Treasure Traders and the Attraction of Pyramid Schemes
The Competition Bureau of Canada regulates both multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes. In a succient statement of law as it relates to pyramid schemes, the Competition Bureau's website states:
What Is a Scheme of Pyramid Selling?A scheme of pyramid selling is a multi-level marketing plan that incorporates any one of a number of specified marketing practices that make it a criminal offence under the Competition Act.
It is illegal if:
* participants pay money for the right to receive compensation for recruiting new participants;
* a participant is required to buy a specific quantity of products, other than at cost price for the purpose of advertising, before the participant is allowed to join the plan or advance within the plan;
* participants are knowingly sold commercially unreasonable quantities of the product or products (this practice is called inventory loading); or
* participants are not allowed to return products on reasonable commercial terms.
There is one website which accuses the Competition Bureau of incompetence in not prosecuting a pyramid scheme called Treasure Traders or Business In Motion. He is quite insistent publishing long and interesting posts here, here, and finally here is a cache site of forum no longer available. I wonder if we will hear anything more about this and whether these allegations about the Competition Bureau are founded. Stay tuned.
