Rik Wahlrab, a "Presidents Team Member" for Lyoness USA, recently hosted a 78-minute corporate webinar. The presentation, intended to clarify the company's business model, instead laid bare an affiliate-funded investment scheme that functions as a Ponzi.
Early reviews of Lyoness's European operations highlighted the complex nature of its business materials. These documents often proved difficult for an average affiliate to fully understand. Upon its US launch, Lyoness released revised business model materials. The company aimed to clarify its operations, though the new documents still lacked complete transparency.
The core revenue source driving Lyoness's initial European success and global expansion was an affiliate-funded investment scheme. Members invested in "accounting units." Lyoness then paid out a cash return on investment once a predetermined number of new units had been purchased.
All funds for this scheme were deposited with and paid out by Lyoness directly. This structure kept the investment operation separate from the company's advertised merchant shopping network. Lyoness, however, continued to promote its "earn cashback by shopping" literature, often obscuring the underlying investment model.
Despite extensive discussion, including reluctant admissions by some affiliates that the accounting unit scheme operates as a Ponzi, many members still do not acknowledge its true nature. Confusion among Lyoness affiliates persisted, even with the official US compensation plan materials available. This widespread misunderstanding prompted Lyoness to create a corporate webinar. The company aimed to detail its compensation plan and business model.
The resulting 78-minute corporate presentation, split into four parts, was hosted by Rik Wahlrab. Wahlrab identified himself as a "Presidents Team Member" of Lyoness USA. He presented what amounted to the Lyoness Accounting Unit Investment Scheme.
The initial two parts of the webinar focused on the cashback scheme and how to generate units through it. The core business model, however, emerged only in the third segment. Wahlrab opened Part 3 by stating, "now we're going to get into it, how to make money and what it's all about." This statement effectively dismissed the preceding 34 minutes of content as secondary to the actual income generation.
Part 3 then detailed the process of becoming a Lyoness "Premium Member" and the associated commissions. Wahlrab explicitly stated that "Premium Members make the most money." This emphasis positioned the Premium Member tier as the primary draw for prospective affiliates. A Lyoness Premium Member is essentially an investor who buys into the higher tiers of the accounting unit structure.