International Law

Brown Sues To Topple Online Pyramid Scheme; Your Travel Biz

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From a Press Release regarding Your Travel Biz

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a lawsuit against YourTravelBiz.com for operating a "gigantic pyramid scheme" that recruited tens of thousands of members with deceptive claims that members could earn huge sums of money through its online travel agencies. 

"YourTravelBiz.com operates a gigantic pyramid scheme that is immensely profitable to a few individuals on top and a complete rip-off for most everyone else," Attorney General Brown said. "Today's lawsuit seeks to shut down the company's unlawful operation before more people are exploited by the scam." 

YourTravelBiz.com and its affiliates operate an illegal pyramid scheme that only benefits members if and when they find enough new members to join the scam.

Once enrolled, members who join the pyramid scheme earn compensation for each new person they enlist, regardless of whether they sell any travel.

The company lures new members by offering huge income opportunities through online travel agencies yet the typical person actually makes nothing selling travel. 

According to company records there were over 200,000 members in 2007 who typically pay more than $1,000 per year--$449.95 to set up an "online travel agency" with a monthly fee of $49.95.

In 2007, only 38 percent of the company's members made any travel commissions.

For the minority of members who made any travel commission in 2007, the median income was $39.00--less than one month's cost to keep the Website.

There are at least 139,000 of the company's travel Websites, all virtually identical, on the Internet. 

This is interesting, it as a combination of Skybiz and the old Travel Card Mills. Everyone in search of a greater fool, when all they had to do was look in the mirror.

But then l already said this about YTB being a card mill pyramid in January 31st, 2008, which ended by saying "Guess how this ends?"

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on August 05, 2008 (boomark / email).