MLM Detective — How It Works
How It Works

What we investigate.
How we do it. Why it matters.

Before you trust any investigation, you should know exactly how it was built, where the information comes from, and whether the person doing it has something to gain from the answer. Here is every detail — nothing hidden.

Our Mission
"My commitment is to help everyday people avoid losing their money, losing their hope, and damaging their reputation by getting involved with something they didn't fully understand."
Most people who get hurt by a bad MLM opportunity weren't foolish. They were trusting. They were financially pressured. They were invited by someone they respected. And they had no idea what questions to ask or where to look for honest answers. That is exactly the gap MLM Detective was built to close.
✅ Fully Independent — No Conflicts of Interest
I am not affiliated with, employed by, or financially compensated by any MLM, network marketing company, or direct sales organization — including the ones I investigate. I do not receive commissions, referral fees, or any form of payment if you click a company's link or join any opportunity. I do not hold a distributorship, affiliate account, or equity position in any company in this database. My only income from MLM Detective comes from the investigation reports themselves — which means my only incentive is to give you accurate, useful information. A wrong answer doesn't serve me. It serves the pitch.
MLM Detective vs. Researching It Yourself
Researching it yourself
  • Google "company + scam" — mostly blogs and YouTube opinions
  • No access to income disclosure analysis
  • Can't read a compensation plan for red flags
  • No regulatory database knowledge
  • Company website written by the company
  • No way to verify founder history
  • Hours of reading leads to more confusion
  • No framework — just a gut feeling
MLM Detective
  • 12 primary sources including FTC, TINA.org, SEC filings, court records
  • Income disclosure read in full and explained in plain English
  • Compensation plan analyzed for pyramid scheme indicators
  • Regulatory record checked across US and international jurisdictions
  • Founder history verified through public records
  • 40-point framework applied consistently to every company
  • Plain English verdict — no jargon, no agenda
  • Done in 60 seconds. For $9.95.
40
Investigation criteria per company
9
Research categories weighted by impact
50+
Sources consulted per investigation
31
Companies investigated to date
🗂 Where the Information Comes From
Every investigation draws from the following primary sources. These are the same sources regulators, journalists, and consumer attorneys use — most people researching an MLM have never heard of them.
01
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
www.ftc.gov
The US government agency that investigates and prosecutes deceptive MLM practices. FTC complaint databases, enforcement actions, settlement documents, and consent orders are primary sources for every US-based company investigation.
02
Truth in Advertising (TINA.org)
www.truthinadvertising.org
The most rigorous independent watchdog for MLM income and health claims. TINA.org actively audits company and distributor social media, files regulatory complaints, and maintains detailed violation records for dozens of companies in our database.
03
Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC)
www.bbbnp.org/dssrc
The direct sales industry's own self-regulatory body — operated under BBB National Programs. When even the industry's own watchdog finds a company is making prohibited income claims, that is a significant finding. DSSRC case decisions are cited in multiple reports.
04
SEC EDGAR — Company Filings
www.sec.gov/edgar
Publicly traded MLM companies are required to file audited financial statements, material legal disclosures, and executive compensation data with the SEC. For companies like Nu Skin, USANA, Primerica, and eXp Realty, SEC filings are the gold standard for financial accuracy.
05
Company Income Disclosure Statements
Published directly by each company
Income Disclosure Statements (IDS) are the company's own published data on what distributors actually earn. When a company publishes one, we read it in full. When they don't — that absence is noted as a red flag in the investigation.
06
BehindMLM
behindmlm.com
The most comprehensive independent database of MLM compensation plan analysis. BehindMLM has reviewed hundreds of compensation plans and identified structural pyramid scheme indicators that most people would never spot on their own.
07
State Attorney General Offices
www.naag.org
State-level enforcement actions, settlements, and consumer alerts. Several companies in our database have been investigated at the state level independent of federal action — these findings are cross-referenced in every applicable investigation.
08
Business for Home
www.businessforhome.org
The largest global database of direct sales company revenue estimates, distributor counts, and industry rankings. Used for momentum analysis, revenue trend data, and identifying companies worth investigating that may not be on US regulatory radar yet.
09
International Financial Regulators
Multiple jurisdictions
For companies operating globally, we check the regulatory records in their primary markets. This includes the FCA (UK), CONSOB (Italy), ASIC (Australia), CBR (Russia), and the Nigerian SEC — among others. A company flagged by four regulators on four continents is not a borderline case.
10
Court Records & Settlement Documents
www.pacer.gov
Federal court filings, class action settlements, consent decrees, and injunctions are reviewed for every company with significant legal history. Allegations are always presented as allegations. Settled cases are always described as settled — never as admissions of guilt.
11
Published Academic Research
scholar.google.com
Peer-reviewed research on MLM income distribution, recruitment patterns, product science claims, and vulnerable community targeting. Academic sources are cited specifically when they support or challenge a finding in the investigation.
12
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
www.bbb.org
Consumer complaint volume, company ratings, and response patterns. Not used as a primary source — but useful for identifying billing abuse patterns, refund denial trends, and companies with documented patterns of ignoring consumer disputes.
🔬 The 40-Point Investigation Framework

Every company is evaluated against the same 40 criteria, organized into 9 weighted categories. The weighting reflects what matters most — financial structure and regulatory history carry the most weight because they are the most predictive of harm. Here is how the investigation is structured:

1
Financial Integrity — 22% weight
Where does the money actually come from? Are participants paid primarily from recruiting new members or from selling products to real customers outside the network? This is the single most important question in any MLM investigation.
2
Regulatory & Legal History — 18% weight
FTC enforcement actions, state attorney general settlements, international regulatory warnings, consent decrees, class action history, and any ongoing litigation. Regulatory history is the most objective evidence available.
3
Product Legitimacy — 15% weight
Are the products real? Are they available outside the distributor network? Do independent consumers actually buy and repurchase them without a business motivation? Would anyone pay retail price for this without the income opportunity attached?
4
Earnings Honesty — 13% weight
What does the income disclosure actually show — including the percentage earning zero? Are income claims in the field accurate or do they portray atypical results as typical? Has the DSSRC or FTC cited the company for deceptive earnings representations?
5
Corporate Accountability — 10% weight
Who are the founders and what is their history? Is ownership transparent? Have prior companies run by the same people collapsed or faced enforcement? Are exit terms fair and is the refund policy real?
6
Momentum Analysis — 10% weight
Is the company growing, plateauing, or declining? Revenue trajectory, active distributor count trends, and lifecycle stage matter enormously — someone joining a company at peak decline faces fundamentally different odds than someone joining during genuine growth.
7
Participant Risk — 7% weight
What is the personal legal exposure for a distributor making common field claims? Are there non-compete clauses that restrict future income options? What are the real monthly costs to stay active and eligible for commissions?
8
Targeting & Tactics — 3% weight
Is there documented evidence of disproportionate recruiting in vulnerable communities? Are high-pressure tactics, love bombing, or manufactured urgency documented in independent reporting?
9
Lifecycle & Sustainability — 2% weight
Is the business model sustainable long-term? Is there a genuine retail customer base that would survive if all recruiting stopped tomorrow? This is the test regulators use to distinguish direct sales from pyramid schemes.
⚖️ Apolitical. Unbiased. Evidence-Only.

MLM Detective is not an anti-MLM platform. It is not a pro-industry platform. It has no political affiliation and no ideological agenda. The investigation framework does not begin with a conclusion and work backward — it follows the evidence wherever it leads.

Some companies in this database score well. Shaklee earns a Lower Risk rating because 69 years of history, 110+ clinical studies, and a publicly transparent parent company are real positives — and the investigation says so plainly. eXp Realty earns a Lower Risk rating because it is a licensed real estate brokerage processing nearly $200 billion in actual home sales. The green flags are real and they are reported honestly.

Other companies score critically. Aurum Foundation is flagged by four national regulators on four continents. That is not an opinion. Every finding in every report is sourced. Every allegation is identified as an allegation. Every settled case is described as settled — not as proof of wrongdoing. The goal is accuracy, not prosecution.

Direct selling is a legal business model. Network marketing is legal. Many people earn real, honest income through legitimate direct sales companies. MLM Detective exists to help people tell the difference — not to condemn an entire industry.

Here is the math that matters: The average person who joins an MLM and loses money loses between $1,200 and $3,500 before they walk away — according to AARP research on MLM financial harm. They also lose months of time, and in many cases, friendships and family relationships strained by recruiting. A $9.95 investigation report is not a cost. It is insurance.
You deserve a second opinion
before you say yes.
The search is free. The red and green flags are free. Three full reports are free. You only pay when you want the complete picture — and even then, our 7-day satisfaction guarantee means there is no risk.
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Methodology note: MLM Detective investigations are generated using AI-assisted research and publicly available sources. All factual claims are source-cited and should be independently verified. Investigations are updated as new regulatory or enforcement information becomes available. Nothing in these investigations constitutes legal, financial, or medical advice. MLM Detective is a consumer education tool, not a legal or regulatory authority. The investigator holds no current affiliation with any MLM, direct sales, or network marketing company.