Yager / Harteis system. To Whom It May Concern: I became an Amway Distributor (April 1996) at the age of 18 while I was a senior in high school. I had no specific plans for my future, other than having some vague inclination to attend college. After graduating high school, I accepted a partial scholarship to St. Bonaventure University, where I planned to begin my freshman year. However, during the few summer months following high school graduation, I began to be influenced by my participation in what I will refer to as ?the system?. Shortly after I signed the application to start my Amway business, my sponsor, Bill Gibble, (a friend from high school who later married my sister and became my brother-in-law) invited me to attend a one-day business function in Williamsport, PA. I decided to accompany him and came away from that Saturday quite impressed with the event, yet unsure as to whether I could build an organization that would produce enough income for me to retire from my job. Bearing in mind that I had never had a full-time job before, one would perhaps question why a na?ve 18 year old would be interested in a business opportunity where the average participant was in their late 30?s ? early 40?s. The reason I was attracted to the Amway business was that my dad had been downsized in the mid 80?s, and I remember what it was like seeing my father cut firewood for people just to put food on the table. So quite naturally, when I saw other people at this business function telling horror stories about people they knew who had lost their jobs, and how by building an Amway business, I could build an income source that no one could take away from me, I was all ears. After several months of attending function and listening to tapes, I began to do whatever my upline told me to do in order to build my business. I didn?t have enough money to pay for all the system related expenses (tapes, books, functions, voicemail, etc.), but my upline told me to do whatever it takes to participate in the system, because after all, the system is the only way I could learn to operate a successful Amway business. I didn?t want to fail at my business and end up downsized like my father had been, so I decided to take drastic action. I was a member of a rock band, so I quit the band and sold all my music equipment (keyboard, electric guitar, 3 amplifiers, etc.) for a fraction of their cost. I also elected not to attend college, under the rationale that it was foolish to spend $40,000 and four years of my life to learn how to be an employee when I could just build my Amway business and achieve financial independence. When I informed my parents, Tom & Rose Derrick, that I would not be attending college, they were concerned that I was making a huge mistake. They respected my decision, but as you can imagine, they wanted more information about the business opportunity that was redirecting the course of my life. My parents met with my upline directs, Mark & Peg Pugh, who partially allayed their fears by letting them know that I was an ambitious young man who had the foresight to build a business of my own. This rhetoric was good for my ego, and as I would find out years later, good for Mark & Peg?s wallets as well. For the next 5 years, I continued building the business, attending function, buying tapes and books, and laboring under the illusion that I was laying the foundation for untold wealth and success. Looking back, I can see that I was manipulated by one of the most sophisticated pyramid schemes since Carlo Ponzi. Fast forward to 1999. The imminent launch of Quixtar, the sister corporation of Amway, was upon us. For me, this proved to be a pivotal event in the way I viewed the business. In the 6 months prior to Quixtar launching in September 1999, I had sponsored many new people into the business. Most were excited about the possibilities of using the internet to conduct business, but some new people quickly changed their attitudes after I would register them as Amway IBO?s. Apparently they were searching the web for information related to Amway / Quixtar, and some found less than positive reviews. I, being a good upline, also decided to search the internet for information on Amway / Quixtar, so that I could defend against any negative rumors I found when I showed people the plan. However, I came across a web page designed by a former Emerald named Jeff Probandt. He basically spilled the beans on the fact that the majority of the income that the bigger pins receive (Diamond and above) does not, in fact, come from the business. The bulk of their income comes from profits derived from the system (sale of tapes, books, CD-Roms, functions, etc.). It never crossed my mind that the people made money from the system. There has to be a profit anytime money changes hands, so I always assumed that Internet Services, the company that manufactures our tapes, made money from the system. I also assumed that functions were priced at a break-even status, because Fred Harteis, my upline Double Diamond said from stage many times something similar to the following: ?We don?t need to host these functions. We could be anywhere in the world enjoying the wealth we have created. But we chose to be here with you folks this weekend to help you understand what you have in your hands. We don?t run functions for us; we put these events on for you.? I don?t have a problem with people making money from the system. But I do have a problem with being lied to. I was led to believe that the lifestyle that the Diamonds and above had came from only building the Amway / Quixtar business. I was also led to believe that the only way to build a successful business was to commit wholeheartedly to the system; to never question the cost, but to ?pay the price?. Apparently the purpose of instilling those beliefs in people like me was to keep me from discovering the fact that I had spent over $34,000 (very conservative estimate) on the system alone over the past 6 years. This information bothered me deeply, so during the following 12 months, my belief in the integrity of the business dissolved. I asked both Mark Pugh and Fred Harteis about the system money. Mark told me that there is a small amount of profit that comes back to the upline directs and above to help cover the cost of the expenses incurred while building the business. Fred also explained to me that by investing in the infrastructure required to run functions and deliver tapes to me every week, he was taking money away from other investment that could generate cashflow for him. So naturally, why would I want to be a communist and deny him a small amount of profit. These explanations by my upline did not solve the inner conflict I was feeling. In December 2000, I called Fred and again questioned him about the profit structure of the business and explained to him that it did not ?sit right? with me. He talked to me for about 90 minutes and attempted to change my point of view about how and why the system operated the way it did. I inquired as to why the system taught us to run the business contrary to the 1979 FTC ruling regarding pyramid status (I believe the reason is because Fred doesn?t care if we make money from the business or not; he makes his money when we buy his tools). This was the second conversation I had with Fred regarding the system money. Luckily for me, I had been a ?naughty? little IBO and had used the web to educated myself quite extensively about how the system money really worked and what happened to people who raise serious questions about the legitimacy of it all (we are conditioned to not believe negative information about the business and to not talk to people who drop out of the business since they are losers or people who have been influenced by Satan). Also, I had looked up the phone number of Eric and Patty Scheibeler, an Emerald Direct couple in Fred?s group who were no longer ?around? at the functions. No explanation was ever given as to why they quit the business (other that propaganda about them not having a big enough dream and being a traitor). I called Eric, and after he was convinced that I was truly interested in finding out the facts and not trying to set him up, he told me that everything I understood about the system money and the way Diamonds deal with dissenters is true. He also explained what happened to him when he asked his upline about the system money, and the reasons for shielding us from factual information.. I will not go into detail about Eric?s story; that if for him to tell. After reading the web info and speaking to Eric and Patty, I came to the conclusion that I could no longer continue to participate in the system. I felt terrible for unknowingly leading the people in my group down a road that would never deliver as promised, and have informed them about what I have learned. In summary, I joined the Amway business and participated in the system because I believed that: ? I could have the lifestyle of the Diamonds if I built the Amway business ? income and lifestyle misrepresentations. ? I was induced to purchase thousands of dollars worth of tools and seminars because I believed that such purchases were the only way to gain the knowledge and information needed to build a successful business ? totally untrue and designed to keep me spending money for the sole benefit of Fred Harteis and Mark Pugh. ? This was the best business opportunity in the world and that all other ways of generating income were a waste of time when compared to the business ? just another instilled belief designed to keep us spending our money on the system. Also in summary, the following are the reasons I take issue with the way Fred Harteis operates the system: ? People are led to believe income and lifestyle misrepresentations that financially enslave most participants and solely benefit the upline who perpetuate such misrepresentations. ? The anti-pyramid measures (10-customer rule, 70% rule) are not enforced (for the obvious benefit of the upline). ? The system teaches people to build the business as a negative-sum game. More money on average is spent on the upline?s tool system than is generated in the business. ? People who question the legitimacy of the tool system too much are removed from the business through illegal and unethical means. ? The real money is in the tools, not by building the business. The tool income structure operates as a shadow business, is not regulated by anyone other than the Diamonds, and can be used as leverage against people who disagree with the upline. ? The system both fits the definition of and operates exactly like a cult; using mind control and behavior modification techniques. (In my opinion, the system is a full-blown 100% cult. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.) I have just given a quick summary of my experiences in the business. For more complete information, please feel free to contact me at the address and phone number listed at the beginning of this letter. Sincerely, Shawn Derrick I don't really have any positive comments about the Amway business, other than I have more money now since I quit. Also, I don't have to contact people and pretend to be excited about nothing all the time. Seriously, my only real positive experiences were these: I learned how easy it is to be swindled, and I count myself wiser for the experience. I also learned to appreciate the power of passive income, which explains my real estate career (where you actually get checks every month, instead a crappy little bonus check that are used to buy more tapes with). Here is a copy of a letter I sent to Dick DeVos, who was the president of the Amway Corp when I quit. ******************************* January 23, 2001 Shawn Derrick Dick DeVos & IBOA Board 7575 East Fulton Street Ada, MI 49355 To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to express my disappointment and disgust with the way the Amway / Quixtar companies are operated in accordance with ?the system?. As you well know, the system I refer to is the training system of information and functions designed to ?help? IBO?s build ?successful? networking businesses. I always thought that my upline Diamond, Fred Harteis, had the purest of intentions regarding his involvement in the system. On numerous occasions, I remember Fred saying from the stages of major functions, something to the effect of, ?We don?t hold these events (functions) for us. We could be anywhere in the world tonight. We put these functions on for you (attending IBO?s), so that you can see what you have in your hands (the potential of the business). As one would logically conclude, the upline Diamonds who run function have better things to do with their time, yet they continue to sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity, because they are such caring, selfless souls. Pure Hogwash! I had no idea that the bulk of the income and lifestyle of many Diamonds comes not from building a profitable business powered by Amway / Quixtar, as most IBO?s are led to believe, but through the profits generated by function attendance and the sale of BSM?s (Business Support Materials ? tools). I also had no idea how much I had contributed to my upline's lavish lifestyle until I tabulated my system related expenses. I was utterly shocked to find I had spent approximately $34,000 on the system (tapes, books, CD-Roms, functions, hotels, etc.) over the course of my networking career! This figure does not include my vehicle expenses, lost wages, lost time, etc. While I have no problem with my upline making a profit from the sale of information, I have a huge problem with being misled. I have a huge problem with the fact that my upline?s wonderful system teaches IBO?s to disregard Amway / Quixtar policies that are designed to keep the business from operating like a pyramid (we are taught to ignore the 10 customer rule, the 70% rule, etc.). I was very disappointed to the point of being outraged when I discovered that: ? I had been brought into the business through deceptive practices (income and lifestyle exaggerations and misrepresentations). ? I, as well as every other IBO who ?plugs into the system?, was led to believe that in order to succeed in the business, I had to purchase tools from my upline; that to do so was the only way to succeed. I was also taught to only work with the people in my business who also plugged into the system. ? Fear, intimidation, misinformation, and emotional control are the primary tools used by my upline to maintain order and control over his organization of downline IBO?s. (I used to scoff at the idea that the business was a cult. But now I clearly see that the system is, by definition, a commercial cult.) And what infuriated me even more was the fact that the leadership of the corporation, namely Rich DeVos, had full knowledge that the above practices were the standard mode of operation by the owners of the system. After reading a transcript of the ?Directly Speaking? tapes, it became clear to me that Rich DeVos had the right intent, but for whatever reason, never followed through with enforcing his ideals. However, that does not excuse you from allowing the numerous abuses of the system to continue unchecked. Since I am a reasonable person, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps you gentlemen are unaware that the above referenced transgressions are occurring on a daily basis around the world. Perhaps you have no idea that hundreds of thousands of people are being bilked out of their hard-earned money through the deceptive practices of the upline leadership that own and control the system. Perhaps you think that all of this can continue ad infinitum without any negative repercussions to your business (the web is exposing your illicit practices by informing people like me about how your abusive system operates ? perhaps you would have better success by operating in only communist nations that restrict and control internet access ? the system seems to operate by many of the same tactics that communist leaders use to control their citizens.) In summary, I believe you are well aware of the content of this letter. It is sad to me to discover that the people I believed in, the ?American Heroes? of today who are supposed to stand for what is right, are no more than common white collar criminals. I offer only one piece of advice: ?Be sure your sins will find you out?. Sincerely, Shawn Derrick IBO: 2107172 Technorati tags:Cashflow | Quixtar | Amway | System | |

An open letter to the Attorney General's office I am writing to report a widespread consumer fraud in which I lost over $3500.00 through intentional, systematic deception. I was only involved in the Amway business for one year. I was recruited into the Harteis/Fessler branch of the Amway business. We were advised that Fred and Linda Harteis had become multi-millionaires in the Amway business. They had a seemingly unending supply of luxuries that appeared to support this claim. They and Amway distributors Lee & Linda Fessler (who allegedly made enough in Amway to retire in their early 30?s) induced me to participate in the Harteis educational ?system?. This consisted of the weekly purchase of tapes, videos, and attendance at many monthly seminars. We were advised that these resources were produced and sold at cost to teach us and our people how to profitably build an Amway business. Many other high level, allegedly wealthy Amway distributors were brought in by the Harteis organization and nearly all gave credit to their success to God and the ?system?. We were advised that there was a 100% success rate in this ?system? or pattern for success. After recruiting others in states as far away as Maine, I made a horrifying discovery on the Internet. A high level Amway distributor (at the same level Mr. Harteis is at) named Brig Hart had filed a lawsuit claiming that members of his upline support team had conspired with people in his ?downline? and had cut him out of ?system? monies. The amount he claimed to have lost is $50,000,000 (lawsuit enclosed). I was outraged as we were told these rich ?Amway Diamonds? had made their income by helping others succeed in Amway and that they made no money from the training system. It looks more like they made their income by robbing the very people they were exalted for ?helping?. I called my sponsor, Eric Scheibeler (a high level distributor himself) and blasted him verbally for this fraud. He acted unaware of it but I did not believe him initially. When he saw the lawsuit, he began to question things himself and ultimately dropped out and exposed the fraud to many of his leaders. This ?system? is still being marketed under the new guise of ?e-commerce? and the Quixtar Corporation. This deceit and systematic financial ruin of good people must be stopped. This educational ?system? has an incredibly strong psychological effect upon those induced to participate. I now own a very prosperous graphic design firm. However, I am shocked, in retrospect, to think of what we and many others were induced to do. I continued to purchase my required ?tape of the week? and attend costly seminars from the Fessler/Harteis clan while actually having a hard time finding enough money for food for my wife and three children. Please do what you can to stop this thievery. Sincerely, Jim W. / Muncy, PA Of course, the AG office has done nothing to verify nor investigate my claim, nor the hundreds of other claims by innocent former distributors. Why should they? The GOP-appointed AGs are lackeys for Amway! Technorati tags:Fred Harteis thief liar | Dexter Yager con man | Amyway Quixtar scam fraud | MLM multi level marketing | Diamonds making millions | Rich DeVos liar fraud

The Definition of Insanity... ...is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. That's what they wanted us to believe. That's one of the messages they taught us from our earliest days in the business. So why did we stay in for five years and lose so much money? For starters, my wife and I were sponsored by a close friend. He had no idea that he was sponsoring us into a scam, but our relationship was manipulated by a system designed to abuse and capitalize on relationships. So we trusted and registered. When we first signed up, we were looking for a reasonable part-time income that could be earned while I stayed at home with our young son. The business was portrayed as something flexible that would do the things we hoped it would do. But after a few months, and realizing that we would have to invest some money and effort into the business in order for it to become profitable, we gradually became sold on the idea of participating in the system. That decision led to five years of investing and sacrifice that only ended when we realized that we were getting nowhere, and no one in our upline could either explain why or show us what to change in order to get different results. We could no longer subscribe to doing something that we had been so carefully taught was insane. So we left the business. Only after leaving did we discover that there was a secret tools enterprise. We were told in no uncertain terms that no one profited from the tools, and when we found out that there were HUGE profits being made on the tools, we dedicated ourselves to finding out what other lies we had been led to believe and "getting the word out" so that others might avoid this trap. That is why I have become a sponsor here and why I am the owner/moderator at the MLM Survivors Club and a moderator at the QBlog Forum. It is why my wife and I appeared with Eric on Dateline NBC. If enough of us enter into this conversation, we can make a difference. The only insanity would be allowing Amway/Quixtar kingpins to continue to do what they're doing and expect a different result. Thank you, Eric and everyone associated with this effort. Technorati tags:Amway | Quixtar | lgtwo | letsgetthewordout | merchantsofdeception | mlm

Why "Let's Get The Word out?" Despite your initial thoughts, this site is not an assault of Amway distributors. It is, to the contrary, an effort to stop the well-organized deception that is being perpetrated upon them, globally. Please allow me to provide you with some background information on myself. I was employed as a Federal auditor for the US Department of Energy. Following that I worked in management for a large insurance company. My wife and I were recruited by friends and quickly rose through the ranks and found ourselves in the top 1/25th of 1% of the multi-billion dollar Amway Corporation. For nearly a decade, we developed a ?business? that expanded from North America to Europe, South America, and the Philippines. We spoke to thousands from stage and worked intimately with the Kingpin distributors through whom as much as 90% of Amway's now $6 billion dollars in annual revenue flows. My wife and I spent personal time with the company's billionaire founder Rich DeVos. To make a long story short, at the highest level, I inadvertently discovered what documentation now appears to reveal as two decades of systematic, global fraud running into sums far in excess of twenty billion dollars. When I initially discovered the deception, I naively thought it only involved Kingpin level distributors in the field. I immediately reported it to Amway senior management with nearly 50 pages of corroborating documentation. Their response was more shocking than what I had discovered. Instead of taking action against the Kingpin level distributors that were clearly defrauding the masses, they began to make threats of taking punitive action against me. Fortunately, I had them do it all in writing. I had begun to make details of the deception known to other distributors, to whom I was accountable. Amway ultimately shut off my sole income in what appeared to be an effort to starve me into silence. Wait, I thought this was "my business"? How can Amway or Quixtar just shut off your income if you are an "Independant Business Owner"? I know of no other business owner who can have their incomesimply shut off, after a decade of work, for nay reason. This went on for almost a year in an attempt to starve us into silence regarding the fraud. We lost our medical insurance and were forced into bankruptcy. Just when they knew we were about to lose our home, I was strongly ?encouraged? to sell ?my business? to a member of my upline for approximately $75,000. At the same time, my sponsor was attempting to pressure me to sign a legal agreement to never speak publicly of our experience. Neither our silence nor or character were for sale and we walked away from the offer(s). I knew, from being a governemnt auditor, that without solid documentation I would be crushed by this powerful, wealthy, politically well connected organization. I spent literally thousands of hours in research, culling documentation from global sources as this deception has spread like cancer to over 80 countries and territories. In its wake are countless bankruptcies, foreclosures and broken marriages all happening under the guise of ?free Enterprise?. I secured a cache of well over 1,000 hours of legally recorded tapes and videos. Internal Amway documents surfaced revealing that the Billionaire founder, Rich DeVos, has been aware of these illegal activities for well over twenty years. All this documentation was put together in a compelling, meticulously documented book 296 page book I wrote titled Merchants of Deception. You can download a free copy yourself, for a brief period of time, at www.merchantsofdeception.com . It was written specifically to be a road map for regulators and prosecutors worldwide. This book was used to initiate the current, active FBI investigation. It is also is the resource utilized when I initiated the recent NBC Dateline expose. In a few days with undercover cameras, the crack team of reporters at NBC were able to document in real time the fraud that has been perpetuated for twenty years as documented in Merchants of Deception. The book documents that Amway's billionaire founder and senior management not only were aware of two decades of systematic fraud, but that they aided, abetted and financially rewarded the most egregious offenders. This statement is supported by almost 20 banker boxes of documentation, including financials and confidential internal documents, the most critical of which has been turned over to the FBI. www.MerchantsofDeception.com reveals the methodology, manner and global scope of the fraud. It also details long term, intentional, systematic violations of FTC regulations. The FBI, the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS and foreign governments and/or counter cult organizations are all utilizing this book as a resource. The question you must be asking yourself is, ?If this could possibly be true, how could it have gone on this long?? The answer is one I wish I did not have to share with you. As a life long conservative, I am disheartened at what I discovered and documented regarding the political party I have voted for my entire adult life. I am embarrassed to reveal that the principals in the above scheme have donated over the years, as much as $5,000,000 ANNUALLY either directly to the Republican Party, Senators, PAC?s or 527 organizations that support them. The FTC has refused to take action despite having the very same documentation you can download for free below. The FTC has been petitioned by myself, at least one credible fraud expert and the former US Assistant Attorney for the State of Wisconsin (who prosecuted Amway) and other victims for over four years. Sadly, it appears the millions in annual donations have functioned well as regulatory protection money, but that is my opinion based upon the documentation and my personal interaction with the FTC. Far too many people are being hurt. I was used as an unknowing dupe to take millions of dollars from good, honorable people and cannot simply walk away and let this persist. I wish I could. As you turn each page, you will learn the terrifying details of the journey several of us have traveled, for years, in an effort to expose the truth. As you read this, the perpetrators of this scheme most certainly are amassing a legion of attorneys to descend upon me. This experience has already taken all my assets so there is little else they can do to punish me, at least financially. Someone had to ?step in front of the bus? or it was never going to stop. This is my leap of faith. I encourage you to read Merchants of Deception, review the supporting documentation (including pro-Amway and pro-Quixtar information), and form your own opinion. The cult tactics acknolwdeged by Amway senior managment 20 years ago are as much a concern today as they were then. I have received reports of four distributor suicides to date (two in Australia and two in the US). It appears that each may have been associated with a cultic motivational system as the one that nearly claimed my own life. Will the blood of these people be on the hands of Rich DeVos, who allowed this to continue for near two decades? Will he be remembered in history as the Billionaire Bandit or wealthy "Christian" philanthropist? It is not too late to change the course of history and to protect many people. I would gladly help him do so. The database of vitctim's testimonials grows daily. Fortunately, most just involve financial or emotioanl losses. Please use this site to tell your story and to play a critical part in assuring the fraud is stopped and others will be protected. I sincerely thank you and wish you the very best. Best Regards, Eric Scheibeler Technorati tags:Harteis | Amway | Quixtar | Fred Harteis | Harteis International | Biznet Productions

Why "Let's Get The Word out?" Despite your initial thoughts, this site is not an assault of Amway distributors. It is, to the contrary, an effort to stop the well-organized deception that is being perpetrated upon them, globally. Please allow me to provide you with some background information on myself.I was employed as a Federal auditor for the US Department of Energy. Following that I worked in management for a large insurance company. My wife and I were recruited by friends and quickly rose through the ranks and found ourselves in the top 1/25th of 1% of the multi-billion dollar Amway Corporation. For nearly a decade, we developed a ?business? that expanded from North America to Europe, South America, and the Philippines. We spoke to thousands from stage and worked intimately with the Kingpin distributors through whom as much as 90% of Amway's now $6 billion dollars in annual revenue flows. My wife and I spent personal time with the company's billionaire founder Rich DeVos.To make a long story short, at the highest level, I inadvertently discovered what documentation now appears to reveal as two decades of systematic, global fraud running into sums far in excess of twenty billion dollars. When I initially discovered the deception, I naively thought it only involved Kingpin level distributors in the field. I immediately reported it to Amway senior management with nearly 50 pages of corroborating documentation.Their response was more shocking than what I had discovered. Instead of taking action against the Kingpin level distributors that were clearly defrauding the masses, they began to make threats of taking punitive action against me. Fortunately, I had them do it all in writing. I had begun to make details of the deception known to other distributors, to whom I was accountable. Amway ultimately shut off my sole income in what appeared to be an effort to starve me into silence. Wait, I thought this was "my business"? How can Amway or Quixtar just shut off your income if you are an "Independant Business Owner"? I know of no other business owner who can have their incomesimply shut off, after a decade of work, for nay reason. This went on for almost a year in an attempt to starve us into silence regarding the fraud. We lost our medical insurance and were forced into bankruptcy. Just when they knew we were about to lose our home, I was strongly ?encouraged? to sell ?my business? to a member of my upline for approximately $75,000. At the same time, my sponsor was attempting to pressure me to sign a legal agreement to never speak publicly of our experience. Neither our silence nor or character were for sale and we walked away from the offer(s).I knew, from being a governemnt auditor, that without solid documentation I would be crushed by this powerful, wealthy, politically well connected organization. I spent literally thousands of hours in research, culling documentation from global sources as this deception has spread like cancer to over 80 countries and territories. In its wake are countless bankruptcies, foreclosures and broken marriages all happening under the guise of ?free Enterprise?. I secured a cache of well over 1,000 hours of legally recorded tapes and videos. Internal Amway documents surfaced revealing that the Billionaire founder, Rich DeVos, has been aware of these illegal activities for well over twenty years. All this documentation was put together in a compelling, meticulously documented book 296 page book I wrote titled Merchants of Deception. You can download a free copy yourself, for a brief period of time, at www.merchantsofdeception.com . It was written specifically to be a road map for regulators and prosecutors worldwide.This book was used to initiate the current, active FBI investigation. It is also is the resource utilized when I initiated the recent NBC Dateline expose. In a few days with undercover cameras, the crack team of reporters at NBC were able to document in real time the fraud that has been perpetuated for twenty years as documented in Merchants of Deception. The book documents that Amway's billionaire founder and senior management not only were aware of two decades of systematic fraud, but that they aided, abetted and financially rewarded the most egregious offenders. This statement is supported by almost 20 banker boxes of documentation, including financials and confidential internal documents, the most critical of which has been turned over to the FBI. www.MerchantsofDeception.com reveals the methodology, manner and global scope of the fraud. It also details long term, intentional, systematic violations of FTC regulations. The FBI, the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS and foreign governments and/or counter cult organizations are all utilizing this book as a resource.The question you must be asking yourself is, ?If this could possibly be true, how could it have gone on this long?? The answer is one I wish I did not have to share with you. As a life long conservative, I am disheartened at what I discovered and documented regarding the political party I have voted for my entire adult life. I am embarrassed to reveal that the principals in the above scheme have donated over the years, as much as $5,000,000 ANNUALLY either directly to the Republican Party, Senators, PAC?s or 527 organizations that support them. The FTC has refused to take action despite having the very same documentation you can download for free below. The FTC has been petitioned by myself, at least one credible fraud expert and the former US Assistant Attorney for the State of Wisconsin (who prosecuted Amway) and other victims for over four years. Sadly, it appears the millions in annual donations have functioned well as regulatory protection money, but that is my opinion based upon the documentation and my personal interaction with the FTC.Far too many people are being hurt. I was used as an unknowing dupe to take millions of dollars from good, honorable people and cannot simply walk away and let this persist. I wish I could. As you turn each page, you will learn the terrifying details of the journey several of us have traveled, for years, in an effort to expose the truth. As you read this, the perpetrators of this scheme most certainly are amassing a legion of attorneys to descend upon me. This experience has already taken all my assets so there is little else they can do to punish me, at least financially. Someone had to ?step in front of the bus? or it was never going to stop. This is my leap of faith.I encourage you to read Merchants of Deception, review the supporting documentation (including pro-Amway and pro-Quixtar information), and form your own opinion. The cult tactics acknolwdeged by Amway senior managment 20 years ago are as much a concern today as they were then. I have received reports of four distributor suicides to date (two in Australia and two in the US). It appears that each may have been associated with a cultic motivational system as the one that nearly claimed my own life. Will the blood of these people be on the hands of Rich DeVos, who allowed this to continue for near two decades? Will he be remembered in history as the Billionaire Bandit or wealthy "Christian" philanthropist? It is not too late to change the course of history and to protect many people. I would gladly help him do so. The database of vitctim's testimonials grows daily. Fortunately, most just involve financial or emotioanl losses. Please use this site to tell your story and to play a critical part in assuring the fraud is stopped and others will be protected. I sincerely thank you and wish you the very best.Best Regards,Eric ScheibelerTechnorati tags:Harteis | Amway | Quixtar | Fred Harteis | Harteis nternational | Biznet Productions