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- Title
ARTFUL DECEPTION: THE MULTILEVEL MARKETING INDUSTRY'S USE OF SMOKE AND MIRRORS TO HIDE THEIR PYRAMID-SHAPED TRUTHS.
- Authors
Stauffer-Person, Hailey
- Abstract
In tbe United States, the line between financial fraud and legal business opportunity is blurry at best. Multilevel marketing companies have mastered the art of walking in the gray Cired while avoiding tbe majority of government regulators. In 2020, tbe direct sales industry experienced over $40 billion in sales and involved over 7 million Americans as distributors. Countless Americans fall victim to multilevel marketing frauds eacb year and the U.S. government bas done little to protect tbem from the industry's inherent manipulation. Tbe recent growth of the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and tbe defeat of President Donald Trump has recaptwed the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In October 2021, tbe FTC issued over 1,000 warning letters to multilevel marketing companies regarding their deceptive recruitment tactics and unsubstantiated health claims. The multilevel marketing industry bas not faced aggressive scrutinyftom the FTC since the 1970£ This Comment's goal is to address tbe gap in scholarship surro·unding the multilevel marketing industry's history and current legal standards, as well ds provide a foundation for others to build upon. This will be accomplished through a thorough review of the relevant history and legal decisions, followed by an application of tbe relevant standards to a modem-day multilevel marketing company.
- Subjects
UNITED States. Federal Trade Commission; FRAUD; MARKETING laws; TRUMP, Donald, 1946-; GOVERNMENT policy
- Publication
Lewis & Clark Law Review, 2023, Vol 27, Issue 1, p355
- ISSN
1557-6582
- Publication type
Article