A cash-gifting program disguised as a network marketing company ceased operations this week after months of unresolved payment issues. Network Marketing VT, founded by CEO Jason Spurlock, stopped processing credit card payments in December 2012. The company never recovered from these commission failures, which began earlier that month.

Spurlock announced the closure on Facebook. He attributed the collapse to "software and programming issues" that arose after a compensation plan relaunch in September 2012. Spurlock acknowledged member complaints on social media about unpaid commissions, but claimed these grievances stemmed from "wrongful assumptions."

The scheme relied on a direct gifting model. Members paid monthly fees, then sent 100% of those funds to their upline to join. Earning money required recruiting new members. The company included some marketing materials and e-books, but these offered no actual business activity or product sales.

The structure of Network Marketing VT drew scrutiny in January 2011. A business model where commissions derive entirely from membership fees, not product sales, functions as a pyramid scheme. Members bought nothing tangible. They paid only to recruit other members, who then paid to recruit others. Such schemes eventually exhaust new recruits and collapse.

This pattern unfolded with Network Marketing VT.

Spurlock's shutdown announcement stated the company had undergone two audits and employed programmers from First Data. He claimed his consultants were "the most respected in the industry" and his staff "always maintained the highest integrity." These assertions did not address the fundamental flaw in the business model.

In his statement, Spurlock spoke of needing "quiet contemplation and meditation" before returning to host the company's "Wake Up To Success" conference calls. He thanked members and promised the "goal, vision, mission, and purpose" would continue under a "bigger, more trustworthy, and valuable brand in the near future."

Network Marketing VT joins many MLM operations that have failed in recent years. Founders consistently cite technical glitches or perception problems, avoiding any admission that the business model itself is unsustainable. Members hear they were not paid due to software errors