http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/Delivered/pyramids.htmLie Down For This One
An Australian company called "Giraffe World" engaged in an $18 million dollar pyramid scheme under the auspices of selling a health-enhancing "Mat" or mattress. They claimed that when connected to a source of electricity the Mat emitted negative ions which would benefit the health of a person who slept on it.
Once introduced to the product you are shown the possibility of becoming a member of the Giraffe Club and the Grow Rich System through presentations at "Happiness Circle" meetings.
At the introductory "Happiness Circle" meeting you get a "Giraffe World VIP tag" while the higher-ups present have photo identification badges showing their rank. After the doors are closed, the lights are dimmed and the stage area is illuminated. A man and a woman run to the front of the stage from the back of the room amid applause from the audience.
They show a video explaining how the business is based on the following six elements which form a "circle of happiness": "Company, Industry, Products, Systems, Training and You"
GW is described as: "an international organization utilizing communications, information technology, satellite and multi-media communication. With high-quality products manufactured using high-technology and its international and professional image, it has been recognized as an established organization."
They say they have developed a system which enables people to achieve their ideal lifestyle and to become entrepreneurs by fostering friendships so that "everyone involved will become richer both spiritually and financially and thus produce more entrepreneurs and successful people."
Here they stated that if you bought a Mat and joined the Giraffe Club and the Grow Rich System, you could earn commissions by introducing others, and yet further commissions if those people also joined and introduced others.
"The Kingdom of Happiness from Giraffe World, which gives you billions of dollars of business potential, is inviting you to be an entrepreneur."
At the meetings the health benefits of the Mat are extolled in on-stage "presentations" to prospective buyers who are told that upon paying $2,900 for the Mat, $50 as a "membership application fee" and $300 as a "membership fee", you can become members of the GC.
A pre-condition of your membership in the GRS is that you attend a "Business School" (often appropriately referred to as "BS"), attend a two-day "Management Consultant Class" and "pass an interview" which does no more than ensure that you have friends or acquaintances you can invite to Happiness Circle meetings.
There are eight classes of membership of the GRS. Giraffe Member (GM), Giraffe Leader (GL), Giraffe Retail Assistant (GRA), Giraffe Retail Manager (GRM), GRM 3 Star, GRM 5 Star, GRM 7 Star, GRM Super Star.
The higher one's category of membership, the more "downline" agents one has and the more indirect commissions one can earn. The commissions earned are calculated according to a formula based on "Business Volume" measured by dollar amount. Each successful introduction has a Business Value of $2,500.
"Once you have reached GM level, you are already earning 15 to 25%. After you introduce three more people either yourself, or through the members you have already introduced, then you will be earning 19 to 33%."
"Introduce three more people and you move to the next stage where you will become Giraffe Retail Assistant. Here the percentages start to get exciting, because now you receive 41% commission. Introduce three other GRA's, then you will become a Giraffe Retail Manager where you can receive 51% commission. And the best part about this level is that you get a national income bonus level of 3%."
"Once you move to the GRM stage you can really start to see the potential of the grow rich scheme, because here you will start to earn between $30,000 to $70,000 a month. Our president is earning $120,000 a month as a GRM 3 Star."
"Last month the company turned over $2 million and this month it looks like it will turn over about $3 million. We have almost 6,000 members and by this time next year we hope to have 50,000 members. When Giraffe World starts to bring in about $6 to $8 million a month, then you can see where the additional 3% bonus really kicks in for those at the GRM level."
"Unlike other direct selling companies Giraffe World focuses on limiting the number of people directly below you to just three. It wouldn't work without having a great product. And the negative ion mat is a real innovation that will help you personally, which you can then share with your friends."
After the meeting is over you go to a "VIP Lounge" where a more senior member of the GRS promotes the benefits of the Mat and membership in the GC and the GRS on a one-to-one basis. They emphasize the strong desirability of deciding and signing on the spot.
Out of 4,656 persons who joined, 3,238 had applied to join the GC and the GRS on the same date. People who joined thought it was a good business opportunity to earn money.
Giraffe World sought to portray their court case as a battleground between conventional and alternative health care systems while qualified experts questioned the mat's worth. A Dr Nicholls denounced the Product Manual's numerous claims as having no foundation in science, and, in many cases, as being simply nonsense.
"A body lying on the mat would be subjected to an electric field with both direct and alternating components. There is no magnetic field generated by the mattress. Similar electric fields, generated by electrical appliances may be found in an electric blanket, household wiring or an electric toaster."
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