Atif Kamran and Geraldine Aquino, co-founders of My Travel Biz, operate what appears to be a shell corporation with no verifiable physical address, drawing scrutiny to its legitimacy. Both leaders previously held key roles at LEO, an organization identified by regulators as a pyramid scheme. My Travel Biz claims a Las Vegas presence on social media, though its operations span the UK and Canada.
My Travel Biz operates without a physical street address on its website. While incorporated in Nevada, records suggest the company acts as a legal shield rather than a functioning business with a physical office or staff. Kamran manages operations from the UK; Aquino works from Canada. This geographic dispersal and lack of a central base are common in schemes seeking to avoid jurisdictional oversight.
Kamran, who listed himself as LEO's co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer from 2012, and Aquino, LEO's Chief Operating Officer from April 2015, were central figures in an entity regulators deemed a pyramid scheme. Their current venture, My Travel Biz, purports to represent the "good of the industry." This assertion stands in stark contrast to their documented history.
The company offers no proprietary travel products. Instead, members pay fees to access discounted bookings through third-party vendors. My Travel Biz promotes a "patent-pending algorithm" that supposedly searches more options across 1 million properties, 750 airlines, and thousands of car rental locations. This system merely aggregates existing travel inventory from established suppliers. It does not introduce unique services or pricing.
Income generation within My Travel Biz relies heavily on recruitment, not on retail travel sales. The compensation plan uses a binary system and unilevel upline commissions. Payments are calculated using "Commissionable Volume" (CV), a metric distinct from actual retail prices.
For example, a $1,200 Business Class membership translates to 1,000 CV. A $5,000 First Class membership generates 4,000 CV. These membership purchases themselves count as commissionable sales volume. This structure ensures that commissions flow primarily from new member fees, not from the sale of discounted hotel rooms or flights.
The design aligns with the characteristics of a pyramid scheme, where participants pay into a system where their earnings depend on recruiting others who also pay in, rather than on the sale of genuine products or services to end-users. Affiliates must continually recruit new members and purchase inventory to qualify for commissions. The incentive system prioritizes expansion of the participant base over the movement of retail travel.
The Federal Trade Commission has long cautioned against such structures. It estimates that over 99 percent of participants in typical multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes ultimately lose money. My Travel Biz's compensation plan intensifies these odds. Individuals join a recruitment pipeline where the path to income demands convincing others to invest substantial sums for the same promise.
Regulators frequently identify schemes operating with similar models. The Department of Justice and the FTC have pursued numerous cases against companies that prioritize recruitment over legitimate retail sales. These actions often highlight the deceptive nature of "internal consumption" or "personal use" clauses, which mask recruitment as product sales. Victims typically lose their initial investment and any subsequent fees, often incurring debt in pursuit of promised wealth. The opaque nature of shell corporations and cross-border operations further complicates recovery efforts for those defrauded. Consumers considering such opportunities should consult the FTC's guidance on spotting pyramid schemes at FTC.gov.