• FTC Staff Take Further Measures to Protect MLMs, Making Consumers Easy Prey for False “Business Opportunity” Solicitations

    From Pyramid Scheme Alert newsletter, by Robert FitzPatrick The largest of all multi-level marketing companies, Amway, just agreed to pay $150 million in restitution and reform to settle consumer charges of fraud. The heart of the consumers’ complaints is that […]

  • Milwaukee Public Schools: Is Merit Pay the Answer?

    Yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had an article on the concept of merit pay for teachers. The idea has been floated many times, but not tried very often. Teachers are against it for the most part. Wouldn’t you be? Why give […]

  • Genuine Remorse From Sachdeva? Laughable.

    Yesterday, Sue Sachdeva was sentenced to 11 years in prison for her $34 million theft from her employer, Koss Corp.  I predicted a little slap on the wrist of 5 to 7 years, so she got two little slaps instead. […]

  • Learn From the Costly FCPA Mistakes of Others

    A recent Compliance Week article, An Expensive Lesson on FCPA Compliance [subscription required], provides some valuable insights on the direction that our government is taking with enforcement. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations are a huge focus of the feds right […]

  • Koss Fraud Coverup Deemed “Complex” By the Government

    Yesterday the government’s sentencing memorandum in the criminal case against Sujata Sachdeva (the woman who stole more than $34 million from her employer, Koss Corp.) was released.  It had a number of items of interest. Prior to sentencing, the prosecution […]

  • Blog Star

    The internet offers infinite space in which to carve out a piece of blogger stardom. INSIGHT – The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society – November/December 2010 By Christine Bockelman When CPA and financial fraud expert Tracy Coenen started her […]

  • Former Koss Executive Pulls Off “Complex” Fraud

    Nearly a year after she was arrested, Sue Sachdeva will be sentenced for stealing $34 million from the Koss Corporation.Sachdeva, a former executive at Koss, will be sentenced in federal court Thursday.

  • The Case for Independent Internal Investigations

    The United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) continue to make life tough for those in charge of corporate compliance and ethics. Corporate attorneys, both in-house and outside counsel, must ensure that companies are following protocols set for by the USSG. Rightfully, […]

  • Settlement in Amway Class Action Suit

    The following is a summary issued by Robert FitzPatrick and Pyramid Scheme Alert about the historic class action settlement that was just reached with the Amway Corporation, the largest of all multi-level marketing companies. Three directors and advisors of Pyramid […]

  • Usana’s “Distributor Hall of Fame” Analyzed

    Usana Watch Dog has been busy compiling more data about the Usana Health Sciences “business model” for distributors. He writes about what I already know from my years of research into multi-level marketing schemes: Nearly everyone loses money in these […]