This guy sounds hopeful but realistic about the chances of ASD pulling through this U.S. Attorney General investigation. By the way, I have been covering Network Marketing on this blog since 2003 and this ASD incident is the first time I have ever heard the United States Attorney General shutting down a company.
Our thoughts go out to those involved with ASD.
They didn't shut 'em down. The office is still open. Employees are still working. This is fact, and was verified earlier today (Mon, Aug 4).
The District of Columbia AG did freeze assets. That's fact too. And that's not good.
But it's distinctly different from shutting a company down. It's important to be accurate in a matter like this.
I've been involved in MLM over 20 years and the ONLY reason you see the U.S. Attorney General get involved like this is because it's a PONZI scheme.
This was NOT a legitimate way to make money. People paid tens of thousands to get the others putting their money in to VIEW their site. Hardly a valid advertising expense … most were money-grubbing people who enjoyed the returns on their investment…and NEVER promoted a product…just the money!
I saw this coming months ago as did many other Professionals in MLM.
I feel sorry for the people who didn't "understand" How to do their Due Diligence. A visit to the ftc.gov and a search on "daily surf" would have shown they didn't stand a chance at surviving. The US AG will likely go after all the BIG money earners and take back what they got out of all the folks they scammed!
Tha is the problem with "word of mouth", people lose their head when "friends" start talking about making BIG money FAST. Let's hope they can recover their losses.
Hmm. It sounds like the due diligence recommended here is to look things up in a book, decide that the company is guilty of doing what the book says and then calling people names. I don't like that at all.
How about doing it this way: get the information from the company itself, not a law book, then separate the hype from the facts. Investigate the principles involved, attend a rally or company function and talk to the people who have first hand knowledge. Join for free and invest the minimum $10 and wait a few weeks, to see what happens. Call customer service and see how you are treated.
Then throw it all out an throw a dart at a dartboard, red you buy in, black you look elsewhere, just like some people pick stocks! But don't NOT investigate and make a decision because of popular opinion.
Cheryl hit the nail on the head.
ASD was just the giant sophisticated ponzi scheme of the year. Last year, Bob Krimm's Tri-Star Media fit the role, and the year before that, 12 Daily Pro and StudioTraffic assumed the position.
Using an excuse like "advertising packages or credits" as a cover up for the "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" ponzi cycle won't hold up in court. The very reason that these ponzi schemes are illegal is because the model cannot sustain itself forever. Eventually, the exponential growth of daily investments (in this case, "Ad packs") dies down, and before long, the program is unable to pay any rebates. Ponzi pools must dry up sooner or later.