Dan Putnam, currently defending himself against a $12 million securities fraud lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, has launched Against All Odds, a nutritional supplement company. The venture operates in a prelaunch phase, focusing exclusively on affiliate recruitment rather than product sales. This new business follows a pattern observed in Putnam's previous multi-level marketing enterprises.

The SEC's 2020 complaint against Putnam and co-defendant Angel Rodriguez alleges they defrauded consumers through various investment schemes. The federal agency claims Putnam and Rodriguez orchestrated a series of unregistered securities offerings, including those tied to cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading, raising at least $12 million from investors. This lawsuit remains active in Utah federal court, casting a shadow over Putnam's new ventures.

Putnam is joined at Against All Odds by co-founders Travis Martin and JC Martinez. Martin previously served as an executive at LurraLife, a company Putnam owned that acted as a reboot of O2 Worldwide. O2 Worldwide, identified as a pyramid scheme, collapsed in 2019. Putnam had announced on July 19 that LurraLife would merge with B-Epic, another of his companies, but this arrangement lasted less than a month. Against All Odds represents a further iteration of the LurraLife model. Martinez, for his part, held the title of Vice President of Sales at B-Epic.

Putnam's business operations are typically based in Utah. It is assumed Against All Odds also operates from that state.

The flagship product of Against All Odds is Activ Greens, marketed as "the ultimate daily nutrition." Company materials describe it as a "science-based cardio-health green drink that tastes absolutely divine and is loaded with bioavailable nutrients that the body needs for optimum health and performance." The product supposedly contains 70 vitamins, minerals, and whole-food sourced nutrients, along with a proprietary cardio blend in a single daily serving. The marketing suggests the primary ingredient appears to be dried grass. Activ Greens retails for $59.95 for a pouch containing thirty single-serve sachets.

Against All Odds provides commissions on retail sales of Activ Greens. The compensation plan, however, largely centers on affiliate autoship recruitment.

The company features eleven affiliate ranks. They begin with "Influencer," which requires signing up and maintaining a $49.95 monthly Activ Greens order. Ranks then progress from 1 Star through 9 Star Influencer, culminating in a top tier named "Uncommon Amongst the Uncommon." Achieving higher ranks demands maintaining three personally recruited Influencers and generating monthly downline volume ranging from $10,000 to $1,000,000.

An upfront 50% commission is paid on retail order volume. Residual retail commissions are distributed through a unilevel compensation structure, capped at ten levels. Levels 1 to 5 pay $1 per retail Activ Greens order. Levels 6 to 10 pay 50 cents per order.

A 3x10 matrix also generates residual commissions. These commissions vary from 2.5% on volume generated across levels 1 to 3, up to 10% on volume generated on level 10. The number of matrix levels an affiliate qualifies for depends directly on their achieved rank.

4 Star Influencers and above qualify for a Matching Bonus. This bonus is paid through unilevel team generations. Against All Odds defines a generation as occurring when a 4 Star Influencer or higher is found within a unilevel team leg. Affiliates can earn up to 5% on as many as ten generations per leg, based on their rank.

The company offers a "$100 Guarantee." An affiliate on autoship who recruits three other affiliates, each also on autoship, and those three in turn each recruit three more affiliates on autoship, qualifies for a guaranteed minimum of $100 per month. Affiliate membership itself requires a monthly $49.95 Activ Greens order. This order must be maintained for an affiliate to qualify for any MLM commissions.

The Activ Greens product closely resembles LurraLife's Thrive "green drink mix." Activ Greens' marketing states it is a "science-based cardio-health green drink that tastes absolutely divine and is loaded with bioavailable nutrients that the body needs for optimum health and performance." LurraLife's Thrive, by comparison, was marketed as a "science-based cardio-health green drink mix that tastes great and is packed with nutrition." The near-identical language, coupled with Travis Martin's involvement, strongly indicates Against All Odds is a direct re-launch of LurraLife.

While the company outlines a retail component where customers earn free product credits for referrals, the mandatory autoship for affiliates undermines these efforts. The requirement for affiliates to maintain a $49.95 monthly Activ Greens order to earn commissions classifies Against All Odds as a product-based pyramid scheme. This structure incentivizes recruitment over genuine retail sales, a common issue in multi-level marketing, seen also in Putnam's Govvi company. The 50% upfront retail commission, while appearing generous, raises questions about the actual manufacturing costs of Activ Greens and the overall financial viability of the compensation plan.

Against All Odds also faces regulatory issues concerning unsubstantiated medical claims. During an official corporate marketing call last month, Dan Putnam asserted that Activ Greens could treat "every disease." He stated: "I'm going to state a lot of facts this evening. And one of those facts is 100% of diseases can be traced back to mineral deficiencies. 100%... in order for disease to survive, the environment in your body... has to be acidic. Disease cannot survive in an alkaline environment." He continued: "every single sip... you're literally flooding your body with all all these minerals from the soil... knowing that every disease can be traced back to mineral deficiency. And disease cannot survive in an alkaline environment." The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not register Activ Greens, or any dietary supplement, as a treatment or cure for any disease. Under federal law, dietary supplements cannot claim to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease; such claims are reserved for FDA-approved drugs.

A further concern for Against All Odds involves potential securities fraud related to its Non-Fungible Token (NFT) offerings. Putnam announced: "It's important that every single person realizes how big of a deal it is to order in August and be part of the very first order. Because... of things that we have. The NFTs and the value that this NFT can end up and allow you to participate in profit sharing and all kinds of things with the company. The first NFT will be released in August, meaning the only people that will ever have that, ever, are the people that ordered in August." Offers of "profit sharing" in exchange for purchasing a digital asset, particularly tied to early investment, typically classify as unregistered securities under the Howey Test. This could place funds paid into Against All Odds during August under scrutiny as an investment rather than a product purchase.

The ongoing SEC fraud lawsuit against Dan Putnam, coupled with the pyramid scheme structure and potential unregistered securities offerings, presents significant risks for participants in Against All Odds. Most participants in pyramid schemes ultimately lose money, a consistent outcome documented by regulators.