In January 2011 BU exposed that Amway-Quixtar had Settled for 150 Million in the face of accusations it operated a pyramid scheme. It is no secret Barbadians from across the social spectrum participate in these Multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes as a means to supplement incomes. Despite several reports of MLMs collapsing, it has not deterred Barbadians from joining. Greed seems to be trumping commonsense these days.
The latest MLM to collapse is CLUB ASTERIA. BU research confirms that several Barbadians have been affected by the collapse, one of the more recognizable names is Wayne ‘Poonka’ Willock. When will we ever learn? Do a search of the Internet to get more details.
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isn’t Nutrilite an AMWAY of origins? are their products fake?
@David
Off Topic
You owe it to the many detractors of Donville Inniss to scan or pull the article written by noted Professor Fraser on the Drug Formulatry viz a viz the Drug Service. It is a pity that hte article was witten so late, but better late than never. I would love to see it placed on the thread with healthcare.
The article is in Today’s advocate.
BU has received an email threatening legal action. We will advise the BU family of our response.
BU/David, expect to receive threatening emails every once in a while.
There are people out there looking for fortune if not the fame.
Could the threatening of legal action has anything to do with the local and recognizable name mentioned in the blog?
Some of the people involved in these schemes are prominent professionals. People you wouldn’t think would get into this. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul. They boast how great the products are and the horrendous prices that are paid for these products. It is all a brain washing scheme. Our own TB stated that he and his wife are/were involved in this type of business. I was once called and invited by a well know Barbadian in the accountancy field. I politely refused . And the poor man without money gets hooked on the video and dreams of riches while he is fleeced in the process.
Over twenty years ago i ended up five hundred dollars poorer and have vowed never again to attend or particpate in any pyramid scheme. I invest my two cents myself.
Dominatrix aka “Just only axing” you claimed that you can hold your own in any situation? What happened?
@ David
Off Topic
Speaking of greed, yesterday I sent a link to a story about a Surinam official accepting $40,000 USD after meeting with Mohammad bin Hamman the President of the Asian Football Federation who was then a candidate for FIFA’s top position. There have been allegations that other representatives of other football Associations have also received “gifts”
It beggars belief that Surinam would be the only country to receive a “gift”, however unless other officials acknowledge that they also receive “gifts’, nothing may come of this.
The FIFA investigation into the bribery allegations is a sham as the committee established to investigate these claims is an internal one under the auspices of Blatter.
The notion of Blatter investigating these claims is akin to having the mongoose guarding the hen house.
@Sarge
Read it and you are correct, this is a story which has the potential to get nasty.
The Opposition Leader has already been getting involved.
Be assured Barbados representatives did not* accept any money, this is out of the mouth of the Minister of Education and Human Resource and President of the Barbados Football Association Ronald Jones.
Feel free to repost under the Jaxk Warner blog which was moved to the front page.
This comment is for Wayne ‘Poonka’ Willock:
Follow this link on the CLUB ATERIA Website and check the eighth testimonial down the page, is that you?
@Just Only Asking, I am bombarded almost every day by a work colleague. and a close friend who keeps inviting me to these meetings, I obliged them only once, but what i discovered was that the products they are selling could be purchased much cheaper in the supermarket etc.. I know that to make money you would have to get others to join and sell but it is too much stress and just not worth it
The world is full of a lot of crooks and hypocrites. We adults wonder how de children get so. The newspapers in Barbados are not worth the paper they are written on. Just as it seems prisons are for the poor and unconnected.David, continue to be the voice of the people as we have no other way to vent. Keep your identity hidden and your facts close to your chest. It seems those who are threatening are running scared. Lets have the facts without libel!
Why did you choose to mention the name of an identifiable individual without asking him for a comment , David? Was that responsible journalism? In any case, the story might be considered sufficiently newsworthy and in the public interest for BU to contest any liability.
@Spratt
Did you click on the link?
The man’s picture and testimonial is on the Internet.
What he needs to do is deal with the source.
I clicked on the link, David and I saw his picture there, next to an endorsement. But it did not say that he had authorised it and there might be some doubt given the origin of some of the others. Remember, it is no defence to a defamation action to say I repeated what was said by another. As I said, Ido not think you have anything to worry about though.
Be mindful of
.
Power Tends To Currupt,
and Absolute Power currupts Absolutely.
Some years ago my wife was taken in by some sweet talk from some of our “educated professional people. ” Me I spotted it a mile off for what it really was. A damn rip off that benefited a few at the top. Thank God she later saw the sheep in wolf’s clothing and quit, not loosing much.
The following comment is in response to Mr. Wayne Willock’s email:
There is lots about Club Asteria on the internet including this article which seems to sum up the situation well:
http://www.eagleresearchassociates.org/ClubAsteria.php
Mr Willcock does not seem to have a problem telling the World that he is part of Club Asteria as his LinkedIn page will tell you (assuming he is the same gentleman):
http://www.linkedin.com/in/poonka
What’s he threatening and why?
@St. Georges Dragon
Thanks for that link which supports BU position, Willock is one of the more recognizable Barbadians who is/was a member of CLUB ASTERIA.
In Barbados some maybe surprise at the high fulluting people involved in these MLMs who by their status have been able to lure unaware Bajans to part with hard earned dollars chasing greed.
BU will always make time to expose these ponzi schemes whenever we get a sniff of them.
OMG, if this creature used to be a BU supporter, you can rest assure no more!! (LOL)
This person should have let sleeping dogs lie and maybe readers would have made their comments about the corporation as a whole and glance over his name. But no, he chose a path for more exposure. How silly can one be. Chupse.
Maybe this Barbadian who apparently is or was a Network Director in the Club has made his millions and not necessarily affected by the downfall.
It’s the ones low on the totem pole that were hoping to climb or to keep climbing that got hurt.
David wrote “In Barbados some maybe surprise at the high fulluting people involved in these MLMs.”
The principle behind the acquisition of wealth is to persuade the less fortunate to part with their hard earned money so the high falutins can reach higher heights.
OFF TOPIC
CSME in hindsight
Barbados’ tough immigration policy that triggered a crescendo of criticism across the region seems to be becoming better understood and increasingly accepted.
Essentially, Barbados’ message that it simply can’t afford the cost of opening doors to all CARICOM nationals who wish to live in the country under the original freedom of movement regional plan, has apparently got through to some prime ministers and presidents
The Nation newspaper(of all newspapers)
@ IG246
” Our own TB stated that he and his wife are/were involved in this type of business…”
That is CORRECT*!!! Actually, we are definitely business owners!!!
However, since we 1st got into AMWAY in the early 1980′s and several other NUTRITION-based companies since that time – over the years we have learnt valuable things about the power of NETWORKING and the power of TEAM*** Building!!!
TODAY*, my darlin’ wife & I are involved in a EUROPEAN* company HQ in POLAND*…. ( http://www.fmworld.com )
We are UNLIKE* any other MLM or Network Marketing Co; (other than maybe AVON** Cosmetics) which in some ways bear some similarity to us or vica versa…
In our company, no one PAYS* nothing to become a DISTRIBUTOR…
When you sign up to become a distributor – you can purchase a STARTER KIT of 160 different fragrances including, catalogs for MakeUP, HomeCare products, samples and other marketing materials, etc;
You buy directly from the company at wholesale distributor price and sell at suggested retail or whatever mark-up you choose… (that’s the 1st LEVEL of income)
If you really want to make big money – then you are FREE* to build an organization by recruiting and have your people DUPLICATE the business model…
WHAT SETS US APART IS THAT THE PERSON WHO IS A “DIAMOND” MAKES MONEY AS MUCH AS THE PERSON WHO JUST GOT INTO THE BUSINESS…
If you work the business you can earn whatever your efforts will allow!!!
The model is completely “ETHICALLY” based ( unless we would NOT* touch it with a “BARGE POLE”) and in less than 6 months in the business we have seen where TEAMWORK* is really the name of the game… In other words, if you really want to make £££ you “MUST”*** build your DOWNLINE*** – there’s no other way to do it!!!
We can sell all the Perfumes, Colognes, Makeup, Homecare products we want and earn fantastic retail incomes but when it comes time to experience the next 2-TIERS of compensation that is where TEAMWORK* and building others in your immediate DOWNLINE* matters…. So the ISSUE* of selfishness is “ERASED” and the focus is on helping the others in your TEAM***
The business was just launched in Barbados on the 28th May and the response has been phenomenal… Yesterday (June 11th) FM CARIBBEAN was launched in TRINIDAD* (with a massive PARTY & much Fanfare) which will provide the HUB* for the full range of products available to the Caribbean market…
My mate & colleague Duane Marc Anthony along with Bajan James Marshall former Defense Force commander are the ones spearheading the Barbados Drive…
Trinidad has been granted the FRANCHISE* by the Polish HQ* because they have proven that they can successfully work the business model and the business is growing by LEAPS & BOUNDS providing income opportunities for Trinidadians out of work and others who want to make EXTRA* monies along with their current jobs!!!
So PERSPECTIVE* is necessary when critiquing individual business models!!! Some MLM’s are nothing more than PONZI schemes and the RIP-OFF artistes who play on people’s gullibility and their inability to think laterally and strategically for themselves but are “BLOWN ABOUT WITH EVERY WIND”…
DAVID@BU
Mr. Willock, if my recollection serves me (actually is someone I went to school with bearing that said name) and if it is the person in question – then I feel sorry for him… But that is the business of GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES which do not “actually” say that on the TIN* but when the can is opened and the “onion” layers are peeled away that is exactly what it is…
There are also several well-known persons in BIM*** – as well here in the UK that I know who have lost a “PACKET”… One such individual was on the phone long distance with my wife on Friday “LAMENTING” his losses!!!
I keep warning FOLKS* to do their homework and to ask the necessary ??? but nobody listens…
I was offered Asteria on a PLATTER* and I laughed the person off the phone which in hindsight was the right thing to do even if my deportment at the moment in question was too blatantly facetious and sarcastic!!!
One of the latest SCAMs out there is some “DODGY BASTARD” sending you VIRAL pictures of a BMW & a CERTIFIED* Bank Draft of monies you have won and all that’s required is that you pay the TAX* on your winnings… (Maybe nothing new for some) but the lengths to which we go to rob, cheat, kill & STEAL* tells me something is UP!!!
I received US$5000 in $100 AMERICAN EXPRESS Travelers Cheques from a complete stranger and was asked to CASH$ them and take 10% and WIRE TRANSFER* the balance to a person in Russia…(After examining what would have seemed like a quite LEGIT* cheque – I discover a couple of the Bank LOGOS* were ever-so-slightly crooked) and that immediately raised alarm bells… I called AE and VOIDED* each cheque with a RED MARKER and posted them to them…
Let’s face it DAVID* – we are facing a serious MORAL* vacuum in our world and our so-called leaders, agencies and institutions have absolutely no answer whatsoever!!!
@TB….and it is always the poor man who will be fleeced. You can call it many names as you like and disguise it but it is still a scam. The man at the bottom always keeps the men at the top afloat.
It is amazing how many Christians are involved in this type of business.
@ DAVID
The word on the GRAPEVINE* this morning is that some CHINESE* based in HONG KONG has something to do with the collapse of CLUB ASTERIA* and PAYPAL*** has frozen and locked down their bank account – hence no FUNDS* can flow to anyone, at least in any sizeable measure… So the % you would normally get on a US$$1000 or $10,000 investment is NOW* peanuts…. However, the company still insist that there are OPEN* for business!!!
It is also being rumored that FOLKS* who have had UBER* losses are looking at a CLASS-ACTION suit to get back their monies….
Let’s see if the Justice Dept gets involved and what developments will occur in the next few weeks as a case builds!!!
Stay tuned…
@TB
Thanks TB, the Internet has its advantages although some in Barbados like to dwell on the negatives.
@ IS246
That’s true – I can’t argue with you!!!
But the wise will have discernment!!!
The Stock Market is unquestionably the largest FRAUD & SCAM* in modern history but look how many good folks – CHRISTIAN & otherwise who own STOCKS & SHARES in it….
So the argument could go in all kinds of directions…
What I insist on is that FOLKS* be vigilant – DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!
Old fashion ways of doing business is still the best… BUY & SELL!!!
Today, that’s what we do in my house…
@ DAVID
You are most WELCOME, Sir!!!
@David | June 11, 2011 at 9:42 AM |
“Follow this link on the CLUB ATERIA Website and check the eighth testimonial down the page, is that you?”
IT IS NOT THE 8TH TESTIMONIAL.. IT IS THE 12TH READING ‘WAYNE WILOCK’
@Terence Blackett | June 12, 2011 at 9:13 AM |
“TODAY*, my darlin’ wife & I are involved in a EUROPEAN* company HQ in POLAND*…. ( http://www.fmworld.com )..…The business was just launched in Barbados on the 28th May and the response has been phenomenal”
How can u say this business is different from the others which rob the poor when u stated that the business was just launched here on may 28th? that’s not enough time to know anything. u would have to be in it for at least 1 year to understand fully…have u been in this one that length of time
@ ME
“How can u say this business is different from the others which rob the poor when u stated that the business was just launched here on may 28th? that’s not enough time to know anything. u would have to be in it for at least 1 year to understand fully…have u been in this one that length of time…”
You are making assumptions without the benefit of all the FACTS* or the opportunity to weigh up, or explore what is on offer…
To make broad, sweeping generalizations about a BUSINESS* model without the common knowledge of how that business functions is basely SIMPLISTIC* and shows evidence of being ILL_INFORMED* as to how the mechanics of business work…
If you are OPEN-MINDED* enough – you are FREE* to take an in-depth look at FM Group World and then be in a position to make your own determinations…
As previously stated on Corporate Frauds Watch, the bosses of the US-based criminogenic organization known as ‘Club Asteria’ have used the trusted name of the ‘World Bank’ to promote a classic, self-perpetuating, closed-market swindle dissimulated as a lawful ‘Income/Business Opportunity.’ Months ago I took the trouble to report this alarming situation to senior officials at the World Bank in Washington DC, to FBI agents and to various, interested third-parties whose legitimate businesses have also appeared on the illegitimate ‘Club Asteria’ Website.
In brief, the instigators of the ‘Club Asteria’ swindle (including Andrea Lucas, a former employee of the World Bank) have been cheating a growing number of ill-informed and vulnerable individuals (particularly, African and Asian immigrants to the USA and Europe) by persuading them that, simply by buying around $20 of products, and/or services, each month from ‘Club Asteria,’ and recruiting more and more persons to do the same, eventually all members can achieve ‘financial freedom.’In simple terms, since the money flowing into ‘Club Asteria’ has come largely from its own members, the victims of this swindle have actually been peddled infinite shares of their own finite money. So long as more and more ill-informed victims keep joining, the swindle can be sustained. The bosses of ‘Club Asteria’ already claim to have 300 000 members, and their reality-inverting propaganda has been posted all over the Net. This has been aimed at convincing the world that ‘Club Asteria’ is a purely philanthropic organization run by financially competent and ethical persons who are associated with international companies and major financial institutions. Sadly, ‘Club Asteria’ is the unoriginal creation of an absurd gang of exceedingly greedy, but otherwise mediocre, little racketeers who most-probably suffer from severe and inflexible Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
It has recently been reported that PayPal (one of the trusted names that has featured prominently on the ‘Club Asteria’ Website) has frozen the funds of ‘Club Asteria’. Although it has not been revealed how much cash this involves, tens of thousands of people a have been giving ‘Club Asteria’ around $20 per month via PayPal and receiving derisory, net-loss payments in return.
According to the company’s terms and conditions, PayPal reserves the right to withhold its clients’ funds, and to restrict access to accounts, for 180 days, if unusual or fraudulent activitiy is detected. Although the bosses of ‘Club Asteria’ have already broadcast propaganda which attempts to blame a few of the organization’s members for using PayPal to commit fraud, this news confirms that the ‘Club Asteria’ racket is now under investigation in the USA and elsewhere.
The ‘Club Asteria’ racket could be about to collapse. Corporate Frauds Watch looks forward to the day when we can report the arrest of Andrea Lucas and her criminal associates.
David Brear (copyright 2011
@Terence M. Blackett | June 14, 2011 at 3:36 PM |
you still have not answered the question posited to you from ‘ME’. She asked you if you were in the business long enough to ascertain that they too were not detractors like Club Asteria. but you went off on a tangent telling her about simplistic and ‘non open-mindness. WHY WON’T U ANSWER THE SIMPLE QUESTION? You can’t ’cause you have no evidence that what you are now pushing is legit. i posit that it is no different from what Club Asteria is all about- small minded thieves who would not look for something honest to do.
As we all now know, Bernie Madoff was a dangerous and manipulative sociopath who ran a closed-market swindle dissimulated as an ‘investment opportunity’. He took his victims’ money and steadfastly pretended that he was investing it for them on the stock market and always returning profits. In reality, Madoff wasn’t really making any stock market trades (profitable or unprofitable). He was lying. Classically, he relied on more and more ill-informed victims joining his fraud in order to hide and sustain his vast criminal enterprise. For years, all that the dunces with diplomas at the US Securities and Exchange Commission had to do to uncover Madoff’s racket, was go and examine the stock market records, but apparently they preferred to accept Madoff’s own reality-inverting version of his unlawful activities.
Last week I was speaking to an experienced American financial investigator who is currently looking at one particular ‘MLM business opportunity’ racket which, for many years, has been hidden behind a US-registered public company, and which, as a consequence of recent reforms (introduced in the light of the Bernie Madoff fiasco), might finally face an SEC enquiry. Apparently, US financial regulators are now under legal obligation to act on any reasonable complaints which they receive. In the case of Mr. Madoff, senior SEC officials were given a detailed and timely explanation of the absurdly-obvious Ponzi scheme he was running, but they refused to take any action and this chronic US regulatory failure gave Madoff ‘s economic alchemy credibility.
Personally, I am of the opinion that key US SEC officials (most of whom are lawyers) have already demonstrated that they were either far too open to corruption (and should be facing racketeering charges themselves), or far too stupid to be held to account. Since key officials at this federal government agency recently failed to do their job and identify the most-elementary form of dissimulated closed-market swindle (even when it was clearly explained to them), what chance have they now got of comprehending that ‘MLM business opportunity’ fraud is an essentially identical crime, but with countless millions of victims around the globe? That said, for years, at least one US-registered public company has been allowed to raise capital unlawfully in the USA by peddling shares in a vast criminal enterprise which has been presented externally as a lawful ‘MLM business opportunity’. Again, all that the dunces with diplomas at the SEC have to do to uncover this racket, is go and examine the financial records. Surely, this time they won’t prefer to accept the reality-inverting version of dangerous and manipulative sociopaths.
There are, in fact, many well-informed people in America who are perfectly aware that ‘MLM’ is a global criminogenic phenomenon, spawned in the USA and which makes Mr. Madoff look like a small-time operator. Indeed, the experienced American financial investigator whom I spoke to, offered the insightful opinion that ‘MLM’ is America’s home-grown version of the ‘Nigerian Bank’ scam and that the US State Dept. should be collecting intelligence from countries like India to determine the full-extent of the damage ‘MLM’ has caused. Perhaps a good place to start would be on America’s own door-step; for it’s not just in distant lands like India where ‘business opportunity’ frauds are a problem. These cancers have been allowed to gnaw their way into small Caribbean States like Trinidad and Barbabados. Fortunately, in the face of government inaction (and a mysterious lack of interest from the mainstream media), a few decent individuals are struggling to inform, and protect, their fellow citizens.
Corporate Frauds Watch salutes the efforts of Barbados Underground.
David Brear (copyright 2011)
What intriguing article.