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Is WorldVentures Bankrupt? Unpaid Commissions Spawn Exodus

【产生大量未付佣金问题，worldventures破产了吗？】

After months of unpaid commissions, we’re getting reports that distributors are leaving WorldVentures in droves. Dozens of distributors have taken to Social Media this week to publicly announce their departure and slam the company for its deception and lies regarding commission payments. As we’ve seen over the years, this is usually a very good indicator that the company is in massive financial trouble and will either sell out or shut down in the near future.

WorldVenture Litigation
In our recent WorldVentures review, we outlined the company’s struggles to expand internationally while navigating a host of legal issues. Most notably, the company was banned from operating in Norway and in 2017 a class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. alleging that the company is operating as a pyramid scheme. Last year, the Chinese government cracked down on WorldVentures members who were illegally operating in the country.
WorldVentures is not only entangled in litigation with national governments—it’s also fielding multiple lawsuits against ex-members including David Wood (yes the same David Wood who now claims to be God), Carlos Rogers (U.S.) who is owed almost $100,000 in commissions, Devraj and Cassandra Soojay (South Africa), and James Lee (Singapore). The company is also suing Abboud Barakat for stealing confidential and proprietary information regarding customers, suppliers, and marketing and sales strategies after a deal fell through last year. Barakat has since gone on to start a new MLM called MaVie.
WorldVenture’s Decline
We already saw hints of trouble when the company declined to disclose its revenue to participate in the annual DSN Global 100 list. In a June 2018 press release, WorldVentures CEO Josh Paine said “We elected not to participate in the DSN 100 for 2018 as do many privately held companies. Instead, we treated 2017 as a year of learning.” In the same press release, the company celebrates $2 billion in sales from 2015 to 2017. While this sounds impressive, it means that 2017 revenue decreased by almost 60% from the year before. Here are the numbers:
2015: $693 million
2016: $926 million
2017: $381 million (estimated)
Given the exodus this week, it appears that distributors are “learning” that the company is no longer able to fulfill its financial obligations.
We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

文本来自以下网址：
https://www.mlmnewsreport.com/worldventures-bankrupt-distributors-resign-over-unpaid-commissions/

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WorldVentures sued for millions by reps

WorldVentures representatives put up signs in Sandton this week with the words “you should pay me”, which is a spin on the company’s campaign message of “you should be here”.

DURBAN – TRAVEL and earn company WorldVentures (South Africa) is on the brink of collapse as thousands of representatives have not been paid commission since October.
The representatives, mainly professionals who gave up their jobs in pursuit of lucrative dollar payouts, have now taken legal action to get what they are owed.

It’s estimated WorldVentures signed up more than 20000 members in South Africa, many of them based in Durban.
The company is a home-based direct sales travel club which thrives on a recruitment model.
Joburg resident Devraj Soojay, the first South African to have joined, is suing WorldVentures for more than R2.6million in commission owed to him and his wife, Cassandra.

WorldVentures spokesperson Sophia Stoller said fraud in some of their markets abroad caused them to fall behind in commission payouts, but they were making good on outstanding payments.

Devraj and Cassandra Soojay are suing WorldVentures. Right: representatives put up signs in Sandton this week.

In US-filed court papers, seen by the Sunday Tribune, Devraj and Cassandra are suing WorldVentures for their unpaid commissions, collectively worth more than $106000 (about R1.5m).
The couple lodged their lawsuit with the Texas District Court in July.
They joined the company in 2009 and climbed the ranks to become its top earners in South Africa.

In court documents, they claimed that 70% of the company’s membership in South Africa was due to their work.
They said that since October WorldVentures had paid them only $65000, instead of the $156000 due to them for commission earned.
They are also claiming interest on the outstanding commission payments and $75000 in legal fees.
Devraj recently shared on his social media pages that he had left WorldVentures due to ongoing non-payment issues.
Contacted for comment, he said he could not say anything as the company had obtained an interdict from the Gauteng High Court to prevent him from making any statements.
Several representatives who contacted this newspaper claimed their lives had been endangered as a result of the non-payment debacle.
Representatives also alleged they were recently “scammed” into paying $160 for a product called the Flye Smart Card from WorldVentures, which was meant to have several benefits for members.
However, they did not receive the card and later found out it did not work in South Africa.
WorldVentures describes itself on its website as “a lifestyle company that markets travel-related products”.
Representatives are easily identifiable on social media for posting pictures of the blue WorldVentures logo which includes the company’s tagline “You should be here”.
The company was investigated by the Hawks in 2016 for operating a pyramid-style scheme.
Enraged members started a campaign this week, posting placards around cities with the words “You should pay me. Share all over social media. Don’t join this movement. People are losing all the way”.
Stoller said the company faced short-term challenges last year because of fraud in its member base in certain markets.
“We have been able to identify the cause and have taken steps to halt the activity that targeted programmes created specifically to benefit WorldVentures DreamTrips members.
“This caused a brief delay in some commission payments. Payments to representatives are now taking place as they fall due,” said Stoller.
She said WorldVentures was working directly with its independent representatives to resolve payment issues as quickly as possible.
Regarding the Flye Card, Stoller said it was a US beta product still being refined for in-market use. “All sales of the Flye Card clearly identify it as a beta product and as such it may not be consistently reliable in test markets. It is not yet available for sale in South Africa,” she said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE

文章来自于南非报道：
https://www.iol.co.za/sunday-tribune/news/worldventures-sued-for-millions-by-reps-16636860

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国家工商总局警告：“WV梦幻之旅”为网络传销

3月14日，国家工商总局、国家旅游局联合提示，所谓“WV梦幻之旅（WorldVentures）”项目,涉嫌构成中国《禁止传销条例》所指的传销行为。该项目以享受最低价格旅游、边旅游边赚钱等噱头诱导消费者交纳入会费及月费等成为会员，以赚取佣金、旅游积分和免除月费为诱饵，鼓动会员发展下线。“WV梦幻之旅”所属企业未在中国大陆地区登记，未取得旅游经营资质许可和直销经营许可（我国直销产品范围不包含旅游产品），属违法经营。
3月14日，国家工商总局、国家旅游局联合提示，所谓“WV梦幻之旅（WorldVentures）”项目，涉嫌构成中国《禁止传销条例》所指的传销行为。

国家工商总局发文指出，近两年来，部分组织和个人打着境外企业“旅游直销”旗号，利用各类网络载体推广实施所谓“WV梦幻之旅（World Ventures）”项目，以享受最低价格旅游、边旅游边赚钱等噱头，诱导消费者交纳入会费及月费等成为会员，以赚取佣金、旅游积分和免除月费为诱饵，鼓动会员发展下线。
会员归属于各个推荐关系构建起来的团队，形成自上而下、多层级、金字塔型的组织结构。此类行为涉嫌构成中国《禁止传销条例》所指的传销行为。“WV梦幻之旅”所属企业未在我国大陆地区登记，未取得旅游经营资质许可和直销经营许可（我国直销产品范围不包含旅游产品），属违法经营。
经查，“WV梦幻之旅”用于项目宣传推广、会员招募管理、报酬计算给付的官方网站服务器均设置在境外，会费缴纳及报酬给付亦通过境外银行账户，国内的组织者和参与者利用各类网络社交信息平台，建立了相对隐蔽、封闭的销售渠道，使参与者的权益存在巨大风险。
其在网络社交平台上进行虚假宣传，常用方式是在微博、微信朋友圈发布图片，炫耀奢华旅行，并谎称国内知名旅行社、酒店、银行为其合作伙伴，广告中使用全球最低价等绝对化语言欺骗诱导公众。
2015年，“WV梦幻之旅”曾利用部分“明星合影”进行虚假宣传活动，受到部分知名演员的公开联名抵制。此前，部分省市的工商、公安、旅游管理部门也已针对“WV梦幻之旅”项目发布预警警示。
工商总局再次提醒广大群众，购买由境外机构提供的旅游产品，应选择在中国登记、具有旅游经营合法资质的供应商。参与“WV梦幻之旅”及类似项目，消费权益得不到我国法律有效保护，请广大群众切实提高守法意识和风险意识，远离传销陷阱，避免财产损失。组织领导、策划“WV梦幻之旅”及类似网络传销活动，还将承担相应的法律责任。发现和掌握“WV梦幻之旅”及类似违法犯罪行为线索，可及时向当地公安（110）、工商（12315）和旅游部门（12301）举报。
“WV梦幻之旅”注册有英文网页和中文网页。其中文网页上称，World Ventures是一家旅游营销公司，协助所有的客户和会员在机票、酒店、游轮、租车、景点等旅游消费上省钱。旗下Rovia公司28年专注于旅游行业，整合全世界优质旅游资源，向全世界几十万会员提供优质低价的梦幻之旅配套。World Ventures公司的会员可以享受4-5星级的旅游配套，但是只需要付2-3星级的价格。World Ventures 2005年创立于美国达拉斯， 拥有38000平方英尺的办公面积。World Ventures是美国5000家超速成长企业，2012年世界100强直销公司第74名，全球成长最快排名第六，2012年收入3亿美金。

（WV梦幻之旅（WorldVentures）中文网页）

文章来自：
http://money.163.com/17/0314/17/CFGLCPS7002580S6.html

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Whilst it’s true that World Ventures don’t directly financially compensation you for bringing others to the business itself, you still have to bring others to the Rovia business to get anywhere in the compensation plan. And this, despite being a third party recruitment is still recruitment dependent MLM.
–BehindMLM World Ventures Review, March 2011
Just under a year ago the Norwegian Gaming Board announced that they had launched an investigation into World Ventures. At the time the investigation was revealed, this is what I wrote:
Concerned that World Ventures might be a “pyramid” and in violation of Norway’s “Lottery Act”, the Norwegian Gaming Board issued a press release yesterday stating
(The) Gaming Board has established a supervision of the company World Ventures’s activities in this country. We shall consider the Company operates in violation of Lottery Act which says that the pyramids are illegal.
Lottery Act § 16 states that it is forbidden both to create, operate, participate in or distribute pyramids.
The Act defines the pyramid as “pyramid sales system where the consideration paid for the opportunity to earn income, mainly because the other offices of the system, and no sale or consumption of services or other benefits.”
Looking at World Ventures’ compensation plan, it’s pretty much a given that they are going to fall foul of the Lottery Act’s pyramid scheme definition.
Nine months later and the Gaming Board’s investigation has concluded.
The verdict?
World Ventures is an illegal pyramid scheme.
The company World Ventures markets memberships in a travel club that will provide discounts on vacation accommodation throughout the world. These holiday are sold through the company Rovia.
World Ventures also offers these memberships to sales representatives. The company’s sales representatives receive commissions and bonuses when they sell company membership. In addition, they also receive commissions from memberships sold by other sales representatives in the levels below them, akin to a pyramid structure.
In determining World Ventures to be a pyramid scheme, the Norwegian Gaming Board has ordered the company ‘stop all sales activity in the country‘. The Board also reported that
At the end of May 2013 had WorldVentures 3654 members in Norway. About 95 percent of the members were also sales representatives.
With 95% of the company’s revenue in Norway being sourced from affiliates and paid out on recruitment of new members, it’s clear why the Gaming Board reached their decision. No doubt similar figures are evident in World Ventures’ business operations elsewhere in the world, revealing that without the recruitment commissions, that the World Ventures so-called product offering is not viable at a retail level.
The Gaming Board concludes that World Venture’s activities in Norway are an illegal pyramid game because revenues almost exclusively come from recruiting members and not the sale of travel residence.
For those curious, the Gaming Board’s analysis criteria (from Norway’s Lottery Act), is similar to what I use here at BehindMLM when I review MLM companies:
According to the Lottery Act, at least half of the revenues (of a company) must be real product sales. If not, the company is regarded as an illegal pyramid scheme.
As it stands World Ventures has two weeks to comply with the Gaming Board’s order, with failure to do so resulting in further actions against the company locally (to be determined should World Ventures not comply).
World Ventures response to all of this?
Håkon Juell Hassel, a lawyer from the firm “Elden” (recently hired by World Ventures to replace their regular Norwegian lawyers), told Norwegian media outlet “Dine Penger” that
World Ventures dispute sthe basis the ban is imposed on. The company looks forward through the legal process to a thorough and objective review of the basis on which the Gaming Board has made their decision.
It is our opinion that the Authority’s basis in both fact and law is untenable.
Yeah… 95% affiliate funded revenue and recruitment commissions? Good luck with that fellas.
Whether or not the Gaming Board decision will have a wider effect on World Venture’s global operations remains to be seen. But I think it’s pretty clear, based on the facts and figures made public by the Gaming Board, that World Ventures are indeed a global pyramid scheme.
You pay your membership fee and then get paid to recruit others. Follow the money people, it’s as simple as that.

文章来自：
https://behindmlm.com/companies/world-ventures/world-ventures-a-pyramid-scheme-in-norway/

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