Tim Carlson, identified as the administrative contact for Get Paid Magic, operates what appears to be a cash gifting scheme from Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company's website offers no details about its ownership or management. Carlson has a history of launching what the publication calls "dubious" online opportunities.
Carlson's domain registration for getpaidmagic.net lists him as the contact. His past ventures include Daily Pay Tripler, an investment-based multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme. Get Paid Magic itself offers no retail products or services. Members pay a fee and receive advertising credits for an in-house network on the Get Paid Magic website.
The compensation plan for Get Paid Magic uses a 1-up system. Members earn commissions for recruiting new participants. The commission from a member's first recruit is passed up to their upline. Subsequent recruits generate commissions directly for the recruiter.
Membership comes in four tiers: $10, $25, $50, and $100. Each tier offers a different commission rate; for example, a $10 membership earns $10 per recruit, while a $100 membership can earn up to $185 per recruit. To qualify for commissions at a specific level, members must purchase that level individually. The total cost to purchase all four levels is $185.
Money paid in membership fees moves between members. Get Paid Magic takes a 20% fee on all cash outs, indicating that commissions are virtual until a withdrawal is made. Carlson's other primary MLM, Daily Pay Tripler, promises a 2.5% daily return for 60 days, with no sponsoring requirements.
Daily Pay Tripler, launched in December 2011, appears to be facing financial strain. The company recently restricted member cash outs to Fridays, giving the company extra days to process payments. Carlson communicated to Daily Pay Tripler members that the program would "not solely depend on sales of tripler positions" but would "drive income from external sources."
The launch of Get Paid Magic seems to be one of these "external sources." Get Paid Magic is a recruitment scheme that depends on new member sign-ups. If recruitment slows, the scheme faces collapse.
A different Tim Carlson was involved in a 2009 federal complaint regarding a Nigerian-based check scam. Court documents allege Susan Bickar and a Tim Carlson received packages from Benin, West Africa, containing counterfeit money orders. Customs intercepted a package with 97 fake money orders valued at nearly $400,000. Bickar reportedly confessed to participating in a work-from-home job that involved mailing these counterfeit checks across the United States.