You may have heard from someone you know or been recruited on Facebook and such about this "wonder exciting opportunity to earn a lot of money" called TVI Express. To put it plainly, it is a Ponzi scheme, and if you fall for it, you are an idiot. And if you continue to recruit people if you KNOW it is a Ponzi scheme, you are ACTIVELY COMMITTING FRAUD, and may be subject to CRIMINAL PROSECUTION in your country. And if you do NOT see why TVI Express is a Ponzi scheme, you are both stupid AND self-delusional. Let us look at the facts:
FACT 1) Even TVI Express's own website states that you do NOT sell anything, but you do have to recruit/sponsor people to join. That is the classic definition of a Ponzi (or Pyramid) scheme.
Counterpoint: I don't care! I'm getting paid!
Response: did you know that if you KNOWINGLY participating in a fraudulent scheme, such as a Ponzi scheme, you are just as guilty in the eyes of the law?
FACT 2) TVI Express claims to be in London, England. However, there is NO SUCH BUSINESS registered in England by that name according to the UK business registry, and the office address they listed is NO LONGER VALID, confirmed by building receptionist.
Counterpoint: Somebody (unconfirmed) posted something about TVI Express is moving to another facility, and expect an update in 2-3 weeks.
Response to that: Hello! It takes 5 minutes to update a website, and it's been OVER A MONTH since that issue was raised! What ******** excuse is that? And why can't you leave a forwarding address at the former location? Huh? This screams "shady operation".
FACT 3) Nobody knows ANYTHING about who owns / leads TVI Express. It's NOT on their website and as they're nowhere to be found in England even though they appear to be a British business. All "messages" are signed as "Management Team".
Counterpoint: What does THAT have to do with anything, as long as I am getting paid?
Response: are you dense, or are you blinded by greed?
FACT 4) You are encouraged to register MULTIPLE accounts, to sponsor even MORE people together, says so on the TVI Express website FAQ.
Counterpoint: That's not proof of fraud and you know it!
FACT 5) The voucher you get are NOT actually for travel, but for recruiting other people. The way this works is as follows:
You join by one of two ways: you can pay TVI Express $271 through one of their approved methods, via credit card, or through an outfit called Liberty Payment (based on Costa Rica, by the way), or you can buy a $250 voucher off of an existing member and redeem it at their website. If you "cycle through" the A board, (and fill it up with other people at the bottom) you get $250 cash and $250 voucher (which you can then sell to some other people to use to join).
Counterpoint: That's still not fraud.
Response: just keep reading...
FACT 6) The payment processor for the credit card is a small bank in Cyprus, island just off of Greece in Europe, NOT England.
Counterpoint: So? It's cheaper to operate in Cyprus. Business tax there is a mere 10%.
Response: So why does the company say they're based in LONDON, not Cyprus?
FACT 7) On TVI Express's website, the "complaint" link goes to CEO@tviexpress.com. Come on, which CEO of a real company spends time reading complaints?
FACT 8) TVI Express is already under investigation by Chinese authorities.
This Google translation isn't the best, but you get the gist of it.
FACT 9) The website appears to cite endorsements by Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Warren Buffet. However, what each of those individuals said was they like some aspects of "network marketing". NONE of them specifically applies to TVI Express. And when TVI Express itself says "you don't need to sell anything", what exactly are you marketing?
And here's some other interesting factoids...
FACT?? [Unconfirmed, but undisputed] The money is transferred out of Cyprus to a company called TVI Services... based in INDIA.
FACT?? [Unconfirmed, but undisputed] The so-called "online backoffice" is a website showing some other company's online reservation system with their own header, using "iframe", or "seamless frame" that you don't know it's a separate website unles you look through the webpage's source code.
FACT?? All of the websites touting how great TVI Express is are FREE press release sites or sites set up by people trying to recruit more people. Press release is written by the business itself. So that's NOT reliable information!
FACT?? If this business is so hot, why haven't ANY legitimate reviews from Forbes or even a real newspaper reporter have investigated it?
To put it as plainly as possible... TVI Express is very OBVIOUSLY a Ponzi scheme. If you don't see that, you have very good self-denial skills. And if you *do* see that, and you are STILL recruiting people, you are actively committing FRAUD. The fact that you don't need to sell anything should be a clue that this can't be a legitimate operation, as it has no products.
And don't tell me that as long as you are getting paid, you don't care. You are profiting off someone else's naiveness. That is fraud, plain and simple.
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20 comments:
I don't care dude ... I have one of the biggested lists here in Australia - 352 - and have cycled out of the Express Board 8 times in the last 10 weeks and about to do it again in about 5/6 days.
That so far is $80,000 cash & $40,000 worth of Travel Vouchers.
Did you earn $120,500 in the last 10 weeks from a grand investment of $286 which included fees.
Show me the money baby .. LMFAO
Barry J Abbott ( ID: abbott52 )
You *do* know that you can GO TO JAIL for fraud, yes?
Need I remind you that Bernie Maydoff made BILLIONS, and is now paying the price for his Ponzi scheme?
Well, you've made your choice. Just beware when it's time to pay the price for your riches.
Let's make sure everyone is clear on this. A Ponzi scheme is when you take money from people and they get nothing in return. Great example with the Madoff reference. With TVI Express, you do receive a 7 day vacation voucher for your money. There are no additional charges, so there is no fraud. I travel frequently for business and the money I save by booking my travel through TVI is well worth it. I have been a network marketer for many years and this is one of the best opportunities I have seen! We are quickly building a huge organization in the USA. For more information visit www.tviexpress.com/successhappens.
See you at the top!
Tammy
So, Tammy, you are obviously a member. Have you gone on that vacation yet? Mind if we see receipts and photos from that vacation? Feel free to blank out any portions that may violate your privacy.
I just find it VERY suspicious that out of the TENS OF THOUSANDS (probably more than that) of members, NOT A SINGLE PERSON has actually admitted to have gone on such a vacation, and shown any PROOF of such a vacation.
Did you get a list of disclaimers, terms and conditions of this "voucher", and so on? What does this voucher look like, any way? How do you redeem it? If you want to convince people, you need to provide DETAILS, and there are NONE to be had on TVIExpress.com
And besides, what have you sold, out of curiosity?
And finally, a Ponzi scheme is where the money from latercomers is used to pay the early comers. The early comers get out with $$$. It's the latercomers, when the scheme collapses, that gets nothing. If you already got paid, congratulations. I hope everyone that you recruit gets paid, since they'd be coming after you when they don't.
I loved your explanation, Kasey.
I would predict that the FTC would rule TVI Express an illegal "pyramid scheme," as opposed to a ponzi scheme, since neglected products/services as opposed to fraudulent investment activity is the problem here; however, a "scam is a scam." I've already heard far too many horror stories from TVI Express members being coaxed into purchasing multiple positions for $250 each and not seeing any progress.
People who are holding tight to TVI Express are, unfortunately, in for a very bleak future. I commend you for helping others to see the light, even if arrogant TVI Express builders may try to bite at your heels.
Sincerely,
Mr. Ryz
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Ponzi Scheme Alert Blog
The product with TVI Express is the TRAVEL MEMBERSHIP. The aforementioned voucher 7 day vacation voucher is a bonus, you can use it or not, but in any case you get the benefits of the travel membership. TVI is an affiliate of Travelocity - call Travelocity and ask them if you're unsure. That means the travel discounts you get are offered via the Travelocity engine, and TVI itself guarantees lowest price on top of what the booking engine comes up with. There are several members on my team who have used the travel membership to book airfare and hotels and it worked just fine.
George... WHY would I need to pay $250 to use Travelocity, which is free? I can just as easily as use Hotels.com, Expedia, Orbitz, or any of the other airfare search engines out there.
I'm sure you CAN order from Travelocity "through" TVI, but why? What do you actually GET for that $250 that you don't get otherwise, besides getting "qualified" for $10000+$5000 in vouchers when you recruit more... downlines?
What do you think when you saw the two board's resemblance to the 8-ball scam as documented by Wikipedia?
And even now, it's confusing... some people say $250 voucher is the travel voucher for 7-day/6-night, others day you can sell that to other members as the cost to join. Which is which? Can you or any other TVI member shed some light on it?
I'm not a member of TVI, however I am in the airline industry... and prior to that a legal consultant for over 10 years.. This is an internet business. do you realize that that there are no breaking of any laws for the members partication in this membership or selling the membership, or vouchers..
If you don't believe in thier company practices does make it illegal.. because u don't agree.. so stop telling people they are going to jail un less you are a judge, and they have been found to be breaking any laws...
Madoff stole, peoples investments, and broke FTC, and Investment laws which are govern by the security exchange laws.. for Trading...
this is MLM.. not security fraud...
do you understand that people gamble online, even when their state has no gambling laws.. the internet does not have jurisdiction.. ..except for child porn...
please have ur facts clear before you start tell people they are going to jail.. don't you think that the FTC, and the Police, FBI.. know more about this company then you do... and if people where breaking laws.. don't you think they would have shut them down by now.. what do you think they would be waiting for..
Tip..Call the FBI and ask them if they have any complaints or plans on arresting anyone employed with or working with this company, or who are doing business with them.. They will tell you.. You can call the FBI and ask them to look up information on yourself, and they will tell you if you have a record or wanted by them..
so stop wasting all the bull shit.. and shut up.. when u don't know what ur talking about.. u guys sound ridiculous.. from
NON TVI MEMBER..
Tommy, do you realize YOU are sounding ridiculous as well?
I wrote if you KNOWING COMMIT FRAUD you will go to jail. THAT is a FACT. If they sincerely don't believe their committed fraud, then they are perfectly welcome to IGNORE everything I wrote.
And if you think that's ridiculous, well, that's your right to do. In fact, start your own blog and rant. I did.
In one sentence you said they're a "travel club membership", in another sentence you said they are a MLM (multi-level-marketing). So which is which?
FTC investigates ANY sort of pyramid scam, NOT securities fraud. SEC investigates securities fraud. Please keep your own facts straight.
Did you know how long does a typical Ponzi scheme investigation take? YEARS. TVI Express only started in January 2009. It's not even a year yet. You ever known ANY government to move that fast, except communist and fascist governments against "dissidents"?
And just because no one was arrested doesn't mean investigation wasn't taking place.
Finally... You're responding to a post I did THREE WEEKS AGO. I haven't posted anything for TWO WEEKS. It's all these TVI defenders and fellow busybodies (such as you) that kept this comments going.
I have a neighbor who is in deep with TVI and is constantly hounding people to join. I knew right away it was a scam. What person in their right mind would think you could have a yacht, or lear jet by paying $250.00?
The most important thing is I have proof it is a scam! I personally contacted Travelocity and asked them if they take TVI vouchers for trips? The representative told me that NO, they don't take TVI vouchers for trips. I asked them if they were affiliated with TVI and they said absolutely NOT! The Rep said they have no idea who TVI Express was and they knew nothing about them.
There will always be desperate people trying to earn a quick buck. I must admit I was tempted, money is tight right now. But, in all good conscience I couldnt bring myself to cross the line and do it. Many people will lose their hard earned money and thats a crime and I could not do that to family, friends or even strangers! My conscious would not let me be dishonest. I hope this thing runs it course soon. Our dear neighbors are looking at retiring soon because of TVI profits. I am afraid they are barking up the wrong tree and hope they dont get in trouble being involved with this get rich, pyramid scheme!
Well done Kasey
I nearly joined TVI exp recently but hesitating. Just to make sure,so I asked my company legal advisor to investigate. Result were negative both 2 addresses in U.K. and U.K. registered co. numbers.
I'm glad I didn't join. $250 does not soud significant sums and only one off payment. But bad feeling is something I want to avoid.
Thanks for enlightening me and many people.
Terry from U.K.
Hello Kasey,
I have to say I really appreciate you posting such a thorough analysis of this entire mess- we came upon this "business" LOL- through a friend and researched it ourselves; and came upon basically the same conclusions you did; except for some technical details that you seem to have nailed down much more solidly than us. We didn't know about the Criminal Investigation by the Chinese Government and we hadn't located the technical faults of the site; the IP address, etc. We did figure that it was a pyramid- per the definitions in the FBI website & FTC website. The defining factor of "sustainability" I think is HIGHLY misunderstood by ALL people involved- UNLESS of course; they know all about it and just couldn't care less. We took the precaution of sending it out to our entire mailing list; there are SO many misinformed people- it was shocking to us. A simple course in legit business structure may do our entire population a world of good!
Anyway, thanks!
Sincerely,
Claudia & Lafayette
TVI Global Assist Team: your comment was rejected as SPAM. You did not contributed anything useful to the discussion except more recruiting stuff. Feel free to repost when you have something SUBSTANTIAL to post. -- ed.
Kasey,
Nice article on tvi! Only wish it was on the web before I joined. I did see the red flags, but family tugging at me did me in.
I am now a non-participating member and trying to spread the TRUTH about tvi and this major scam! http://bloggerwatchdog.wordpress.com
Some people think that because they get paid it's legit. That's just not the case. Neither is getting paid directly from tvi!
Alot of complaints out there about tvi not paying them directly. Including myself.
Members are paying members by turning ewallet "funds" into vouchers and reselling them. Tvi hasn't spent a dime.
Tired of people saying tvi paid them when that is so not the case! Members are paying each other and that is a completely different thing!
Thanks for the good article and have a good holiday season!
Thanks so much Kasey for the facts.
I can see how some tvi-ers can be blinded cuz their 'in it'.
I used to be a part of ASD (ad surf daily) and we ALL were making TONS of money. My friend and I asked some legal professionals what they thought about it...and they told us to RUN.
But of course, We said, "Oh, their just negative. They dont believe. They belong int their 9-5. We're going to retire next year."
Then....WHAM!
Shut down by the FBI.
I had no idea what i was a part of... but since i believed in it so much, i invested all my earnings right back into it...and lost thousands.
I fear the same will happen to TVI folks. And i think that's why im so passionate about these TVI Forums.
I dont want people to lose their hard earned money by feeding this 'get-rich'quick' frenzy.
I know that yacht looks good. And that villa looks good. And cycling weekly with 10k looks good, but look at the facts people.
If you look at the current forums, many tvi-ers are complaining that they are NOT getting paid by the company. They are just selling a piece of paper (voucher that can't even get redeemed for months) to friends and family.
Im sorry, but i think thats just wrong.
So, im just writing (and thanking you Kasey) to keep people aware. And to stop even just 1 person from joining this awful scheme.
Affiliate Marketing is a performance based sales technique used by companies to expand their reach into the internet at low costs. This commission based program allows affiliate marketers to place ads on their websites or other advertising efforts such as email distribution in exchange for payment of a small commission when a sale results.
www.onlineuniversalwork.com
@HenryLow -- affiliate marketing is perfectly legal, as you are basically sharing in the revenue generated in the sale and referrals. But we all know that TVI Express is NOT that, as there is no SALES, just recruiting, and that is just pyramid scam.
To: Henry- BUT, TVI EXPRESS is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANYONE THEY ARE CLAIMING TO BE AFFILIATED TO. Travelocity and Expedia- the affiliations that are claimed on their introductory videos are FALSE. There's is NO affiliation.... PERIOD.
VIA NET or through any means. The Travelocity Legal Department said- WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED in ANY WAY, WITH THIS COMP. FURTHERMORE IF THEY HAVE PROMISED YOU DISCOUNTS or VACATIONS PLEASE REPORT... How can people NOT understand this simple, simple, simple point???
SERIOUSLY KASEY CHANG. SHOW PROOF. DON'T ACCUSE SOMETHING IS A SCAM WITHOUT PROOF. DON'T JUST REASON. SHOW PROOF.
AND GET A LIFE. PLS.
My entire post was proof. Why don't you just show some proof to prove me wrong, Dick?
YOU need to get a life too. You're responding to something I wrote almost a year ago, and you're the one throwing accusations around without proof. I cited plenty of proof, and there's a lot more in the rest of my blog.
As far as I can tell you're the one accusing me without proof.
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