California Attorney General sues YTB for being Illegal Pyramid

YTB (Your Travel Biz) faces legal actions from California Attorney General Jerry Brown for being an illegal pyramid scheme.

Ca. Atty. Gen. Brown Sues To Topple Online Pyramid Scheme

LOS ANGELES--California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued YourTravelBiz.com for operating a gigantic pyramid scheme that recruited tens of thousands of members with deceptive claims that members could earn huge sums of money through its online travel agencies.

"YourTravelBiz.com operates a gigantic pyramid scheme that is immensely profitable to a few individuals on top and a complete rip-off for most everyone else," Attorney General Brown said. "Today's lawsuit seeks to shut down the company's unlawful operation before more people are exploited by the scam."

YourTravelBiz.com and its affiliates operate an illegal pyramid scheme that only benefits members if and when they find enough new members to join the scam. Once enrolled, members who join the pyramid scheme earn compensation for each new person they enlist, regardless of whether they sell any travel. The company lures new members by offering huge income opportunities through online travel agencies yet the typical person actually makes nothing selling travel.

According to company records there were over 200,000 members in 2007 who typically pay more than $1,000 per year--$449.95 to set up an "online travel agency" with a monthly fee of $49.95. In 2007, only 38 percent of the company's members made any travel commissions. For the minority of members who made any travel commission in 2007, the median income was $39.00--less than one month's cost to keep the Website. There are at least 139,000 of the company's travel Websites, all virtually identical, on the Internet.

YourTravelBiz's extensive marketing materials include videos of people driving Porsches and other luxury cars, holding ten-thousand dollar checks, and claiming to be raking in millions of dollars in profits. The company advertises through its Website www.ytb.com, and at conventions, workshops and nationwide sales meetings which have been held in California locations such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego.

Brown charges the company, its affiliates, and the company's founders J. Lloyd Tomer, J. Scott Tomer, J. Kim Sorensen and Andrew Cauthen with operating an "endless chain scheme," an unlawful pyramid in which a person pays money for the chance to receive money by recruiting new members to join the pyramid. Brown also charges the company with unfair business practices and false advertising practices including:

* Deceptive claims that members can earn millions of dollars with the company
* Operating without filing legally mandated documents with the attorney general and the Department of Corporations
* Selling an illegal travel discount program

Under California's unfair business practices statute, the company is liable for $2,500 per violation of law. Attorney General Brown is suing YourTravelBiz.com to get a court order that:

* Bars the company from making false or misleading statements
* Assesses a civil penalty of at least $15,000,000 and at least $10,000,000 in restitution for Californians who were ripped off by the company.

From August 6 through 10, thousands of members are preparing to travel to St. Louis for a national convention to learn new techniques to recruit more victims into the illegal pyramid scheme. Last year at least 10,000 people attended a similar national conference. For more details on the company's plan to perpetuate its scheme visit:
http://www.yourtravelbiz.com/bizRep/BizReports/BIZREPORT_07-18-08.htm

For more information on pyramid schemes visit:
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/pyramid_schemes.php

Any consumers who believe they have been bilked by YTB should send a written complaint with copies of any supporting documentation to:

Office of the Attorney General
Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

Or through an on-line complaint form:
http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL.


Today's lawsuit against YourTravelBiz.com, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court today, is attached. The lawsuit also names affiliates which include YTB Travel Network, Inc., YTB Travel Network of Illinois,Inc., as well as the company's founders J. Lloyd Tomer, J. Scott Tomer, J. Kim Sorensen and Andrew Cauthen.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• ytb
• your
• travel
• biz
• ytb.com
• ytbtravel.com
• pyramid
• scheme
• scam
• California
• Attorney
• General
• Edmund
• Brown
• lawsuit
• sues
• convention

[Rain4Fuel]

very unprofessional Mark... you are purposely degrading an entire industry to promote yourself.

[MarkEwing33]

@Rain4Fuel you are kidding.. right?!! This was a news story about YTB. Not the entire travel industry. And not a promotion for myself. It was about YTB being sued for being an illegal pyramid.

[Rain4Fuel]

@MarkEwing33 Yeah...I get that dude. You are doing nothing but bashing your competition, the Network Marketing/Direct Sales industry. You conveniently forget that the State of California doesn't need proof to sue anyone, and they typically target network marketing companies because the state is broke. You are making the network marketing industry look bad, when it is a perfectly legitimate business opportunity. I know plenty of people in YTB that did quite well, there are no guarantees..ever

[MarkEwing33]

@Rain4Fuel What color is the sky in your world? While it is true that anyone can sue anyone. To win a lawsuit, you have to have a preponderance of evidence (which means that they DO have to have proof). California WON the lawsuit! YTB made the network marketing industry look bad. They did that on their own. Sure, a small percentage did well. The other 99% lost everything. Regardless, this video is a news report. It is telling people about factual events. YTB lost the lawsuit.

[MarkEwing33]

Respond to this video... I am always amazed at the people that want to live in denial, and pretend that nothing happened. Or worst, they want to protect the business, regardless of what they have done. These people drink the company Kool Aid, and become mindless zombies. It goes beyond mis-placed loyalty. Folks, YTB LOST THE LAWSUIT. PERIOD. It is a fact. It happened. Like it or not, it happened. Why would anyone want to take on that baggage? I don't know.

[MarkEwing33]

@nicole4trance pull your head out of the sand and check it out for yourself. You won't have to look to far to find the dirt on this company.

[MarkEwing33]

@nicole4trance Do your homework! YTB is not in the passport business. You get your passport from the government. The facts stated in this video are just that... FACTS! If you do any searching at all, you'll discover YTB's legal problems. Unfortunately for you, ignorance is not bliss.

[cordedpoodle]

Don't ever sign up with them. I never signed up ended up on their spam list. Cannot get rid of them. SPAMMERS.

[alexinemw]

I should have seen this or done more research before I joined YTB several years ago. I lost thousands just keeping up the travel website. Not to mention, I lost valuable time attending meetings and hosting travel meetings which people attended, but were smart enough not to be bought into, like I was. My advice, avoid YTB!!

[therealrockondon]

sounds like SCAMWAY