Pyramid Schemes, Congress And Deregulation
Even the phrase "multilevel marketing" sounds a lot better than "pyramid scheme," let alone "Ponzi scheme." Even "multilevel marketing scheme" sounds vaguely better than "pyramid scheme." But pyramid schemes are often illegal and, somehow multilevel marketing schemes are usually not. The Federal Trade Commission differentiates between legitimate multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and pyramid schemes claiming that MLM "have a real product to sell" while pyramid schemes don't. "If the money you make is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan.
