Pyramids in the desert
Message ID: 130820
Posted By: stats_for_all
Posted On: 2004-05-05 18:11:00
Subject: Pyramids in the desert
Recs: 33
Bert Young was CFO of a Utah start up , uSight LLC, in 2002. I now have some further information on the business and associates of this firm. uSight is a e-commerce company which is distinguished by the sale of business opportunities at traveling seminars and through telemarketing. uSight sells customers a "site builder software", mentoring/training, merchant credit services. The primary opportunity being sold is the chance to recruit others into the network, or "create a downline" in the jargon of the multi-level marketing pyramid.
uSight closely resembles several other, now shuttered, "internet malls" which ran afoul of the law. The most notorious of these is "PRSI" which operated for several months in 1999, before being raided in January, 2000. PRSI took in 13 million from 46,000 participants. William Caudell, CEO, recieved a reduced sentence (11 yrs) in exchange for testifying against Joseph Rotunno "Joe Flower", alledgedly a member of the Colombo mafia family, and convicted as the organizer of the scam.
The uSight mall differs from earlier, patently illegal scams. It actually provides "ubuilder" software, web hosting, etc. In its default form, the purchaser links to Utah-based Overstock.com, as an affiliate, to populate "products" for sale, some of the web sites actually sell home business goods (eg self-published tracts for odd religions). The customer must recover the cost of the opportunity package (4,000-17,000) by reselling the opportunity to further individuals. Oddly, a web-site for Blue Man Group, is the featured portfolio piece, for numerous individual "affiliates" which promote web design as their "product". (eg Web-of_gold.com)
Salesmen (reported as Larry Justice, Richie Richmond, J Cohen, Ken Fiala) involved in marketing the PRSI pyramid, moved to Arizona, and became active in the BigSmart internet mall. This was raided by the FTC,(a settlement statement at: www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/03/bigsmart.htm).
Salesmen names associated with sales of BigSmart pyramid occur again in the Utah uSight Settlement Agreement. These highlighted sales are shared with Marketing Solutions Inc, and or Professional Consulting Services of Saint George Utah. (eg Randy Lang, Ken Fiala).
PRSI has established connections to the Colombo family through court documents, uSight has connections to BigSmart and PRSI through salesmen and the MO of the business.
MLM or Affiliate sales are a big business in Utah. Nu Skin (directors Campbell and Thompson) has a huge capitilization built entirely on direct MLM sales. Its Big Planet internet subsidiary shares many characteristics with uSight.
BigSmart PRSI relationship by informant Richard Snell at:
free.freespeech.org/citxnews/fraudcomplaint.doc.
------------------------------------------------------------
The text of this Yahoo Message Board post has been licensed for
copying and distribution by the Yahoo Message Board user
"stats_for_all" under the following license:
License: CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike v2.0
------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By: stats_for_all
Posted On: 2004-05-05 18:11:00
Subject: Pyramids in the desert
Recs: 33
Bert Young was CFO of a Utah start up , uSight LLC, in 2002. I now have some further information on the business and associates of this firm. uSight is a e-commerce company which is distinguished by the sale of business opportunities at traveling seminars and through telemarketing. uSight sells customers a "site builder software", mentoring/training, merchant credit services. The primary opportunity being sold is the chance to recruit others into the network, or "create a downline" in the jargon of the multi-level marketing pyramid.
uSight closely resembles several other, now shuttered, "internet malls" which ran afoul of the law. The most notorious of these is "PRSI" which operated for several months in 1999, before being raided in January, 2000. PRSI took in 13 million from 46,000 participants. William Caudell, CEO, recieved a reduced sentence (11 yrs) in exchange for testifying against Joseph Rotunno "Joe Flower", alledgedly a member of the Colombo mafia family, and convicted as the organizer of the scam.
The uSight mall differs from earlier, patently illegal scams. It actually provides "ubuilder" software, web hosting, etc. In its default form, the purchaser links to Utah-based Overstock.com, as an affiliate, to populate "products" for sale, some of the web sites actually sell home business goods (eg self-published tracts for odd religions). The customer must recover the cost of the opportunity package (4,000-17,000) by reselling the opportunity to further individuals. Oddly, a web-site for Blue Man Group, is the featured portfolio piece, for numerous individual "affiliates" which promote web design as their "product". (eg Web-of_gold.com)
Salesmen (reported as Larry Justice, Richie Richmond, J Cohen, Ken Fiala) involved in marketing the PRSI pyramid, moved to Arizona, and became active in the BigSmart internet mall. This was raided by the FTC,(a settlement statement at: www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/03/bigsmart.htm).
Salesmen names associated with sales of BigSmart pyramid occur again in the Utah uSight Settlement Agreement. These highlighted sales are shared with Marketing Solutions Inc, and or Professional Consulting Services of Saint George Utah. (eg Randy Lang, Ken Fiala).
PRSI has established connections to the Colombo family through court documents, uSight has connections to BigSmart and PRSI through salesmen and the MO of the business.
MLM or Affiliate sales are a big business in Utah. Nu Skin (directors Campbell and Thompson) has a huge capitilization built entirely on direct MLM sales. Its Big Planet internet subsidiary shares many characteristics with uSight.
BigSmart PRSI relationship by informant Richard Snell at:
free.freespeech.org/citxnews/fraudcomplaint.doc.
------------------------------------------------------------
The text of this Yahoo Message Board post has been licensed for
copying and distribution by the Yahoo Message Board user
"stats_for_all" under the following license:
License: CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike v2.0
------------------------------------------------------------