Kindred Hearts, an anonymous four-tier gifting scheme, has operated since at least 2009. The scheme, accessible only to US residents, requires participants to make cash gifts to advance through its matrix structure. Website domain registration for "kindredheartsteam.com" was initially completed in 2009 and last updated June 9, 2021, with private registration details obscuring the owners.
The operation provides no public information regarding its ownership or management. Chris Hattingh, founder of a rival scheme called Gift Of Legacy, has claimed that Kindred Hearts is run by an anonymous 83-year-old woman in the United States. Attempts to identify the operators are complicated by other businesses using the "Kindred Hearts" name, including a fashion company in Australia and a gift shop in Michigan. ScamTelegraph advises extreme caution when considering participation in any scheme that lacks transparency about its leadership.
Kindred Hearts offers no tangible products or services for sale. Participants can only market membership in the Kindred Hearts scheme itself. This structure means that all money generated within the scheme comes directly from new members joining and gifting funds to existing ones.
The compensation plan is based on a four-tier gifting cycler using a 2x3 matrix. In this structure, an affiliate is positioned at the top, with two immediate positions below. These two positions then branch into four, and then eight, filling the matrix. New affiliates must gift $100 to their recruiter and then recruit two additional members to qualify for payouts.
Upon filling all eight positions in the first tier's matrix, a "cycle" is triggered. This results in the affiliate receiving $300, using $100 to create a new first-tier position, and allocating $400 to enter the second gifting tier. Subsequent cycles in the first tier, after the initial entry into the second tier, yield $700 in retained payments, as no new second-tier position is generated.
The second tier involves a $400 gift. Completing the matrix here results in keeping $1,800, using $400 for a new second-tier position, and $1,000 to enter the third tier. Once a participant has entered the third tier, subsequent second-tier cycles will yield $2,800. The third tier requires a $1,000 gift, with a full matrix cycle resulting in keeping $5,000 and using $1,000 to create a new third-tier position. The fourth tier operates similarly, though specific payout details for subsequent cycles are not fully detailed.
A group of former South African affiliates, expelled from Kindred Hearts, launched a similar operation known as Gift of Legacy. This action suggests internal disputes or dissatisfaction among participants within the original scheme. The lack of verifiable ownership and the cyclical gifting structure place Kindred Hearts firmly in the category of high-risk financial schemes. Participants should be aware that such operations often collapse, leaving later entrants with significant financial losses.
Information regarding recovery or reporting options for victims of such schemes is limited, but reporting to consumer protection agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a potential avenue.