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Consumers now have a direct way to express concern and outrage about the spread of Pyramids and Ponzis. A petition seeking better law enforcement, pubic education and stronger regulation is now on the Pyramid Scheme Alert Website.

If you want an end to this epidemic of frauds, take action. Sign the petition. (the signatures will be sent only to appropriate members of Congress and the new President's administration, and will never be shared.)


Pyramids and Ponzis are spreading rapidly, depleting savings, and subverting real business. The revelation of the $50 billion Ponzi operated by respected Wall Street manager, Bernard Madoff, is  part of a  larger pattern of corruption and harm.
The Pyramid and the Ponzi are essentially the same fraud that differ only in how new victim/investors are recruited. In recent years, they have dressed up as legitimate business, and sent millions to Washington for political protection. They have imbedded themselves in the market, and, like other corporate criminals,  siphon billions from consumers right under the noses of regulators and largely without any media attention.

The Internet is now choked with "cash gifting" scams and "matrix selling" frauds. Pyramid selling scams have multiplied and now boast that the Recession will bring them more desperate "recruits." The false promise of income from an "endless chain" recruitment scheme is the lure of these multi-level marketing scams. The US government has failed in recent years to enforce anti-fraud laws and to inform consumers about the dangers and deceptions of these types of scams. Pyramid lobbyists who have given millions to the previous Administration and key Congressional leaders are the main cause of muzzled regulators. The money and power of fraud have been put ahead of the people.

The election of a new US President and Congress presents an opportunity for real change. Pyramid Scheme Alert has launched the consumer petition to get a Congressional investigation into the failures of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), which mysteriously stopped enforcing the laws against pyramids and Ponzis over the last eight years.