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What You Should Know about Market America

Market America, a North Carolina-based MLM that describes itself as a “product brokerage and internet marketing company,” and its larger-than-life founder James “JR” Ridinger like to stand out in the direct selling industry. For the company’s part, that means littering the internet with an unprecedented number of deceptive income claims related to the MLM’s business opportunity. As for Ridinger, his over-the-top performances at company events are must-see TV, even as (or perhaps because) they also often feature misleading earnings representations.

A TINA.org investigation found that in the first nine months of 2020, Market America published more than 450 deceptive income claims across its website, blog and social media pages. Among the marketing materials TINA.org collected that were published this year was a September tweet by Ridinger that shows him speaking at a Market America event saying the company’s business opportunity gives distributors “economic freedom.”

It wasn’t until TINA.org warned Market America last month that it would notify regulators if the company didn’t take immediate steps to remove the deceptive income claims, which included another 300 claims compiled by TINA.org that were published before 2020, that the company sprang into action. Within a couple weeks, Market America took down nearly all of the claims identified by TINA.org.

SEE: Market America Database

TINA.org’s investigation into Market America went beyond the deceptive marketing of the company’s business opportunity, but that’s a good place to start. Here’s what you should know about Market America.

Show me the money

The bottom line? As a 28-year veteran of the MLM industry with seasoned lawyers on staff, Market America should not have to be reminded of the rules. And the rules state that using atypical earnings claims to recruit distributors is not only deceptive, it’s against FTC law.