Pyramid Scheme Alert Defends Consumer with Court Brief

November 29, 2005

Pyramid Scheme Alert President, Robert FitzPatrick, sent an "Amicus Curiae" brief to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern District in support of a "Motion to Dismiss" by Defendant, Douglas Konkol, a consumer who has been sued by the MLM scheme, International Galleries, Inc., based in Texas.

Konkol has set up a legal defense fund. He needs help:

Make checks payable to:

DAP News Legal Defense Fund
c/o Key Bank
29900 Detriot Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44145

Konkol posted on his website parts of an article that were published in the magazine, La Raza, that warned consumers about the business practices of the MLM scheme, International Galleries. The warnings cited the typical MLM practices of selling inventory to unsuspecting consumers and luring them into a business model in which they are urged and rewarded to recruit other investors in order to recoup their investments.

Additionally, the article warned consumers about the promises of income from the scheme and urged to them to do due diligence before investing in a business in which few consumers had business experience or knowledge.

International Galleries, using tactics of other MLMs, claimed such warnings are detrimental to its business and therefore they are entitled to damages. It filed suit against La Raza and Konkol. Since the suit was filed, other postings, blogs and commentaries have appeared on the Internet regarding International Galleries.

The PSA brief documented that the warnings that Konkol reprinted were reasonable, based on fact and the publication of them was a service to consumers. Moreover, the same types of warnings about all MLM companies are posted on the site of the FTC and are the subject of many news articles that investigate MLMs.
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