Consumer Alert: Fortuna Alliance

The Fortuna Alliance is a multi-level marketing program that the U. S. Federal Trade Commission took action against in May of 1996. Membership in the Fortuna Alliance purportedly enables one to purchase hundreds of thousands of items at a discount, but as is too often the case, the material provided gives plenty of details about how their compensation plan is going to make you wealthy and only provides limited information that would help to decide if their product (i.e. the membership) would be of value without the business opportunity.

These links provide reports (from both sides) on the FTC case against Fortuna Alliance and links to a few Fortuna Alliance members who are apparently continuing to promote the Fortuna Alliance while the case is pending. Some links suggest that Fortuna Alliance members, who are considered in the FTC action to be victims, should object to the FTC that they are not victims. Such support for a pyramid scheme can be explained either as the naivete on the part of the victims in failing to recognize that they are victims, or else due to the fact that the victims are also the promoters of the pyramid scheme, who would lose their opportunity to defraud others if the FTC action were successful.

Settlement agreement reached

On February 25, 1997, both sides claimed victory as a settlement agreement was approved. The FTC claimed that its work will result in refunds to participants who have lost money and want to get out of Fortuna Alliance, while Fortuna claims that the action vindicates the Fortuna Alliance and that they have always offered refunds. But there are two very disturbing aspects of this agreement:

The defendants in the case have agreed to drop their claims in foreign courts against the FTC.
While the defendants are barred from operating a pyramid scheme, they are allowed to operate a "multi-level marketing program" in which participants may pay money to obtain the right to recruit additional participants.

For further commentary on this, click here.

FTC Fortuna page

FTC press release (consent agreement)

Fortuna victory claim

FTC press release

the FTC case against Fortuna alliance

research group finds Fortuna links to Freemen militia (down)

newspaper article

Albion Monitor article part 1 part 2 part 3

Augusta Chronicle article

Seattle Times article

Wired article