Thousands of Italian victims of the Lyoness pyramid scheme are demanding their money back, and they've brought in lawyers to make it stick.

Since 2017, the multilevel marketing operation funneled 53 million euros through its Italian shell company, Lyoness Italia Srl, according to reporting from TG Verona. Around 1.3 million people joined the scheme, most of them recruited as affiliate investors who paid their own money to participate.

The pitch was simple enough: join the "shopping community," buy goods and services from partner companies at discounts, and earn commissions by recruiting others to do the same. To become a "Lyconet Premium Marketer"—the title Lyoness gave its sellers—members had to fork over 2,400 euros just to get started. About 67,000 people paid that entry fee.

What they got in return was empty promises. Italian regulators banned Lyoness from operating in the country and slapped the company with a 3.2 million euro fine. That's when victims realized they'd been caught in a classic Ponzi scheme, where early investors get paid with money from new recruits rather than actual profits.

Now those victims are fighting back. Many have turned to Studio 3A-Valore SpA, a firm that specializes in recovering damages for defrauded consumers. Residents from the Padua region and across Italy have joined together to demand their losses returned.

The victims face an uphill battle. In a Ponzi scheme, operators typically spend invested funds as fast as they come in. Lyoness likely paid earlier investors their returns using money from newer recruits, leaving little in the company's coffers. Some funds might still be tied up in the shopping units—the infrastructure Lyoness created to make the scheme look legitimate—but even that money may be worthless now.

BehindMLM, a site that tracks multilevel marketing operations, has been warning consumers about Lyoness since 2012, years before Italian regulators took action.

Studio 3A has already sent formal demands asking Lyoness to return the money. The company will almost certainly ignore those letters. When it does, victims will have no choice but to escalate to court, turning what should be a straightforward reimbursement into years of litigation.

For the people who lost their savings chasing the promise of easy money, that's just another cost added to their bill.

🤖 Quick Answer

What is Lyoness and how did it operate in Italy?
Lyoness was a multilevel marketing scheme that operated in Italy through its shell company Lyoness Italia Srl. The operation funneled 53 million euros between 2017 and its closure, recruiting approximately 1.3 million participants. Members paid entry fees to become "Lyconet Premium Marketers" and earned commissions by recruiting others while purchasing discounted goods from partner companies.

How much did it cost to join Lyoness as a Premium Marketer?
Prospective "Lyconet Premium Marketers" were required to pay an entry fee of 2,400 euros to participate in the scheme. Approximately 67,000 individuals paid this initial fee to gain access to the affiliate marketing opportunity and commission structure.

What legal action are Italian victims taking against Lyoness?

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