Canadian Police Bring Criminal Fraud Charges against MLM, Business in Motion

 

Jan 25, 2011

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the province of Manitoba in central Canada have brought criminal fraud charges against a prominent multi-level marketing company, its president and 12 of its promoters. The prosecution is a clear warning to any consumer about the risks of joining or recruiting for a multi-level marketing company. Previous lack of prosecution or claims of legality by the company are no protection. This MLM company had never been prosecuted. It held public recruitment meetings all over Canada, advertised with billboards and had thousands of loyal supporters.

 

The MLM, called Business in Motion, was the subject of a national television news exposé in 2009, in which Pyramid Scheme Alert president, Robert FitzPatrick, went undercover with the news producers, attending a recruitment meeting with hidden cameras and microphones. He was later interviewed on the show  to explain and analyze the scheme’s deceptive income promise and pyramid business model. The company president, Alan Kippax, now charged with criminal fraud, aggressively defended BIM on the same show, arguing that the company  had never been prosecuted or even investigated.

 

BIM President, Alan Kippax (CBC Photo), Charged with Criminal Fraud

The news program also showed video of police arresting Canadian consumer advocate, David Thornton, founder of crimebustersnow.com, while he peacefully and legally protested the BIM scheme and warned consumers that it was fraudulent. He was later released without charges, raising the obvious question of whether local police were protecting the BIM scheme. The news program also showed how the Canadian Competition Bureau, equivalent to the US Federal Trade Commission, remained silent in the face of mounting evidence of fraud. The Competition Bureau still has not prosecuted the scheme or even issued a warning to consumers.

Related articles on the Pyramid Scheme Alert website about Business in Motion:

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• Press release from the Canadian police in Manitoba about charges against Business in Motion

• Full video of the news show, CBC Marketplace that exposed BIM

• Notes from Robert FitzPatrick on attending a BIM recruitment meeting

• News from Pyramid Scheme Alert  that BIM was collapsing due to lack of new recruits

• Questions about why Canada has become a haven for pyramid schemes