Posted by:
Amyjo
(
)
Date: September 13, 2016 07:14PM
Mormons do lead the nation in affinity fraud. It seems that con artists are either drawn to the profiles of the trusting Mormons who are easy prey - or they are born from the rank and file Mormons - maybe due to the environment that encourages MLM and Ponzi schemes such as is the case in Utah, unlike other states and federal regulations prohibiting it.
An update to the "Pyramid Scheme Alert" from 2006 showing the anti-affinity laws on Utah's books that were basically reversed by the same guys who were arrested and are mentioned in this 2014 update on MLM's in Utah.
"Utah’s Top Cops and Biggest MLM Promoters Arrested
Mark Shurtleff
Former Utah Governor, Mark Shurtleff, the nation’s biggest MLM backer in a state government, has been arrested on bribery charges
Back in the USA, the MLM industry has touted as one of its great promoters the former Attorney General of Utah, Mark Shurtleff. While still serving as a public official, Shurtleff appeared to have publicly endorsed the MLM, Usana and he was instrumental in opening Utah up to more MLM pyramids.
Now it is reported that Shurtleff has been arrested in Utah on bribery charges, along with another former Attorney General of Utah, John Swallow, who was also a major MLM backer.
According to the Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, the prosecution included the cooperation of the FBI. Gill announced that Shurtleff and Swallow are accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from businesspeople. The charges come with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Both Swallow and Shurtleff were nationally known as governmental defenders and promoters of MLM in Utah and nationally, the state with more MLM headquarters per capita than any other. According to a 2012 investigative article in Harpers Magazine by Jeff Ernsthausen, Shurtleff received campaign contributions totaling more than $475,000 from members of the Direct Selling Association (DSA) since 1999, accounting for 14 percent of his donations from sources other than the state Republican Party.
The DSA writes the “code of ethics” that MLM member companies are supposed to follow. The Harper‘s article noted, after itemizing DSA member contributions to Shurtleff, noted that “unsurprisingly”, Shurtleff was a major MLM backer.
Shurtleff famously appeared as the state’s top law enforcement officer at DSA member and MLM, Usana’s national meeting in 2004 to apparently endorse the company publicly. As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune in a 2011 piece on MLM influence in Utah by Steven Oberbeck, Shurtleff “walked onto the stage in Salt Lake City. ‘Good morning, Usana,’ he shouted. ‘And I have some news for you. Last night I talked to Governor Huntsman, and he agreed with me that it is now time to change the name of our state.
‘From now on we will be known as Utana.'”
Another publicized connection between Shurtleff and MLM, was with the MLM scheme, Pre-Paid Legal, which also had been a DSA member. Pre-Paid Legal was a publicly traded stock with the symbol, PPD. It was frequently sued for deception and pyramiding, and later was taken private with a leveraged buy-out, followed by the change of its name to LegalShield, a current DSA member. The Shurtleff/Pre-Paid Legal connection allegedly involved campaign money to Shurtleff from PPD, a lucrative book purchasing deal by PPD to the profit of Shurtleff, and possible help from Shurtleff in squelching a federal investigation of PPD. According to an article in the Salt Lake City Weekly by Eric S. Peterson, the multi-level marketing scheme, Pre-Paid Legal Services had donated $130,000 in campaign funds to Shurtleff between 2003 and 2008. Shurtleff also received $7,400 in donations to his 2009 Senate race from employees of Pre-Paid Legal, and Shurtleff’s political action committee, the PAC for Utah’s Future, received $15,000 in donations from the company in 2010.
Quoting from the article, “Author and Tea Party activist Candace Salima says that when then-Attorney General Mark Shurtleff approached her in spring 2009 about publishing his historical fiction novel with her Valor Publishing Group, he told her that he hadn’t finished writing the book – but that he could guarantee a pre-sale order of 100,000 copies. Salima says that the company that Shurtleff told her was willing to buy 100,000 copies… which, Salima says, would result in over $100,000 in royalties being paid to Shurtleff – was Pre-Paid Legal Services…. At the time, the company was being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for making misleading statements to its customers.”
Shurtleff’s greatest contribution to MLM in Utah, with national ramifications, was his leadership role in changing the state’s anti-pyramid scheme law to one that exempts MLM and also inhibits the ability of victims to sue an MLM in Utah. For a full review on the changed law in Utah that now protects “product-based” pyramids see, 2006 special report, Utah Legislature Passes Pyramid Scheme Safe Harbor Amendments,by Robert FitzPatrick.
On Shurtleff’s successor John Swallow’s ties to MLM, the Harper‘s investigation reported that “Of the $680,000 he has raised for his election campaign to date (June 2012), $114,000 can be traced to Utah-based DSA member companies, their executives, or their spouses.”
http://pyramidschemealert.org/specter-of-illegality-stalks-multi-level-marketing/