“Five months ago, our agency put multi-level marketing companies (or MLMs) on notice that we will be taking enforcement action against those not following Montana law. Under our law, MLMs are required to be registered. This allows us to ensure these companies are not acting as illegal pyramid schemes and defrauding Montanans.
A pyramid scheme is one that requires you to bring in friends who pay fees to participate. They, in turn, bring in others and these fees trickle up to the founders. The problem is, as many as 98% of the participants lose 100% of their money invested into these schemes. To be clear, these schemes are illegal in Montana.
We have filed “cease and desist” orders against five MLM companies for failing to register, including one alleged to be acting as a pyramid promotional scheme. Before doing business with an MLM, please contact our office to ensure the company is registered.
You can reach us at 444-2040 or by going to CSIMT.gov/Securities. Don’t become a victim of a pyramid scheme. Be proactive, research the company, and remember if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.”
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