Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action September 18, 2010. By Brenda Craig
Louisville, KY: A giant pyramid scheme that has been masquerading as a marketing company appears to be starting to crumble. The only “fortune” the company created went mostly to the company’s father figure, Paul Orbison, and a short list of his confederates.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action. Although Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing purports to sell everything from hair care products to cell phones, the real sales job was done on potential recruits to the organization.
“The law against pyramid schemes is clear,” says R. Kenyon Meyer, an attorney who works with the well-known firm of Dinsmore and Shohl in Louisville, Kentucky. Meyer represents four former Fortune sales representatives in a national class action alleging they were victims of Orbison’s operation.
According to the suit, sales representatives were charged $299 for the privilege of joining the Fortune team. Then they were pressured into buying a never-ending stream of services and equipment in order to do the job, says Meyer, who has been researching the company for several months now.
“Fortune requires sales representatives to get ‘frequent customer points.’ Those points are obtained not by selling something, but by signing up for something in order to do your job as a representative!”
Just because Fortune maintained a list of products for sale doesn’t mean it isn’t a pyramid scheme, warns Meyer. “Every pyramid scheme has some product that it purports to promote. The focus on recruitment overrides the focus on the sale of a product to the ultimate consumer meaning somebody not involved in the pyramid.”
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing was recently routed in a Montana state class action where regulators successfully litigated against the company for operating a pyramid scheme.
Orbison, who lives and operates Fortune from Lexington, Kentucky, tells recruits he was able to retire after he made a million dollars month with another multi-level marketing company. He started Fortune in order “to give back” and allow others an opportunity to get rich.
Meyer’s clients, however, would prefer that Fortune simply give back the money they were duped into pouring into a pyramid scheme. According to the research done by Dinsmore and Shohl, the majority of sales reps actually made less than $90 dollars a month before expenses.
There may be thousands of potential class members across the US and even in Canada and Britain, but Fortune is unclear about how many sales representatives it actually has on the books. “They have made some vague representations from time to time, like we have had tens of thousands of representatives join in the last couple of months,” says Meyer. “But there have been no official numbers released.”
The class has yet to be certified. Meyer believes it will happen soon. “I am really looking forward to the discovery phase,” he says.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action September 18, 2010. By Brenda Craig
Louisville, KY: A giant pyramid scheme that has been masquerading as a marketing company appears to be starting to crumble. The only “fortune” the company created went mostly to the company’s father figure, Paul Orberson, and a short list of his confederates.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action. Although Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing purports to sell everything from hair care products to cell phones, the real sales job was done on potential recruits to the organization.
“The law against pyramid schemes is clear,” says R. Kenyon Meyer, an attorney who works with the well-known firm of Dinsmore and Shohl in Louisville, Kentucky. Meyer represents four former Fortune sales representatives in a national class action alleging they were victims of Orberson’s operation.
FHTM is a real cool business which gives you every comfort one wants from a job.You should be ready to work with it anytime without even thinking twice.If you guys really want to know about the people who have achieved success in fhtm business.I can give you their names.
It has been hard to get to the root of Fortune Hi-Tech's sales figures up until now. A few days ago the Federal judge unsealed the FTC v. FHTM case. After scouring through the exhibits their sales spreadsheets from 2006-2010 were found. Almost 50% of all of their combined 5 year revenue came from recruiting fees, renewals and tools for reps only. Product sales were less than 50% of total revenue and most of that was internal consumption by the representatives. The sales charts are available at: http://www.joseph-isaacs.com/courtcases/FHTM%20sales%2006-10.pdf
Happy reading. BTW - these are not the same figures given to the Texas AG or Direct Selling News to get listed in the top 100 a few years ago.
How many victims ever knew what the real numbers were. Now they do thanks to the KY subpoenas and the FTC action.
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Amber 18, Dustin 12 and
Anna Grace who lived for 5 1/2 months died June 5, 2001.
She was our angel on earth now she is in heaven.
When FHTM was introduced to me a little over a year ago it gave me Hope and my Dreams back with an opportunity to help others have more than they could ever imagine!
Paul Orberson, Founder of Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing is the most unblievable person I have ever met. The concept of the company was to help ordinary people just like you and me. You are the middleman of your own bills you are most likely currently using.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action
ReplyDeleteSeptember 18, 2010. By Brenda Craig
Louisville, KY: A giant pyramid scheme that has been masquerading as a marketing company appears to be starting to crumble. The only “fortune” the company created went mostly to the company’s father figure, Paul Orbison, and a short list of his confederates.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action. Although Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing purports to sell everything from hair care products to cell phones, the real sales job was done on potential recruits to the organization.
“The law against pyramid schemes is clear,” says R. Kenyon Meyer, an attorney who works with the well-known firm of Dinsmore and Shohl in Louisville, Kentucky. Meyer represents four former Fortune sales representatives in a national class action alleging they were victims of Orbison’s operation.
According to the suit, sales representatives were charged $299 for the privilege of joining the Fortune team. Then they were pressured into buying a never-ending stream of services and equipment in order to do the job, says Meyer, who has been researching the company for several months now.
“Fortune requires sales representatives to get ‘frequent customer points.’ Those points are obtained not by selling something, but by signing up for something in order to do your job as a representative!”
Just because Fortune maintained a list of products for sale doesn’t mean it isn’t a pyramid scheme, warns Meyer. “Every pyramid scheme has some product that it purports to promote. The focus on recruitment overrides the focus on the sale of a product to the ultimate consumer meaning somebody not involved in the pyramid.”
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing was recently routed in a Montana state class action where regulators successfully litigated against the company for operating a pyramid scheme.
Orbison, who lives and operates Fortune from Lexington, Kentucky, tells recruits he was able to retire after he made a million dollars month with another multi-level marketing company. He started Fortune in order “to give back” and allow others an opportunity to get rich.
Meyer’s clients, however, would prefer that Fortune simply give back the money they were duped into pouring into a pyramid scheme. According to the research done by Dinsmore and Shohl, the majority of sales reps actually made less than $90 dollars a month before expenses.
There may be thousands of potential class members across the US and even in Canada and Britain, but Fortune is unclear about how many sales representatives it actually has on the books. “They have made some vague representations from time to time, like we have had tens of thousands of representatives join in the last couple of months,” says Meyer. “But there have been no official numbers released.”
The class has yet to be certified. Meyer believes it will happen soon. “I am really looking forward to the discovery phase,” he says.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action
ReplyDeleteSeptember 18, 2010. By Brenda Craig
Louisville, KY: A giant pyramid scheme that has been masquerading as a marketing company appears to be starting to crumble. The only “fortune” the company created went mostly to the company’s father figure, Paul Orberson, and a short list of his confederates.
Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing Hit with National Class Action. Although Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing purports to sell everything from hair care products to cell phones, the real sales job was done on potential recruits to the organization.
“The law against pyramid schemes is clear,” says R. Kenyon Meyer, an attorney who works with the well-known firm of Dinsmore and Shohl in Louisville, Kentucky. Meyer represents four former Fortune sales representatives in a national class action alleging they were victims of Orberson’s operation.
FHTM is a real cool business which gives you every comfort one wants from a job.You should be ready to work with it anytime without even thinking twice.If you guys really want to know about the people who have achieved success in fhtm business.I can give you their names.
ReplyDeleteIt has been hard to get to the root of Fortune Hi-Tech's sales figures up until now. A few days ago the Federal judge unsealed the FTC v. FHTM case. After scouring through the exhibits their sales spreadsheets from 2006-2010 were found. Almost 50% of all of their combined 5 year revenue came from recruiting fees, renewals and tools for reps only. Product sales were less than 50% of total revenue and most of that was internal consumption by the representatives. The sales charts are available at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.joseph-isaacs.com/courtcases/FHTM%20sales%2006-10.pdf
Happy reading. BTW - these are not the same figures given to the Texas AG or Direct Selling News to get listed in the top 100 a few years ago.
How many victims ever knew what the real numbers were. Now they do thanks to the KY subpoenas and the FTC action.