Greg Viegas

It’s no secret that multilevel marketing is difficult – in fact, many who join an MLM will end up losing money.

As if things weren’t hard enough for distributors, a TINA.org reader alerted us to Greg Viegas, a network marketing trainer running ads on Facebook that prey on struggling MLMers. In these ads, Viegas claims to have been in the industry for “over 20 years” (although he doesn’t specify where, or if he was successful) and guarantees the strategies he teaches will enable distributors to ”enroll 30 new clients” every month, “on autopilot.”

Clicking on Viegas’ Facebook ads takes users to a website where he discusses his “case study,” which he claims contains the “Simple Ways To Get Highly Qualified New People Into Your Business Every Single Month With Predictability.” In order to get more information, users have to enter their email address.

Immediately after giving an email address, Viegas sends out a 21-minute training video, which more or less functions as an ad for his full training.

He states his program made it “very easy and predictable” for his previous clients to “make $100,000 or $1,000,000 per year or more.” He repeatedly says his method can make anyone a “6 and 7 figure” earner, giving examples of some former students and their respective earnings.

The video ends with an imperative to apply for Viegas’ full six-week course, with a warning that space is limited due to “over 100 network marketers” applying “in the last 30 days.”

According to our reader who purchased Viegas’ course, which he says cost $3,997, the training failed to provide “a single result.” Furthermore, after our reader requested a refund as part of an advertised money-back guarantee, Viegas convinced him to give it some time, and then stopped responding altogether when the expected results never arrived.

Income claims like those Viegas makes in his advertisements frequently land MLMs in hot water. The vast majority of participants in these companies make no money; in order for MLMs to be profitable, recruitment must be constant, which Viegas’ training apparently does not enable.

Viegas’ claim fits into a common MLM recruitment pitch, which portrays recruiting others as simple and easy, despite the many who are not able to do so. If success in an MLM depends on recruiting, as opposed to product sales, it is likely a pyramid scheme.

When a company or individual promises a simple, easy way to make money “on autopilot” (or from the comfort of your home), do your research, look carefully at any income disclosure statements that may exist if the company is an MLM, and be sure to ask lots of questions.

TINA.org reached out to Mr. Viegas for comment. Check back for updates.

To read more of TINA.org’s coverage of MLMs, click here.