Gday Mates! Here's what we have for you today:

• Madoff Netflix Series
• What is a Ponzi scheme? What is a pyramid scheme? MLM?
• Quotable Captains
• Best Ways To Get Scammed

https://www.netflix.com/title/81466159

Yet ANOTHER drama series about the black-hearted, soulless, 5-Star General to the devil himself, and the all-time Ponzi Schemer, Bernie Madoff 😈.   We somehow cannot get enough of this sociopathic POS . . . . and Netflix knows it with the new series that aired last week.  

You’d think Robert De Niro’s performance would’ve been enough, but here we are with the third dose of it 🥴. 

https://www.hbo.com/movies/the-wizard-of-lies

What  is a Ponzi Scheme and how did Madoff accumulate $65 BBBBBillion from it? 💸💸💸

A Ponzi scheme does not sell or invest anything . . . it recruits the initial group to invest with a promise of repayment and high returns while assuming little to no risk 💰💰💰.  But . . . before those original investor folks think twice 🤔, the Ponzi POS recruits another group of new investors and uses their money to pay the original group. 

Well, at some point, the pool of newbie investors dries up and there is not enough money to pay off the army of anxious investors. That’s it.

In the case of Madoff, $7 billion was called for repayment, and he only had $300 million to payout 🤬!

How does the Ponzi POS 💩 recruit?

The Ponzi scheme artist largely relies on personal relationships, community ties, and vulnerable groups like senior citizens to create the fraudulent scheme. Once they show some level of interest, Mr. Ponzi POS 💩is an expert at conveying legitimacy to justify the large and consistent returns.

Of course, Madoff 🤡mastered this by relying on his reputation as a well-versed and active member of the financial industry who helped launch the Nasdaq stock market. 

He . . . actually . . .  ADVISED . . . the SEC . . .  on . . . . wait for it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trading securities (🤯WTF!) . . . .

So, Madoff milked his reputation for decades, generated consistent phony returns of 10 to 20% per year and stole billions from unsuspecting victims leaving in his wake thousands with virtually no legal recourse, including the tragic aftermath of his own family.

What about those MLM and network marketing businesses?

But, companies like and Herbalife made over $15 billion last year alone. What is the difference? 

A MLM/network marketing company generates profits from two revenue streams: (1) direct sales and (2) commissions based on the sales of recruited team members.  The MLM/network marketing strategy is to maximize the number of distributors to sell the products who then receive a commission on their own sales and for the sales their recruits (The Holy Downline 💰💰💰).

Pyramid Schemes are, however, fraudulent schemes, disguised as an MLM strategy. The difference between a pyramid scheme and a lawful MLM program is that there is no real product that is sold in a pyramid scheme.

The Pyramid Test: The Federal Trade Commission has said, “If the money you earn is based on your sales to the public, the company may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan.”

The fraud detection and prevention market (money laundering, cybersecurity issues, tax evasion, false insurance claims, identify theft, and illegal financing operations) is valued at $28.36 billion and expected to grow 22%, as reflected in the following acquisition:

• Equifax acquired Midigator LLC- a company dedicated to reduce chargeback fraud (buying an item and then requesting a refund while keeping the item) for about $250MM.

Five Steps to GUARANTEE You Lose Money

1. Go Big or Go Home: Put all your money in one deal. Yolo baby. You don’t want to get left behind when everyone else is crushing it. Don't diversify that way you're more likely to lose it all if it turns out to be a scam.
2. Research Shmesearch: If the person pitching you is wearing a suit, they must know what they are talking about. If they are driving a nicer car than you, they must really know what they are doing. What could go wrong?
3. Guarantees are GOLD: If it’s guaranteed what could go wrong?! The higher the number the better! 100% Guaranteed return?! That's better than Madoff numbers. . . I'm IN!
4. All the opportunity is in the complicated stuff: Go for it! Web3? Decentralized Autonomous Fission Fueled Chat Bots? I don’t get it but it sure sounds smart! Mark me down for $100,000!
5. Go with the gut and move quick! Fortune favors the bold baby, no time to think or get an outside opinion. Burn the boats and go all in!

Well, even JP Morgan followed these steps and got tricked by a fintech startup that it purchased for $175MM when the 30 year-old founder created a bunch of fake account users.

That's a wrap for today. Go get that booty  & see ya next week! If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@DealMavenio)

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