The American Federal Trade Commission has advice for real people looking for real opportunities

The American FTC is the federal level agency tasked with protecting consumers, i.e. you and me from fraudulent businesses in general, including MLM or businesses that claim to be MLM. They have 8 recommendations and three major questions you should ask of the people recruiting you. Let's start with the questions first, and try it on TVI Express (feel free to try it against your favorite MLM):


1. What are your annual sales of the product? How much product did you sell to distributors? What percentage of your sales were made to distributors?

In TVI Express, the only honest answer from the upline is Zero, All (however many people he recruited), All 100%. 

TVI Express "distributors" doesn't sell any hotel vouchers or travel or any such thing. They sell MEMBERSHIPS to TVI Express (which supposedly gets you a voucher for travel, and alleged discounts). Or in other words, they don't sell trips to people outside the company at all, thus they are NOT a travel business. And that, is bad, because having NO PRODUCT means the whole thing is a pyramid scheme. 

If you ask about this, then the upline will try to claim various things as product.

a) They will claim membership itself is a product (it's not, but it's a requirement for access to product. ). 

b) They will claim the free trip that comes with the membership is the product (again, it's not, as you can't get the trip without the membership). 

c) They will claim the discounts you can get for the membership is the product (again, it's not. Discount to other products is not in itself a product. )

In other words, all of the explanation are bogus, and the upline is desperately spinning bull**** hoping you won't notice the bogosity of his explanations. 

2. What were your expenses last year, including money you spent on training and purchasing products? How much money did you make last year — that is, your income and bonuses minus your expenses? How much time did you spend last year on the business? How long have you been in the business? How many people are in your downline?

Most TVI Express members, who are honest, will admit that they only just joined up for a few weeks, or perhaps a few months, and they just recruited people, and didn't advertise or anything. Then they'll glide right into "I paid only $250 USD (plus fees) to join and I am about to make ______!"  They claim they have no expenses, and have dozens, hundreds, etc. in their downline. 

Come on, how can a business have no expenses? Some will claim they setup websites, send out e-mails, print flyers, paid for ads, and so on, but all of them are toward RECRUITING, not selling anything. Thus, they have defeated their own explanation: they aren't selling anything. They are all recruiting. 

A business that recruits and sells nothing except memberships (i.e. recruits) is a pyramid scheme, not a business. 

3. What percentage of the money you made — income and bonuses minus your expenses — came from recruiting other distributors and selling them inventory or other items to get started?

In TVI Express, ALL income is from recruiting (cycle out of 2 "boards"), which guarantees that TVI Express is a pyramid scheme. There is no inventory or actual items or training. It's all recruit people, get paid. That is the very definition of pyramid scheme. 

Sidenote: FHTM is under FTC probe

Image via Wikipedia

FTC Logo

While this is not directly related to TVI Express, it is worth noting that FHTM used the exact same marketing methods and is in fact far more "legal" than TVI Express ever was.

Consider this fact: If FHTM is under FTC investigation, what chance does TVI Express have, as it was already declare illegal in many countries (China, Hungary, and many more), and under investigation in a dozen more across multiple continents?

FHTM under investigation by North Carolina AND the Federal Trade Commission
http://www.fhtmclassaction.info/Operation%20Empty%20Promises.pdf

Read scam.com's thread on TVI Express, even defenders abandoned the topic

Here are some choice excerpts from the scam.com forum:

http://scam.com/showthread.php?s=bdae188ea4259d832a42f800d3b8c20e&t=122676&page=5

I joined up, stupidly enough, and I can't find a single hotel in South Africa that's got any connection with TVI. And they told me I could go on a holiday anywhere.

--

I myself have reported TVI to the FTC. It is in fact an illegal pyramid according to US laws. Because it really has no product.They go to great lengths to make you think that you can redeem your voucher for a vacation, but in fact you cannot. I know I tried. Once you get to the booking portal you will find they want you to pay More Money. Clever Scam And if they were in the USA they would have been shut down by Now and people would be in jail. They only exist in Cyberspace and are constantly moving around. There is no Home Office.

--

There is no product dave. There is only the promise of a product. How long will u wait to get ur vacation? Can u find anyone that has taken a vacation with a TVI pacakge? The answer is no. Everyone is well aware of this lack of product yet people still push and defend TVI. I know plenty of people that have maken 30K with TVI and they too agree this is a bull shit company. At this point in time ANYONE who would push TVI is a CROOK! BTW who is the owner and why is it that they don't answer the phone or emails. They certainly have made enough money to have proper support setup.

Not saying these are 100% reliable testimonials, but they certainly balance out the flood of "TVI is Great!" blind endorsements.

Who is Toni Dishman, ex-TVI Express?

Toni Dishman used to be really big on TVI Express. She was one of the hundreds of presidential associates identified. In fact, her name was cited on another TVI Express website:

http://tviexpressbrunei.blogspot.com/2010/06/tvi-express-changes-lives.html

(Which is a dead website, by the way, never updated beyond September 2010)

So what is Toni Dishman doing now? NOT TVI Express, that's for sure. This is her press release:

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-tvi-express-s-final-shake-down-in-the-us-1283978626.html

From which I quote:

Let me take a minute here and give you a little history, I too was a TVI rep. well I guess I still am. I have been involved for about a year and endured some bumps and bruises along the way. Some were TVI's fought but some of the blame must be shared with disenchanted members part of my team. For me as long as TVI had the travel portal they had a real product-regardless of the 7 days, that was a perk. Secondly at least TVI continued to pay however the process became grueling. I am not a great leader of hundreds of thousands but I do understand the FTC and certain laws that control or patrol MLMs and other direct sales. I have to tell you I knew we were on shaking ground when the 7 day vacation was not delivered and our actual travel portal went down and never came back up. Major RED flags for me, but what I find most amazing is these proven leaders that had all the connections, didn't have a worry in the world, REALLY???? 

So what's she really doing now? Club Seabreeze, a TVI Express clone, at http://freetripsonus.com/

When people who're already on top leaves, what does that mean for the "opportunity"? Clearly it's a deadend!

Related articles

• Filipino TVI Express Defender Tries Old Excuses (kschang.blogspot.com)

Rehash: Why is TVI Express a Pyramid Scheme / Money Game?

Image via WikipediaSome people who enjoyed weasel explanations from their weasel uplines are somehow convinced that TVI Express is NOT a pyramid scheme or money game, as it's known in Asia. Here's explanation why TVI Express IS indeed a pyramid scheme.

First, what is a pyramid scheme? Instead of wiki definition, let's use an actual legal criteria, a court case against a pyramid scheme:

The Federal Trade Commission has established a test for determining what constitutes a pyramid scheme. Such contrivances are characterized by the payment by participants of money to the company in return for which they receive (1) the right to sell a product and (2) the right to receive in return for recruiting other participants into the program rewards which are unrelated to
sale of the product to ultimate users
--US vs. Gold Unlimited, US 6th Circuit Court (1999), as cited from http://openjurist.org/177/f3d/472/united-states-v-gold-unlimited-inc

This definition will be worded different in different countries, but even in Indonesia the meaning is virtually identical:

More TVI Express astro-turfing: "exclusive" review is copy of outdated 2009 review

Sandboardargentina.com, allegedly a travel website, has just posted an 'exclusive review' of TVI Express.



http://sandboardargentina.com/exclusive-tvi-express-review-are-they-something-for-everyone

However, if you examine the article, you will find that it is PLAGIARIZED off an articleblast article by Phillip Teeter



http://www.articleblast.com/E-Commerce_and_Online_Businesses/Home_Based_Business/News:__Exclusive_TVI_Express_Review._Telling_All_The_Inside_Secrets._Some_Things_You_May_Want_To_Know./

The wordings are identical, and this latter article is dated NOVEMBER 2009, almost a YEAR ago.



And note the conclusion: "If i had to guess if this company were in the US they would be having problems with the FTC wanting to shut them down. If your looking to make quick money or use just the travel benefits this may be the opportunity for you."


In other words, it's a scam. Stay away.

TVI Express supporters makes unsubstantiated claims of legitimacy... again

Increasemymonthlyincome.com, a.k.a. travelventuresinternational.net, ran by two TVI Express members, continue to push the scam despite being served a "cease and desist" letter in state of Georgia.



Their most recent announcement went as far as claiming a US convention in January 2011, and US call center in 2012 (located in Florida).  (see link)



Then they claimed that no less than THREE lawfirms (up from just 1 named before in Utah) is working on how to make TVI Express complaint with US laws.

However, a lot of the statements are just plain... weasel. Here are the problems.



1) No such announcement of US convention was available on TVI Express website. So it is NOT an official announcement or an official convention.

2) No such listing on the community calendar on TVI Express website (embedded Google Calendar). There is NOTHING listed for January 2011. NADA. Thus, it is NOT a community event either.



3) Call center in... FLORIDA? Makes absolutely NO SENSE. American call centers are usually located in the CENTRAL time zone (usually Colorado) so it can provide service to all four timezones (Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern) for maximum hours in all cases. Locating call center in Florida basically cuts service to western regions by nearly half.



4) Putting a call center on US soil means TVI Express would be subject to US law, and there is NO WAY TVI Express can comply with US Federal law (FTC regulations) regarding network marketing and keep the present package. You'd have to tear down the whole thing and start over.

5) In one post the call center is coming in 2012. In a different post they claim it is coming in 2011. What is going on? Can they even get their own facts straight?



6) They never bothered to name the lawfirms referenced. The source of the original claim that the Utah lawfirm was retained came from an upline, and CANNOT be corroborated by any other evidence. Reliability of such information is low.


7) They weasel out of their claim of convention by stating it is subject to change. HELLO! January is only a few months away!




Based on the statements on their own website, and history of lies told by various TVI Express supporters, esp. Tarun Trikha, the reliability of the announcement is low to none.

TVI Express told to cease and desist in state of Georgia, USA

BehindMLM reports that Donna Abreu, one of the North American leaders (whose "TVI Express Review Blog" I have reviewed before to be absolutely bull****) reported that one of her upline have been served a cease and desist letter from State Attorney of Georgia.

TVI Express has hired no lawyer to help defend its American members, unlike their promise to fight to the end in Australia. (BTW, their promise to fight includes violating TWO court injunctions, emptying their bank account frozen by court order) 

The member was also told that TVI Express also violated American FTC laws regarding pyramid schemes and MLM. I had indicated this is so since beginning of this year.

And here's one more warning: ANY AMERICAN TVI EXPRESS MEMBERS CAN BE PROSECUTED FOR RUNNING A PYRAMID SCHEME if they choose to continue recruiting. While TVI Express is a foreign entity, and thus beyond the reach of FTC, any members within the US found to violate the law CAN be prosecuted. I did not say this... "TVI Express North America Leader" did.

You can read BehindMLM's report here, and the letter published from TVI Express supporter here.

TVI Express supporters: you are backing the wrong horse!

Kyle Clouse was so hot on TVI Express, he actually issued press release in October 2009 claiming he will have one of the largest TVI Express groups in a year.

"Clouse has combined his years of network marketing expertise with the TVI Express model and is currently building one of the largest TVI business organizations worldwide." 

Note the contact info at the end: kyleclouse.com
Guess what you will find at that website now? NOT A SINGLE GOOD WORD ABOUT TVI EXPRESS. Go look yourself. But plenty of good words about a competitor. And what did he say about TVI Express?

"Other companies such as TVI Express have encountered numerous problems with board splitting and loosing leaders and members in down lines." The opportunity he's pushing supposedly has no such problems.

"________ also hosts the company’s business presentation webinars and is available to answer questions.  He comes with 12 years of experience in both the travel and network marketing industry.  _____ also leads with a high level of integrity."  For comparison, TVI Express webinars are held by "leaders" that are NOT part of corporate structure, company has zero verifiable history in anything, and by implication, no integrity. 

"________ is based in the US and is 100% compliant with all FTC and Attorney General Guidelines for network marketing. " The implication is TVI Express is NOT compliant with anything.

Too bad Mr. Clouse can't just come out and admit that he made a mistake and backed the wrong horse. But his tone is unmistakable: TVI Express cannot be trusted.

Critique of Emjay07's blog, part 4

I see Emjay07 has posted a part 4. This may become a regular feature on this blog. As Emjay07 did not seem to do too well in part 1, part 2, and part 3, let's see how well he does in part 4.

First of all, EmJay07 is nobody special. I've critiqued many TVI Express member and supporters websites and blog entries before. I am an ardent critic of faulty reasoning, logical fallacies, and untruths. If EmJay07's support of TVI Express have faulty reasoning, logical fallacies, and untruths, I'll gladly point them out.

So, how well did EmJay07 did on part 4? Not so well. He wrote on his blog:

As it states a pyramid scheme is the exchange of money primarily for the enrolling of other people without any Product OR Service.

OR it is even generally described by people as a scheme where people at the top make money but the others don't.

In regards to TVI Express, the product component obligation is fulfilled by their 6N7D vacation package which is their core product and has now been revised to 7N8D for some of the accommodations depending upon the hotel and availability. Apart from the product fulfillment, they also offer a range of services and what are they? See below:

1.      A big number of discounted deals listed through their travel engine

2.      Lifetime access to a full-fledged travel portal.

Two problems here.

1) the 7D6N package (or 8D7N now with the upgrade), is not a product. It is merely a gimmicky certificate, (even the border design is stolen off another website) that you cannot even redeem directly. You have to pay extra $150 to redeem it. That's not a product. At best, it's... uh... 60% of a product? Yet EmJay07 claims it is the "core product". Besides, you can't buy the product without the membership. How can it be a product if nobody ever sells it? Who's selling what to whom?

And I haven't even mentioned the alleged redemption rate of 1% as per information released by TVI Express itself, and the broken promises of TVI Express for the booking portal for almost a year...

2) travel engine and travel portal is the SAME THING. You can't count the same thing twice. Furthermore, the so-called portal is available on Travelocity.com FOR FREE. So what's the $250 joining fee for? It's not for the 7D6N since you need to pay yet ANOTHER $150 for that. Or put it another way... Before the $150 fee, you *could* say that the $250 joining fee buys the 7D6N trip. Now, you can't even claim that since you need to pay ANOTHER $150 to get the trip.

Critique of EmJay07's blog, part 3

In part 3 of EmJay07's blog, we'll find out what other "truth" he claims to unveil. This part seems to be about ACCC and TVI Express.

First he takes issue with my title: "TVI Express is banned in Australia".

Okay, I'll admit that may be slight exaggeration. The title should be "TVI Express banned in Australia until further notice".

Second, he goes on to harp about ACCC's "track record" of losing some previous cases, against ACN, for instance.

What he did not bother to mention is ACN case dragged on for two years. ACN lost the first round in front of a judge, ACN cooperated fully with ACCC, opened up its books for auditing. In the end, ACN was only cleared upon appeal when it was demonstrated ACN reps are NOT paid by recruiting alone, but only by purchases of customers AFTER they were recruited as customers. If the recruited customers don't buy anything, the reps are not paid.

TVI Express distributors are paid by recruiting, esp. when TVI Express' own FAQ states "you don't need to sell any products". There are no customers, only distributors, and the only thing they distribute is the distributorship. There are no sales to outside customers. In order to get paid, you have to recruit. That makes TVI Express an illegal pyramid scheme, esp. when the $150 redemption fee is taken into account. And that, renders any comparison to ACN completely moot.

Then, EmJay07 decided to throw in multiple implications... Because there is no word on the FBI website, FBI must not be investigating TVI Express, and therefore TVI Express is legitimate.

The problem with that assertion is... 1) FTC is the main investigative agency regarding pyramid schemes, not the FBI. See Koscot, Amway, and Fortuna. 2) FBI don't make their investigations public. It would compromise the investigation. It is common sense. 3) Lack of public investigation in no way proves TVI Express is legitimate.

EmJay07... you were doing so well! You did raise a few interesting points, but with that unsupported implication after implication, you've pretty much ruined your own credibility! There is no "truth" in your statement! Just vague implications!  Hope you do better in your next blog entry!

UPDATE: Darn, next blog entry on his blog is a carbon copy of a TVI Express announcement! For a guy who claims TVI Express has a code of conduct, he sure isn't following it... See the note at the bottom of the annoucement page at TVI Express.com?





EDIT: Well, EmJay07...  I see you claim that you're doing TVI Express a favor. The fact is TVI Express says "do not copy", and you violated their wishes. That's very interesting behavior from someone who seems to love TVI Express as much as you do. Unless TVI Express actually says "please copy", you are not supposed to copy it. Public service is not an excuse. The fact that you did so makes one wonder about your ethics.

TVI Express: more details about Australian investigation revealed

The Aussies are going after TVI Express hard! 

The investigators had also viewed a TVI web-based seminar. In the seminar a building in London is shown and said to be TVI's HQ. Documents filed with the court said the UK Office of Fair Trading had told the ACCC that TVI isn't there and companies TVI claims to have as partners deny any relationship.

 In other words, the UK Government Agency in charge of protecting consumers (US equivalent would be the FTC) says "TVI Express is NOT in London". And so call "partners" such as hotels, airlines, and such says "never heard of them".

What do you need to convince you that TVI Express is a scam? Word from God? 

TVI Express member plays the weasel and not quite lie

Image by locusolus via Flickr

Welcome to another episode of TVI Express Madness, where we highlight the various lies, untruths, and weasel-like activities perpetrated by TVI Express members in order to "support" their continued addiction to suspect pyramid scheme already illegal in China, under investigation in Hungary, and denounced in plenty of places!

Today's article in question is http://www.betternetworker.com/articles/view/mlm-news/companies/is-tvi-express-a-valid-business

The article contains several problems: 1) comparing TVI Express to AAA (auto club), 2) recruiting is not scam, 3) recruiting only two is not scam, and 4) bandwagon fallacy.

TVI Express: fits FBI's definition of pyramid scheme

Here's FBI's definition of pyramid scheme:

Pyramid Scheme
Pyramid schemes, also referred to as franchise fraud, or chain referral schemes, are marketing and investment frauds in which an individual is offered a distributorship or franchise to market a particular product. The real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new distributorships. Emphasis on selling franchises rather than the product eventually leads to a point where the supply of potential investors is exhausted and the pyramid collapses. At the heart of each pyramid scheme there is typically a representation that new participants can recoup their original investments by inducing two or more prospects to make the same investment. Promoters fail to tell prospective participants that this is mathematically impossible for everyone to do, since some participants drop out, while others recoup their original investments and then drop out.

Some Tips to Avoid Pyramid Schemes:

• Be wary of "opportunities" to invest your money in franchises or investments that require you to bring in subsequent investors to increase your profit or recoup your initial investment.
  
  
• Independently verify the legitimacy of any franchise or investment before you invest.

( cited from http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm )

 Let's see...

distributorship -- TVI Express call all recruits "distributors". Says so on the front page of their website!

"The real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new distributorships." -- yep, the $10000 (or $15000 or whatever) payout is obtained by "cycling the matrix", which means "get a lot of downlines". Besides, the company's own FAQ says "you don't need to sell anything." If there's no sales of product, then it must be sale of new distributorships, i.e. recruiting!

"At the heart of each pyramid scheme there is typically a representation that new participants can recoup their original investments by inducing two or more prospects to make the same investment." -- yep! Bullseye... You recoup your investment by cycling out the first matrix/board, which you start by recruiting two downlines, and teach EACH of them to recruit two more... (that's from the TVI Express FAQ)

So far, we've pointed out that TVI Express fits every definition of a pyramid scheme we've thrown at it. The FBI's definition above, the FTC's definition we used before, and others. Of the 600000 members out there in TVI world, NONE had came and offered any explanation WHY TVI Express is NOT a pyramid scheme. Does that mean they are ignorant, or they just don't care that they are participating in a crime?

TVI Express: operating ILLEGALLY in the US according to FTC

Federal Trade Commission requires ALL business opportunity and franchise sellers to give all potential buyers a disclosure statement that contains the following:

• names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least 10 previous purchasers who live closest to you;
• a fully audited financial statement of the seller;
• background and experience of the business's key executives;
• cost of starting and maintaining the business; and
• the responsibilities you and the seller will have to each other once you've invested in the opportunity. 

The TVI Express website has no such disclosure statement available. In fact, it only has ONE thing out of the five listed ANYWHERE on its website: cost of starting and maintaining the business ($250-$275, and $0). It does NOT provide any previous purchaser's info. It offers NO financial statement. It has NOTHING about backgrounds and experience of key executives. And it explains NO responsibilities between you and TVI Express (i.e. the contract terms you have to sign). Thus, it is clear that TVI Express is operating illegally in the US of A.

And please don't feed me some BS about how TVI Express is really a travel club. Even TVI Express's website says you are a distributor, and a business opportunity provider.

And yet there's bazillion articles on the Internet that somehow tries to convince you that TVI Express is NOT a scam. Well, it is illegal in the US, that's for sure. And if you want to throw you money at an ILLEGAL business, that's your problem.

TVI Express: 7 questions you should ask before joining

NOTE: This is a companion article to "TVI Express: 8 verified facts you need to know before joining"

TVI Express claims to be a "multinational conglomerate headquartered in London, UK", and lets you make $10000+ in weeks. If it sounds too good to be true... well, it probably is. At the minimum, read the 8 facts above (and click on the links I provided so you can see for yourself), then ask yourself these questions I pose:

1. Just where exactly is TVI Express located?

If you said, London, you'd be wrong. TVI Express is no longer a London Company. They now list a Cyprus address (just go to their website, says so right at the bottom), even though they use a London phone number, and claims to be a London company. So why aren't they listed as a UK company (search in UKData.com)? Any if they are a London UK company, why do they claim that they are only subject to Cyprus and India laws? (See their Terms of Service at the bottom)

Why is this relevant? Simple: if you ever have problems, who do you call, or even arrange a face-to-face meeting? Or legally speaking, whose law is applicable? Can you afford to hire a lawyer in that area in case you have a legal dispute? To which government do you report the problem to? And why would you hand over money to a company if you don't even know where it is located?

TVI Express: 8 facts you need to know before you join

TVI Express claims to be a "travel industry opportunity", that is now 1 year old, with over 600000 members worldwide. You buy into this opportunity for $250 (or $275), recruit two others to do the same, then sit back and wait for $10000 (or $10250, or $15000...) to roll in. Is it too good to be true? Here are 8 verified facts you need to know before you join up. I provided the links so you can check for yourself.

FACT #1 -- TVI Express claims to be based in London, England, but is not.

On TVI Express's "about us" webpage, it proudly claims it is based in London, UK.

"Travel Ventures International is a leading multinational conglomerate headquartered in London, United Kingdom."
--http://www.tviexpress.com/aboutus.php

Yet on the bottom of that very page, the address listed is in Cyprus, which is a little island off Greece. (Keep in mind that TVI Express used to list an UK address until end of 2009.)  Even today, it is using a London UK phone number (country code 44).

More TVI Express shills post bogus claims of legitimacy

Welcome to another episode of TVI Express Madness! With over 600,000 victims, this pandemic is worldwide, and infecting more people every day! The symptoms are complete loss of grip with reality, as they spew out gibberish, all just in attempt to score that mythical $10000 payoff!  We are trying to bring awareness to this problem!

Today's documented victim is http://www.tviexpressreviewblog.com/what-is-tvi-express/is-tvi-express-a-scam/

The author, another TVI Express shill,  tries to explain why TVI Express is NOT a scam. However, just by looking at the name, it is already hard to take this website seriously. How can a a member of TVI Express, even CLAIM to give an impartial review of TVI Express, much less is TVI Express a scam or not? Yet it has the temerity to call itself "TVIExpressReviewBlog"... What utter... nonsense.

So what is their definition of a "pyramid scheme"?

"When there is no exchange of product and only an exchange of money, then the program is considered illegal. This type of money exchange program is what people should be calling a scam. So if you are just exchanging money and you are not getting a physical product or a service for that money, that is illegal."

Actually,  Federal Trade Commission, who goes after pyramid scammers, has a better definition:

Pyramid schemes now come in so many forms that they may be difficult to recognize immediately. However, they all share one overriding characteristic. They promise consumers or investors large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public.

In other words: if you make more money from recruiting people than from selling things or service, you are likely involved in a scam.

TVI Express: even LESS legitimate than YTBI, which actually sells something!

Image via Wikipedia

California's Attorney General had ssued YTBI, a "MLM travel business opportunity company".The lawsuit was settled in 2009, forcing the company to thoroughly reorganize the way it does business. So what's the relevance? They sound exactly like TVI Express, even assuming TVI Express is completely legitimate. And we've seen the other warning signs.

"Participants, who pay a $450 set up fee and $50 per month to maintain an "online travel agency" website, can collect commissions for recruiting new participants, utilize the website for their own travel purposes, as well as sell travel packages to others. However, most participants make the majority of their money by recruiting new agents rather than through travel sales of their own."

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YTB_International

Doesn't this sounds JUST like TVI Express, except for the lower initial payment, and no monthly fees?

When you throw in the FTC test fail, and the striking similarities to another scammer, the Fortuna Alliance, the fact that their "matrix" is a mirror copy of 8-ball scam, and bazillion other problems, any one who don't see that TVI Express as a scam may just be self-delusional, IMHO.

TVI Express: recycled Fortuna Alliance pyramid scam

Image via Wikipedia

In the 1990's, when Internet is still young, the FTC busted a pyramid scammer called "Fortuna Alliance", that promised the same things that TVI Express is promising today. Want to see how much of a copycat TVI Express is when compared to a PROVEN scammer, the Fortuna Alliance? You won't like what you see, esp. if you are a member of TVI Express.

"In the complaint detailing the charges, the FTC charged that Fortuna Alliance, L.L.C., and four officers, marketed the pyramid scheme through a home page on the World Wide Web and with printed promotional materials. Using fabulous earnings claims, they induced tens of thousands of consumers in over 60 countries around the world to pay between $250 and $1750 to join their pyramid scheme, claiming that members would receive over $5,000 per month in 'profits' as others were induced to 'enroll.' In addition, Fortuna and its officers provided advice and promotional materials for members to recruit others to join the pyramid, both through direct contact and by setting up their own web sites. The FTC's complaint asked the court to order a permanent halt to the alleged deceptive practices and to order redress for the people Fortuna signed up to the scheme."

Cited from http://www.mlmlegal.com/fortunaftc.html