I guess some people are happy with that 13 cents.

Not me.

I have made my first complaint today to http://www.ic3.gov/. I am sure my text and facts are not near complete, but I include them here for your information. I created most of it on my own and borrowed some from the matrixwatch templates. Best of luck to all.

--

The letter is in regards to an internet advertising/marketing/investment site which I believe to be fraudulent. The site in question is: http://www.ymmss.org

The original plan agreement worked as follows:

A member could invest 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, or 320 dollars. Supposedly this money bought advertising space. These units were called EPCs where each EPC cost 10 dollars. These units were supposed to double every 60-90 days up to the next level. The 60 to 90 days timeframe was called "cycle time" in YMMSS verbiage.

Once the EPCs had cycled to the 640 level the member would receive a commission of 320 dollars and 320 would be put back into the system in effect buying another 32 EPCs in that member’s name. The EPCs at this level were called “matured". At cycle time a member also always had the option to "claim via website" which meant when his EPCs doubled they could "cash out" and get their dollar value at any one of the lower levels.

The member’s only obligation was to read internet-based advertisements for 30 minutes each week and post ads.

Kim Inman, the "inventor" of the program guaranteed that the cycle times would never exceed 90 days. He supposedly had worked on the program for 6 months prior to rolling it out to come up with a flawless business model. Also he was to have had reserve funds and outside investors and retailers interested in the program. He was portrayed as a Christian person who had tired of the many failed internet ventures of his own had created something new and wanted to help others who had also failed.

In the beginning there were some detractors who wondered how the program could sustain itself. These concerns were always quashed on the YM forum by other members who said Kim had worked out all the details and it had and would continue to work. If a forum member was persistent or too vocal in his complaints the posts would get deleted and many members were also banned from the forum and during later events.

In early 2005 the cycle times started rising beyond the guarantee. While many complained, it was always explained as the result of technology failures or members not fulfilling their part of the agreement or outside forces beyond Kim Inman’s control.

Later on in the year it was announced that the program would be changing so that cycle times would be brought down to 90 days permanently and every member would get paid weekly based on how many mature EPCs they owned. The “commission” would however no longer be the $320, but what ever was in the total commission pool divided by the number of mature EPCs. It was obvious to many that the weekly payout would be very small. There were also many members upset and who wanted a refund. YMs policy was that refunds were not allowed since advertising space could not be defective. While many members expressed that this was not the terms in which they signed up under, YM also had a disclaimer that the program could be changed at any time. This said I have heard of a few members who were able to get a refund. I requested one but was unsuccessful. Also, prior to the rollout of the “new” plan the “claim via website” option was removed from the system.

While there were many months of delays and excuses the new system is now in place and as expected and predicted the payouts are very small. The commission on matured EPCs paid out at 13 cents the week of 2-8-2006.

I believe I have been the victim of a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme that is in its last days. Under the advice of the consumer awareness group Matrixwatch.org (http://www.matrixwatch.org), I am contacting your office to notify you of this fraudulent operation. It is my hope that your office has the power to investigate this matter. I fear that there are thousands of other consumers invested in YMMSS even as you read this, many of which will never see a return on investment. I believe that only government intervention will prevent more consumers from becoming victims of YMMSS. With that said, on behalf of YMMSS victims everywhere, I defer to your office for help.

posted by steve_o @ 2/13/2006 12:27:00 PM