Ricochet Riches, a company claiming to be a "marketing network," guarantees members 150% returns on advertising purchases while forcing half of those profits back into the system. This model operates more like a Ponzi scheme than a legitimate advertising platform.
The company explicitly denies operating as a high-yield investment program. Its website states it functions as "a Marketing Network that includes multiple programs that provide several advertising venues to help people promote their primary business." Ricochet Riches claims to offer commissions for recruitment and profit-sharing from retail advertising sales, stating, "We are not now, never have been and never will be any kind of investment program."
But the company's business model contradicts these claims. Members purchase advertising packages for $10. Ricochet Riches promises a 150% return. When this return is achieved, the company pays out $7.50. It then forces members to reinvest the remaining $7.50. To restart the cycle and meet the $10 minimum, members must add $2.50 of their own money. Members can invest up to $1,000 per hour, capped at $5,000 daily.
This structure aligns with textbook HYIP fraud.
Secrecy surrounds Ricochet Riches' operations. The website offers no information about who owns or runs the company. The domain was registered on August 3, 2011, with private registration details hidden from public view.
The "products" Ricochet Riches offers appear to be window dressing. Members buy advertising space on an in-house network and email credits for bulk messaging. No actual retail product exists. Membership is mandatory before any purchases can be made. The entire operation seems designed to funnel money upward through recruitment and investment returns that depend on a continuous flow of new funds.
On February 14, 2012, Ricochet Riches abruptly changed its compensation plan. The company provided no explanation for this mid-game rule change. Such a sudden shift suggests instability, indicating the original financial model may have been failing.
Ricochet Riches apparently bets that investors will not perform basic math. Guaranteed returns, paid from a limited pool of new recruits, cannot exist indefinitely. This type of system invariably either runs out of new money and collapses, or regulators shut it down. The company's insistence it is not an investment program, while operating precisely like one, shows contempt for its members. The math always wins.