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Ponzi schemes are pure financial instruments. If a product is involved it’s called an MLM.
by hinkley 2y ago
Ponzi schemes are pure financial instruments. If a product is involved it’s called an MLM.
- asveikau 2y agoI'd say that is a bit like splitting hairs, but the article does question the extent to which actual payphones and calls were actually involved..
- hinkley 2y agoPonzi schemes are illegal. MLMs are legalized Ponzi schemes. The outcomes are similar but one has a veneer of legitimacy that makes it more dangerous for some people.
- asveikau 2y agoIt's instructive not to argue the finer points without acknowledging what TFA says about the operators of the scheme breaking the law: > In 2006, Charles Edwards was convicted of 83 counts of wire fraud and sentenced to thirteen years in prison. Then another company: > By 2009, more than a dozen people had been convicted of fraud in relation to Prometheus.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- popcalc 2y agoMLMs are pyramid schemes, not ponzis. For example bitcoin is a (somewhat decentralized, but centralized among major mining companies) pyramid scheme while Tether is a Ponzi. Both pyramid schemes and Ponzis are illegal. MLMs are illegal in many places. In the US they were successfully able to lobby their way into carving out a legal niche in the 80s. They are also the reason supplement safety is so loosely regulated in the US.