The Consequences of Running a Scam - The MOBE Update
Whether you are new to making money online or someone who has been legitimately running an internet marketing business, you will always come across opportunities that just sound too good to be true. Most times these are scams and there are certain clues to alert you of their presence.
$300,000,000.00+ STOLEN FROM PEOPLE
Those of you who have been members here at Wealthy Affiliate for at least two years have probably heard by now that MOBE (My Online Business Education or My Online Business Empire) was shut down by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in June 2018. A lawsuit is still on going.
Some of us who have Bootcamp websites and did scam reviews on MOBE and its associated company MTTB, were verbally attacked at one point by the owner and his associates to remove our reviews. Not because what we were reporting was fake, but because we were stopping people from being scammed.
Many of us had hundreds of comments from people who had been scammed and wanting to know what could they do to get their money back. Some of these people lost tens of thousands of dollars. Personally I only lost $49.00 when I joined to investigate the product at the behest of a friend.
Eventually the complaints got to such a high level that the FTC sent in an undercover investigator to join MOBE and gather some really damning information that lead to its downfall. Originally the FTC estimated that the MOBE scam defrauded over $125 Million Dollars from people.
I have been following the update of this lawsuit which is visible to the public on a website set up by the court appointed Receiver of Funds. The Receiver recently posted a ledger of funds collected and a money judgment against Susan Zanghi, MOBE's financial representative, to pay $318,512,336.00.
DOES JUSTICE GO TOO FAR?
I can understand how many people, especially those who were scammed out of tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, would want to see swift and harsh justice against those responsible in the MOBE organization. But how much justice is too much? Should most of it go to the man at the top?
Though MOBE employed hundreds of people all over the world and there were just as many members scamming people out of their money as affiliates, there are three main people that the FTC are suing, Matt Lloyd McPhee (Owner), Russell W. Whitney, Jr. (Director of Event Sales) and Susan Zanghi (Finances).
These three people were like three peas in a pod, they worked closely together and loyal to the MOBE brand and each other. But now that their scam operation has been busted by the Feds and labeled as a scam, which many of us had been calling it for years, their friendship and loyalty are gone.
On the Receiver's website he has posted that the money judgment by the court in excess of 300 Million Dollars against Susan Zanghi has been reduced to only $33,400.00 under certain conditions that she must follow for at least 10 years. I bet she is quite relieved that she has dodged a financial bullet.
This made me realize that the initial claim by the FTC of "over $125 Million" was just the tip of the scam iceberg. MOBE had been scamming people all over the world for a little more than six years. With "High Ticket" items ranging from $2,000.00 to $30,000.00 each, I can see why the amount stolen is in the $300+ million dollar range.
WAS JUSTICE SERVED?
As I said earlier, I have been following the update of this case since it first started in June 2018. I find it interesting that many so called MLM and Direct Sales marketing gurus who have their own opportunities and were once associated with MOBE, have white-washed any mention of the MOBE brand.
If any of you were affiliates of MOBE and were in the process of promoting them, you better have removed any blogs, social media posts and websites in regard to MOBE and MTTB. If not you are in violation of the law and "could" be liable in the suit against MOBE and its associated partners.
But what about the three main players in the lawsuit of the FTC against MOBE? Well as I mentioned above Susan Zanghi reached a settlement and in addition to paying a lowered monetary judgment she must follow yearly reports to the FTC, She is also barred from participating in any business opportunities and coaching.
I searched through her Facebook profile and prior to June 2018 she posted pictures of her having a great time at MOBE events, all smiles posing with Matt Lloyd and John Chow. Then around June 2018 her posts were of a high stressful and sadness nature with some posts being deleted. Now it is nothing but somber family posts.
I think she is living with her level of justice because this not only affects her but her family as well and they are innocent bystanders. But what about the other two bigger participants in this lawsuit? Susan may have been the one handling the finances but Russell like Matt actually scammed the money out of people.
WAS JUSTICE SERVED ON RUSSELL & MATT?
In the bank ledger on the Receiver's website I had seen about four different deposits directly from Russell Whitney. The first was in the amount of $207,405.44, on June 20, 2018 which was blocked by his bank two days later because of the FTC TRO judgment. Then on July 30, 2018 an amount of $406,261.91 was made.
Yes, that is almost a half a million dollars! Oh but there is more. He made another two deposits to the Receiver's account in the amounts of $208,068.21 on September 4, 2018 and $59.26 on October 3, 2018. Both of these were from is Edward Jones account, most likely a retirement fund.
Sadly on November 20, 2018 Russell Whitney died at the young age of 37. How he died is still a mystery but I could imagine how he must have felt losing all of that money and everything he had gained from his scamming endeavors. I never made close to what he did but I know how devastating it is to lose all your money.
There was a brief time in my life when I went from living high on the hog to almost living in a homeless shelter. The feeling is enough to make you want to end it all. But I believe in God and the power of prayer and I eventually made a turn around. Regardless of how Russell died, his family still suffers.
And as for the creator of this worldwide scam, Matt Lloyd, he is not fully cooperating with the court appointed Receiver and the FTC. Though the published bank ledger does show him or MOBE making millions of dollar deposits, there is an online report that he still refuses to give up his lavish real estate holdings.
KARMA WILL EVENTUALLY VISIT A SCAM
Those of us here at Wealthy Affiliate are taught of the proper way to make money online and to also spot the opportunities that are scams or less than honest. For those of you doing product reviews in Bootcamp, do not be so quick to paint an opposing opportunity as a scam. It could be just a misleading program.
But once you understand what to look for, the definite red flags that indicate a scam, help alert the public to beware of that so called opportunity. Many of these opportunities that have "High Ticket" products being promoted by MLM gurus, need to be fully investigated, especially if the cost is over-priced.
Creating and operating a scam is illegal and if you are doing it for the love of money, no matter who it is hurting and defrauding, then you are asking for karma to come and take you down. Susan Zanghi and her family and Russell Whitney's family has to suffer for the foreseeable future. But what about Matt?
One can only guess that he is stalling and defaulting on FTC requests to perhaps start another type of company before his brand (his personal name) really takes a hit. Though he is MOBE it is the name of MOBE that is targeted the most in the FTC lawsuit. What will happen next?
If you have any comments, please leave them below. And if you would like to see the published bank ledger from the Receiver of Funds website, click the below link.
http://www.bernet-receiver.com/appointments/mobe/RURFeb1.pdf
Did you know that Wealthy Affiliate was sued by MOBE and eventually won? Yep, and Kyle wrote about the entire drawn out fiasco and how he and Carson prevailed and won. You can read it at the link below.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/kyle/blog/we-were-sued-we-st...
Recent Comments
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thank you for this detailed piece of the MOBE main offenders. It's so sad that the man died at such a young age but I wonder how many victims died from this too! I hope the victims get their money back.
You are welcome. Happy you liked my post. I was thinking the same thing. I wonder how many lives were lost from those who were scammed out of their life's savings. Now that Russell had to pay it back, perhaps the guilt of what he had done to so many was too much for him to handle.
MOBE was the first affiliate marketing company I tried, and I got out just in time. Whew! Then I found another company that was not a fraud but still rather expensive...may review them...and then, thank goodness, WA.
When I joined MOBE to investigate the product there was so much hype and then a few lessons into their 21-step program it was definitely a scam.
There is no hype here at WA. You already know how you will make money before you even have to pay for anything. All of these other so-called opportunities offer no value for free.
Good evening my brother I too was a part of that organization I also only lost $49 the guy had a great idea and it was helping many people make money and learn about internet marketing however it went to his head he start to take more than he was giving he started to believe all his BS that he was the king of the internet marketing business however it is also very well known that a lot of those people that were involved in it has branched off doing the same thing only smaller he had it made and he blew it because of greed as you have said you cannot run from Karma it will catch up to you it's one of the beautiful things that I love about wealthy affiliate there are no lies here There Are no con games played here Kyle and Carson are sincerely doing all that they can do to help everyone here at wealthy affiliate to accomplish their dreams and goals to become financially free to indeed have a successful internet business I am so very proud that I'm a part of wealthy affiliate and that I did not go any farther with that Darkness that you have described May Prosperity be with you my brother
I agree. Kyle and Carson are taking the ethical approach to helping people to learn about the many forms of internet marketing without the hype and greed.
Hi Robert,
This is a highly well written, researched article. I really appreciate you taking the time to post the information. I did read Kyle's article and it was about the time I started here at WA. I think everyone should read that so that they know the high integrity we are working with here.
And yes, I certainly believe in Karma. It is a very real thing and I have seen it happen to many people in many circumstances.
Thanks for this post!
Cal
You are welcome Cal. Happy you liked my somewhat investigative information post. Though there have been many other scams the FTC has busted, this one is of special interest to me as I was one of those threatened by Matt Lloyd.
Obviously his threats to me were no where near what he tried to do to Kyle and Carson. And all I did was give my honest opinion of what I thought MOBE was. When the FTC labeled them as a scam, I knew my original thoughts about them were spot on correct.
The way that Kyle and Carson handled themselves during the lawsuit against WA, is commendable. Then in the aftermath by donating half of what they were awarded to those who lost money in this scam, shows how honorable K&C are.
Several years ago I watched a webinar given by Matt Lloyd, the time I will never get back. After watching I was bombarded with so many emails, I said no way. Everything sounded scammy from the start. I have been inside several MLM's and made money from good companies, but these like MOBE make it tough to sponsor in your own circle after being burned.
This is why with Affiliate marketing, I will get better interest from some friends who still know and understand I would not lead them wrong.
Bill
It is definitely true that not all MLMs are scams. But when you come across the ones that are, like MOBE, they give a bad reputation to the entire industry.
My first make money from home endeavor was with an MLM but their products were so overpriced and people could buy name-brands of the same product for cheaper cost.
But thank God I found WA and learned about affiliate marketing because it is easier to promote and make money from products most people have heard of than products that are unknowns.
Coming from a law enforcement background and having seen many death investigations ending in, " we really don't know what happened" and given the circumstances and his age, I would guess suicide.
I tend to agree with Cal. I am thinking it might be suicide or maybe something that may have triggered a heart attack. Either way his family now has to pick up the pieces of his death and whatever else he still has to pay back in this lawsuit.
I am guessing the same thing. For many years he swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars out of people, many who couldn't afford it.
I am thinking that with the loss of all his money, assets, holdings and his reputation, he probably took the losers way out. Karma is a bitch as they say, and he probably saw no way out.
I would also think that maybe he finally realized that what he did to destroy the financial livelihoods of innocent unsuspecting people, added to his grief of now being as poor as he made them.
It is almost as if these scammers are getting high on making money by scamming others. But when the tables are turned on them and they are the ones who lose it all, they take their lives so they will not have to live with the guilt. It's sad.
from Apple podcasts, Ericast..com Podcast. "...Miami-Dade is an open-records county and less than 24 hours after I requested it I got a copy of the coroner's report: Russel Whitney Jr. died on November 20th, 2018 of "Acute Combined Drug Toxicity (Heroin, Fentanyl, Acetyl Fentanyl, Oxycodone and Cocaine)..."
Wow! I have seen how that drug cocktail has taken the lives of many people. Though I have never been one to take anything harder than smoking some marijuana when I was younger, I feel so bad for the family of people who ruin their lives with these hard drugs.
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Interesting post. Robert, I read about MOBE two years ago when FTC shut them down. There are still many “high ticket” businesses out there. Eventually, the feds will catch up and shut them down. You can see them listed in Home Business Connection magazine. Businesses like “cash gifting digital products” I think one of them is called tidom or something like that. No such thing as “get rich quick.” I steer clear from that. Some businesses like you say are legit and others are not. You are correct, we need to do our due diligence. Thanks for sharing the link.
You are welcome. Yeah I am research one such "High Ticket" opportunity from a so-called guru who made millions at MOBE in the early days and now has his own company doing almost the same thing.
There are definitely many high ticket opportunities out there, many doing the exact same thing they just haven't had their time or enough complaints to the FTC yet. They will get their moment though, it happens to the best of them.
Unfortunately what happens a lot of the time is that those that are involved in such scams, spin off their own version of it and then will operate the next up and coming one.
The same thing happened with MOBE, there is a history of scams in the past of those involved, and the same thing has happened with the likes of Empower Network, ZeekRewards, and the many "crypto" scams that are currently being operated.
I would always be VERY suspicious of anyone that was a high earning participant of any of these scams. They are just as responsible for promoting these scams as the owner is, according to law. Many folks in Canada and US have been arrested through the history of MLM schemes simply by being a participant.
Often times when it talks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it is a duck. Some of the most common attributes of these scams are "pump rally" masterminds/seminars, low ticket front end masking the high ticket back end, if it is MLM, and if the people promoting it are promoting a "lifestyle" rather than the product.
Or if everyone making money with the product, are those promoting the product..or to promote a level, you must go "all in" and upgrade to the level. These are the type of scams that are getting shut down by the FTC, but they are also the type of scams that keep popping up.
These are ways to almost certainly realize that the company is in the business of scamming people if they have one more of these qualities in them.