Robert FitzPatrick, President
Robert L. FitzPatrick is the author of the book, Ponzinomics, the Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing (2020), the first comprehensive history and analysis of the “MLM” phenomenon, addressing its political influence, propaganda techniques and use of cult persuasion. FitzPatrick served as expert or consultant in more than 40 court cases involving pyramid schemes and multi-level marketing. He has served as consultant and expert witness for Attorney General or State Attorney offices in four states and the US Dept. of Justice.
In 2025, Robert FitzPatrick delivered a seminar to graduate students in the Psychology of Coercive Control at the University of Salford, in Manchester, UK. The PowerPoint presentation has been condensed for general consumer education and is available on YouTube, entitled, “Multi-Level Marketing, the World’s Largest and Least Examined Cult Movement.”
He is co-author of False Profits (1997), an examination of the values and beliefs that support the delusions of pyramid schemes. He was featured on NBC Dateline, ABC World News, and CBS 60 Minutes, in the documentary films, Betting on Zero and LuLaRich and the podcast, The Dream. In December 2016 he was featured on the John Oliver Show on HBO which has received more than 30 million views.
Robert FitzPatrick has been quoted in many newspapers around the world, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. His booklet, Pyramid Nation, was used by government regulators in writing China’s first laws on pyramid schemes. His booklet, 10 Big Truths of Multi-Level Marketing, is also available in e-book format. His White Paper, “The Main Street Bubble”, was featured in a CNBC Documentary, Selling the American Dream. In June 2005, Robert FitzPatrick was asked by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to address banking representatives from that country as well as India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. The presentation was later published as part of a consumer education campaign against pyramid schemes.
Robert FitzPatrick has developed informational resources for consumers, journalists, academics and regulators. He has provided expert consultation to many financial analysts. In 2000, Robert FitzPatrick co-founded and serves as president of Pyramid Scheme Alert. He personally responds to consumer and news media inquiries.
Prior to his engagement in consumer education, Robert FitzPatrick provided consulting services in several industries in channel management and distributor marketing, working with hundreds of independent distributors and suppliers where factors of trust, integrity and sensitive communications are critical to the business. Clients included Fujifilm, HP, Epson, Dupont and many others.
Deeply held convictions and values of fairness, trust, equity, and integrity drive Robert FitzPatrick’s work. His expertise is founded upon studies in a Catholic seminary leading to degree and graduate studies in Sociology. His advocacy work began as a community organizer in the neighborhoods of Charlotte North Carolina.
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