December 10, 2004
What you want read in the Newspapers in Michigan
Bush + Republicans + Amway = Fraud
(1rst In A Series On Amway Consumer Fraud Scandal)
Former Amway insider, Eric Scheibeler, has written a
must read new book called "Merchants Of Deception."
This one time member of the Amway motivational cult
has turned whistleblower and FBI witness and boy does
he have some tales to tell.
In the book, Scheibeler exposes an Enron sized fraud
with Amway raking In billions of dollars annually, and
the billionaire founding families Being the largest
soft money contributors to the GOP, with funds that
have Been generated from what may turn out to be one
of the largest consumer fraud scandals in history,
perpetrated by the world's largest multi-level
marketing company (MLM).
The former Federal Auditor has also has a website,
www.merchantsofdeception.com, that reveals the close
ties between Amway and Republicans.
As a life long conservative, Scheibeler was
discouraged to both discover and document that "the
GOP seems to have been hijacked by political payoffs
from an industry that is rife with consumer deception,
and bogus 'business opportunity' selling." He goes on
to say that it's "time this secret influence peddling
and the harm it causes consumers and our democracy are
revealed. I was on the inside for nine years. I saw it
with my own eyes. I also have the internal documents,
financials, and the audio and video tapes to prove
it."
Merchants of Deception exposes the company's deceptive
marketing of phony business opportunities and other
secret scams by Amway's top promoters to sell
so-called success tools to unsuspecting recruits all
over the world. It also contains first hand accounts
of the Kingpin's fraudulent recruitment practices that
have led to an endless stream of lawsuits.
Scheibeler & Dateline Team Up In Sting Operation
In addition to writing a book and setting up a web
site, Scheibeler provided key documentation for the
May 7, 2004, NBC Dateline program that televised an
expose of the secretive and illegal pyramid business
run by Amway & Quixtar kingpins.
During its investigation, Dateline smuggled hidden
cameras into recruitment meetings in order to document
the company's deceptive claims and promises, and to
expose its multi-million dollar 'secret' business. The
expose verified the common allegation made in numerous
consumer lawsuits, that the company is merely a front
for a hidden pyramid business based on selling books,
tapes, and registrations to seminars and rallies to
new recruits, with nearly all participants losing
money.
According to Dateline, the FBI and the IRS are
conducting investigations into the scheme.
Republicans Will Do Anything For A Buck
Amway's billionaire founders, Rich DeVos and Jay
VanAndel, have been the largest soft money
contributors to the GOP on and off for the past 20
years. Together, DeVos and VanAndel gave $4,000,000 to
a 527, just 45 days prior to the last election. And
you can bet that they demand (and get) a bang for
every red cent.
Scheibeler's book reveals how GOP donations and
corporate promotion have resulted in a trade off for
political protection and tax reduction benefits for
the MLM. His web site provides a goldmine of
documentation to back up his claims, including
audiotapes.
By going to the site, you can hear Newt Gingrich
promoting Amway at a large event, or you can listen to
audio clips of then Texas Governor George W Bush.
There is even a clip sent by high-level kingpin
distributors from a private meeting within the White
House.
Scheibeler tells how some members of the GOP have been
paid as much as $100,000 for a single promotional
appearance at an Amway seminar. The list of high-paid
Republican speakers who have appeared at rallies over
the years, reads like a list of who's who in the GOP.
It includes former Presidents George Bush, Ronald
Reagan, Gerald Ford and former Vice Presidents Bob
Dole and Dan Quayle, along with other GOP heavyweights
like Gingrich, Oliver North, Senator Rick Santorum and
even the latest SE Regional Chairman for the
Bush-Cheney '04 campaign, Ralph Reed.
Scheibeler reveals just how much Republican law makers
have given back to Amway in return for the large
speaking fees and contributions, which includes tax
breaks and a blanket of immunity from investigations
into the company's illegal business practices. In
hindsight, it is more than evident that the money
bought a whole lot of regulatory protection for Amway.
Merchant's of Deception provides a good example of how
the racket works in the case of Newt Gingrich. His
speaking fees are reported to be in the $50,000 range.
The books explains how, after accepting speaking fees,
Gingrich arranged a reported last-minute modification
in a comprehensive tax bill that allegedly provided a
$283 million tax break to just one company -- Amway.
One report called the tax break a $283 million payoff.
"The payoff for Amway was not in the original House or
Senate version of the tax bill. House Speaker Newt
Gingrich intervened at the last minute to help get the
special tax break inserted in the bill." (San Antonio
Express-News Aug 12,1997).
Who Else Is Involved In The Amway Scandal?
Back in 1997, syndicated columnist Molly Ivins
described Amway's Lobbying power in Congress, "Amway
has its own caucus in Congress. Yes, the Amway caucus.
Five Republican House members are also Amway
distributors: Reps. Sue Myrick of North Carolina, Jon
Christensen of Nebraska, Dick Chrysler of Michigan,
Richard Rombo of California and John Ensign of Nevada.
Their informal caucus meets several times a year with
Amway bigwigs to discuss policy matters affecting the
company, including China's trade status," she said.
Ivins also noted that, "House Majority Whip Tom DeLay,
a onetime Amway salesman, also remains close to the
company." Which figures, because everybody knows
that if there's a buck to be made from a scam, DeLay
is sure to be lurking around in the shadows somewhere
nearby.
And the fund-raising power of this pyramid company is
not limited to the company's top dogs. The downline
distributors are often pressured to produce large sums
of money by soliciting small contributions from a
great number of people. And that money can add up
fast, considering that in 2000, Amway reportedly had
over 700,000 distributors.
In 1997, a request from Congresswoman Sue Myrick to
Amway Kingpin, Dexter Yager, for help in her fund
raising events, increased her campaign war chest by
more than $20,000 with small contributions from
distributors. The next year, another fundraiser aimed
at distributors brought in over $35,000.
W and Amway Are Tight
When it comes to W and Amway, it's a give and take
situation. They mutually provide "quid pro quo"
favors to each other. For instance, during the 2000
campaign, W used the company's voicemail network to
reach thousands of Kingpin Dexter Yager's distributors
with a personalized message from none other than Bush
himself.
Then last summer, when Amway co-founder Rich DeVos
attended a dinner party at the home of a friend in
Grand Rapids, MI, he got seated right across the
dinner table from W, according to the Orlando
Sentinel.
DeVos isn't shy about discussing his contributions to
Bush. "People ask Me sometimes why I support Bush,
"DeVos said, "I just tell them, 'Because When I walk
into the room, he says, "Hi, Rich." ' I've been a
friend to the family for a long time."
"I give the max," DeVos said proudly. "People talk
about buying access, But all I can tell you is that
politicians know the people who support them," he told
the Sentinel.
And DeVos ain't lying, he has been very generous to W
over the years. The $2,000 campaign Limit that he
gives directly to Bush, is but a fraction of what he
actually contributes. His wife, kids, and their
spouses, also make large donations to W and other
members of the GOP.
During the 2000 election cycle, DeVos, his wife, and
son contributed a combined sum of $760,000 to
Republican candidates and causes, and according to FEC
records, Amway itself contributed a whopping $1.3
million, with every dime going to Republicans.
Favored politicians are also aware that the Amway
perks don't necessarily end once they leave office.
For example, DeVos has remained such great friends
with President Ford over the years, that when Ford
travels, it's often on DeVos' private jet.
How Much Does W Protect Amway - Let Me Count The Ways
Scheibeler's reporting provides a well documented
expose of the Bush administration's direct involvement
in the regulatory protection of Amway, and verifies
that DeVos does get a lot of bang for every buck.
As we all know, there are rampant cases of improper
influence in the Bush White House. Right off the top
my head, energy and drug companies come to mind. But
Amway is different; its primary goal is not merely to
rip off tax payers. Its to literally protect its very
existence. The MLM completely relies on political
protection to prevent it from being shut down by
regulators and law enforcement.
And Bush has demonstrated that he was more than
willing to engage in the protection racket.
On his web site, Scheibeler is highly critical of the
FTC, and its current chairman, Bush appointee, Timothy
Muris, mainly because of the agency's utter refusal to
properly investigate and/or prosecute pyramid schemes,
despite the overwhelming number of well documented
complaints that have been filed with the agency.
Without a doubt, Amway's business practices are
flagrant violations of FTC rules. Three separate
federal court rulings have defined these types of
pyramid sales as illegal schemes, and there are any
number of websites on the internet that document the
financial harm caused to millions of people by Amway's
deceptive recruitment schemes. Yet, the Bush
administration has consistently ignored the company's
violations.
Scheibeler's web site attracts testimonials from Amway
victims all over the world. Complaints have come in
from Australia, New Zealand, UK, Germany, France,
Canada, and Slovakia. And the whole world watches as
the FTC turns a blind eye to the blatant exportation
of this "American" fraud.
In fact, it could be said that Bush has aided and
abetted Amway's criminal behavior. To begin with,
appointing Tim Muris to head the FTC was the
equivalent of setting a fox loose in the chicken coup.
Before his appointment, Muris was as an attorney with
the antitrust division of the law firm Howrey, Simon,
Arnold and White, LLP. And guess who the firm's
antitrust division counts as one of its largest
clients? Amway.
So here we have it, while Muris was at Howrey, and
while he was in charge of the FTC, his former law
partners were representing Amway in a class action
lawsuit initiated by a former Amway distributor that
alleged that the MLM's recruitment program was an
illegal pyramid scheme.
And there's more. The MLM's influence with the FTC
doesn't end with Muris, it extends beyond him. During
the Clinton administration, a company named Equinox
(an Amway clone), was prosecuted for violating the
pyramid scheme fraud statutes. One of Equinox's expert
witnesses was David Scheffman, and he testified
against the FTC and defended the scheme.
Scheffman claimed that the company's business model
was legitimate and not a pyramid scheme, based on the
assertion that company operated just like Amway. In
the end, Equinox lost the court battle and was shut
down, but guess where Scheffman ended up? Muris made
him the Chief Economist at the FTC.
Does the information above indicate any conflict of
interest violations within the Bush administration?
Probably not, since the term conflict of interest was
obviously deleted from the White House vocabulary when
Bush moved in.
By Evelyn Pringle
e.pringle@sbcglobal.net
Miamisburg, OH 45342
Posted by Chuck at December 10, 2004 10:56 PM