Over $10 Million! An American Couple Charged for Running a Pyramid Scam

On 8 November, a US District Court judge charged a couple from Texas with operating an illegal pyramid scheme that swindled more than $10 million from thousands of people, according to the US Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs.

According to court documents, LaShonda Moore, 35, and Marlon Moore, 37, co-founded and operated a Pyramid scam called Blessings in No Time (BINT). The scam targeted African-Americans and made false and misleading promises to victims in the form of chain referrals. Victims thought they could earn as much as 800% in returns through BINT, as well as receive refunds if they were dissatisfied with the programme.

The Moores reportedly used a "playing board" to recruit participants for BINT. The board has eight Fire positions, four Wind positions, two Earth positions and one Water position.

Fire participants were required to pay $1,400 or more to water positions and to recruit two additional new fire participants to advance on the "board." In other words, an early participant would need to recruit eight fire participants in order to be rewarded.

Meanwhile, the Moores placed themselves and their relatives in the water position - the top position, on multiple "playing boards." They collected a large amount of money from the fire participants, including a so-called monthly participant fee.

Investors should be aware of the legitimacy of any investment programme and should not believe in unrealistically high return investment opportunities.