re: John Oliver's takedown on MLM's

quote:

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Everyone I've met that's into that shite also goes to a mega church.

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It's called affinity fraud. The fraudster preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, language minorities, the elderly, or professional groups. The con-man is or pretends to be a member of the group, and they often pay or snooker a preacher/leader to vouch for how awesome they are.

Utah, because of how trusting Mormons are of each other, has some of the most investment fraud in the country due to this.

It works for selling shitty stocks or investments (e.g., Madoff and Jewish community) or pitching MLM programs.

Fleecing the flock
The big business of swindling people who trust you; Economist article

SEC warning of affinity fraud scams

Wikipedia list of major affinity fraud scams