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AN ODD SORT OF PROSPERITY

July 29, 2008

The Global Prosperity Institute was a notorious multi-level marketing scheme selling offshore tax evasion products. Two of its sales associates were sentenced on federal charges yesterday - one to three years in prison, and one to 36 months. It could have been worse; they had cooperated with prosecutors in their case against David Struckman, one of the GPI founders, according to the Worcester Telegram. Mr. Struckman received a 70-month sentence.

According to Quatloos, the anti-fraud web site, we shouldn't waste too much sympathy on the newly sentenced GIobal Prosperity multi-level marketeers:

The people associated with GPG are the bottom of the bottom, too. Many of the people have criminal pasts, others are lifelong network marketers. In other words, you have to be a total scumbug to be affiliated with GPG -- that is, creating relationships with hardened criminals and a programs which has a reputation for scamming young and old, rich and poor alike. If somebody actually admits they are in Global Prosperity, you know you are dealing with a lowlife, so run!

Global Prosperity's reputation is so bad that other network marketers will often add a disclaimer to the bottom of their own spams and advertisements which says "Not Global Prosperity" -- now that is pretty bad! And Global Prosperity really had to work at being the Black Sheep of the multi-level marketing industry, which is like being the really dislikeable guy in a lineup of child molesters.

Ouch.

UPDATE: Department of Justice press release

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