The battle between the FTC and Tom Alkazin continues, with the latest filing from the FTC seeing Xango dragged into the feud.

After the
FTC shut down Vemma for being a pyramid scheme
last year, Alkazin went on to join Xango.

Commenting on a
response filing by the FTC
yesterday, BehindMLM pointed out incidental similarities between Xango and Vemma’s compensation plans.

BehindMLM
reviewed Xango
in 2013 and identified, among other things, a focus on affiliate autoship recruitment.

The same issue was a major consideration in the FTC’s shutdown of Vemma.

In their response filing the FTC claimed that if Alkazin was not subject to a preliminary injunction, that he would engage in “deceptive income claims and pyramid marketing” with “a different (MLM) company”.

Alkazin appears to have since left Xango, however the reason for his departure is unclear.

A new motion by the FTC now asks for permission to file additional evidence against Alkazin, pertaining to his brief time at Xango.

The FTC filing leaves a question mark over whether Tom Alkazin is still in Xango unclear.

The regulator cites their June 9th deposition of Alkazin, during which

Alkazin testified that he was still an active Vemma affiliate, and that he did not hold any “positions” or “ownership” interest” in any other multi-level marketing company.

The FTC stop short of claiming Alkazin is still in Xango, but state

subsequent to the filing of the reply (July 22nd), it came to the FTC counsel’s attention that there was evidence that Alkazin was promoting Xango.

The present-continuous tense used is ambiguous.

Nonetheless, the evidence the FTC has collected is from earlier this year. The latest exhibit is a March 21 Facebook posting

that promoted a “Thirty2Earning” conference call.

The call was to feature Alkazin and what appeared to be Xango affiliates.

The FTC want to submit the Facebook posting, as well as a January 12th, 2016 Xango live-stream featuring Alkazin, as evidence of Alkazin promoting Xango.

This, the FTC alleges, is important because the evidence

shows that Alkazin was actively involved in promoting Xango,
an MLM with business characteristics similar to Vemma’s business model
, as of January 2016.

Alkazin was still doing presentations with Xango affiliates as of March 2016.

Xango offers mangosteen products, as well as “the opportunity for a happier, healthy, wealthier life.”

Xango describes its business opportunity as offering “limitless potential for a personal business” and, if desired, the opportunity for a “full-fledged lifestyle upgrade.”

The Xango compensation plan seems to require distributors to have a personal “Automatic Delivery Program” (“ADP”) order in place to qualify for some bonuses.

The “PowerStart” bonus appears to
specifically reward distributors for recruiting new distributors.

While the above might sound like a preamble for an FTC shutdown of Xango, the FTC do stress that they draw ‘
no conclusions as to the legality of the Xango p

🤖 Quick Answer

What legal action did the FTC take against Tom Alkazin regarding his involvement with Xango?
The FTC filed against Alkazin after he joined Xango following the shutdown of Vemma. The agency claimed Xango's compensation structure resembled Vemma's pyramid scheme model, citing similar affiliate autoship recruitment practices. The FTC sought to impose a preliminary injunction to prevent Alkazin from engaging in deceptive income claims and pyramid marketing activities.

What similarities did the FTC identify between Xango and Vemma's business models?
Both companies utilized affiliate autoship recruitment as central marketing mechanisms. BehindMLM's 2013 review of Xango identified this autoship focus as a problematic element. The same recruitment-focused compensation structure was instrumental in the FTC's decision to shut down Vemma as an illegal pyramid scheme operation.

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