Fortune Hi Tech MLM is in the news again. This time for a Class Action Lawsuit filed in the State of California. It is now very clear that FHTM has a target on it’s back and it may be time for a reality check if you are currently involved with the company.
The newest lawsuit in California (see PDF) comes on the heals of the following:
Fortune Hi Tech Under Fire In Canada
North Carolina Attorney General Investigating Fortune Hi Tech Marketing
FHTM Class Action Pyramid Scheme Lawsuit (Kentucky)
Montana Shuts Down FHTM
North Dakota Files Cease and Desist against Fortune Hi Tech Marketing
I am not sure I would want to be with FHTM right now, I recall when I was with YTB, it starts to become a pain to constantly defend
Companies promoting CAB bonuses, the old Excel plan, appear to be on Attorney General’s radar since they mostly emphasis recruiting over product sales. They tread on a thin line of operating an illegal pyramid scheme, FHTM is definitely one of those companies and will continue on to be questioned on how it operates.
The Texas A.G. civil investigative demand letter sent to FHTM on Aug. 26, 2010 is asking “the names of all state residents enrolled in Fortune, how much they paid to get in and got in return, along with the gross product sales in the state. The letter also asks the names and earnings of the highest-ranking managers of the company, who is below them on their teams and how much comes from direct product sales as opposed to “commissions, bonuses or sales by others.”-(USA Today) This is kind of what happened in Montana, except Texas is asking for more information, like product sales to real customers.
I am glad I jumped ship. It was a pain to try and do something when every giant retailer out there is offering the same things and even cheaper.
How unfortunate for the hard working associates in FHTM! There are many good people in this company who must be thinking, “Surely there’s a better way.”
There are so many problems in our industry with companies going bankrupt-etc. Is there any way to really follow the earnings of these companies?
When evaluating a company you must first know who the leaders are. Find out their past successes or failures. Find out how much experience they have. Do they live in a one bedroom apartment in Zimbabwe or do they live in a muli-million dollar home on the beach. Do your homework. The leaders in my company all live in multi-million dollar homes and one of them sold over $125,000,000 in product last year. I don’t know about you but I kinda like hangin with those guys.
What needs to happen is the FTC or DSA must come out with requirements/guidelines/restrictions against “training” commissions, and recruiting specific bonuses. Until that happens the Excel/FHTM type compensation plans will flourish because that is what the reps focus on, and they can make big money without having to actually buy and sell product. Programs where the training/recruiting money makes up over 75% of commissions are the issue and they cast a poor reflection on the entire industry.
If you are in FHTM or the new Ampegy (another Excel spin-off) do yourself and the industry a favor and find another home. I understand why FHTM leaders vigorously fight the negative press and comments, they are protecting their checks. Perhaps some of them fail to realize that the training bonuses are simply a “money game”. The reality is the rep base will start to unravel from the bottom and the next thing you know, lower tier reps still looking for a real opportunity will jump to a better plan. But trust me, the unraveling happens pretty fast once the authorities start pushing.
I haven’t seen anyone share the latest problems facing FHTM. On March 2nd they was listed under State Actions “Operation Empty Promises” as one of the top “scammers” being investigated by the FTC:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2011/03/110302emptypromisesstate.pdf
Here is the link to North Carolina Attorney General and Dept. of Justice.
http://www.ncdoj.gov/News-and-Alerts/News-Releases-and-Advisories/Press-Releases/Cooper-joins-nationwide-crackdown-on-business-oppo.aspx
“Operation Empty Promises is a national sweep by the FTC, A.G. Roy 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”………FHTM made the list.
Does this look like the end of the trail for FHTM?
FHTM is being targeted just like any corporation out there, like the guy who spilled hot coffee at Mcdonalds and got boatloads of money after suing them, come on people…really. Was it Mcdonald’s fault he spilled his coffee on himself?? Or was this guy taking advantage of a loop hole in the system.
Apple, Google, Walwart, Home Depot, Amway, Herbalife, Mona Vie etc, you name any big company out there and they have been sued, that’s just the way it is.
Amway has had more law-suits than any MLM, why? Because they’ve been around the longest, are they illegal, the Amway arena still stands in Orlando.
Is there bad politicians, police, soldiers, nurses, doctors, waitors, wall street brokers? You bet there is bad people in every walk of life. MLM companies are no different,
I’ve met Paul Orbeson and he is the real deal,FHTM is the real deal. I’ve been with FHTM for 2 years and the only way you can earn money is by getting customers. We do NOT get paid for recruiting a person.
I’ve seen bad people come and go in FHTM, they don’t last. If you are a dishonest person it will be revealed and people will not join and follow such a person.
FHTM is squeeky clean but it’s a people business and there is a lot of people with different values out there.
There are two types of people who sue’s in these cases:
1. They didn’t have balls to look themself in the mirror and say that they failed and they want to blame someone else.
2. Or the were misinformed and misled by a dishonest human being.
Stop blaming others for your failures and take ownership for your own life.
FHTM Legal council,
FHTM is firmly committed to upholding the values of honesty, respect and responsibility that form the foundation of our company. We constantly strive to operate with the highest level of ethics and integrity, and we ask the same of our Representatives. In order to better ensure that we are meeting these goals, FHTM has created its Legal Advisory Council. The Council is comprised of two consultants who are former state attorneys general. Chris Gorman served as Kentucky Attorney General from 1992-1996, and Robert Stephan served as Kansas Attorney General from 1979-1995.
F. Chris GormanF. Chris Gorman joined the FHTM Legal Advisory Council in May of 2010, bringing an extensive array of experience to the company. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 1965 and his Juris Doctor in 1967. He also attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government in 1987.
Gorman’s 32 years of private practice encompass a wide variety of legal experience, including litigation for plaintiffs and defendants before state and federal courts as well as appellate briefings and oral arguments before state and federal appellate courts.
As District Commissioner of Kentucky’s Jefferson County, he spent six years representing over 250,000 constituents. He then served four years as Kentucky’s Attorney General, during which time his duties included prosecuting Medicaid fraud and public corruption, overseeing consumer protection litigation and mediation and drafting legislation on a variety of topics. During his tenure as Attorney General, Gorman helped Kentucky enact anti-stalking laws and helped create a Child Sexual Abuse Task Force. He has advocated legislation that would combat fraud against the elderly and assist children whose parents fail to pay child support. He also worked to make it a felony to possess a deadly weapon on school grounds.
FHTM is pleased to have an experienced legal expert such as Mr. Gorman now offering his expertise to add to the company’s success.
Robert T. StephanFHTM welcomed Robert T. Stephan in May of 2010. Stephan brings to FHTM a great deal of valuable expertise, as he has served many professional positions in law and government, most notably his 16 years as Kansas Attorney General.
In 1957, Stephan graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas with a B.A. in Political Science and from the Washburn University School of Law. That same year, he began practicing law in Wichita and continued to do so for the next eight years. Later, Stephan spent several years as a municipal court judge and a district court judge.
In 1979, Stephan became Attorney General of Kansas, a position to which he was elected four times and served until 1995. During that time, he argued before the United States Supreme Court, and he presented his legal viewpoints at international conferences in locations such as Spain and Moscow. His work on the behalf of Kansas citizens led him to cut off the activities of a white supremacist group and shut down the activities of a number of puppy mills. He also fought for the passage of the Kansas Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights, a law that was enacted in 1989.
Throughout his career, Stephan has worked for various causes. In 2004 Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius appointed Stephan chair of the Governor’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board. In 1997, he received the Kansas Special Olympics Leadership Award and was named the 2009 State Ally of The Year from the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. In 2003 he received the Fred Ellsworth Medallion, the University of Kansas Alumni Association’s highest honor for service to Kansas University.
Stephan is a former president of the National Association of Attorneys General. He currently serves as a Representative of the Kansas Bar Association on the Board of Kansas Legal Services, which provides legal services to the poor. He also chairs the Kansas Attorney General’s Senior Consumer Protection Advocacy Council as well as the Johnson County Kansas Criminal Justice Advisory Council.
From 1996 to 2003, he served on the Lawyers Council and the Government Relations Committee for the Direct Sellers Association.
Keith KuderIn February of 2011, FHTM welcomed its new General Counsel, Keith U. Kuder. Keith brings a wealth of knowledge and experience obtained during an 18-year career as a judicial clerk, law firm litigator and in-house attorney. In 1990, Keith graduated from the University of Virginia, Phi Beta Kappa. He completed the University of Virginia School of Law, Order of the Coif, in 1993. Today, Keith heads up FHTM’s continuing efforts to remain a world-class organization.
Previously, Keith’s in-house role was as General Counsel, North America for another international direct selling company. While there, Keith directed the legal support for that company’s largest and most profitable division, encompassing all of Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico. Prior to this, Keith held senior legal positions at several multi-billion dollar companies, including Cable & Wireless, MCI and BearingPoint, where upon his departure he was asked to lead the legal support for their $500 million sales channel.
Keith has also worked in private practice as a large law firm litigator with Seattle’s Lane Powell Spears Lubersky and later at Washington D.C.’s Wiley Rein & Fielding. Keith has extensive experience with direct selling, contracts, litigation, telecommunications, intellectual property, corporate law and marketing. He has represented global companies in each of these areas. In addition to his legal service for companies and businesses, Keith has represented impoverished defendants with bail hearing and post-conviction appeals. He has also represented Guardians ad Litem addressing the needs of at-risk children suffering from abuse or neglect.
FHTM is excited to have Keith’s knowledge and experience guiding the FHTM Legal and Compliance functions as our business grows and evolves.