A guy who billed himself as an internet marketing guru and genius, Lee McKenna has been sentenced to two years in prison for scamming people out of their hard-earned money. The conman was accused of running a pyramid scheme, which has been illegal since the first caveman told his friend Glub to give him one coconut, then ask his friends and family to give Glub more coconuts, and then they could get coconuts from their friends and family!
McKenna sold his project by painting himself as an extravagantly wealthy individual in his promotional videos. Big mansions and expensive cars glittered in the background as he spun his sugar. But behind the flashy videos of McKenna fraudulently posing in front of rented wealth, the system he toted had no merit. He suggested that anybody could make up to £1,000 per day by manipulating social media marketing; all for the low, low price of £2,000!
That’s not to say that social media marketing doesn’t have the potential to be a cash cow. Professional marketers use social media daily, but even the best marketers in the business are still trying to figure out the best way to profit from it. There is no plug-in-and-go magic formula to make thousand-pound profits simply from manipulating social media marketing. That first word there is key: “manipulating” social media marketing. What he was insinuating was that there is a way to piggyback on the work of professional marketers and somehow make more than they do.
When McKenna’s scheme failed to make a profit- or even return the investment- of his targets, they complained. Loudly.
He was then investigated and charged. Facts about McKenna’s real life came to light; and it was quickly established that this globe-trotting multi-millionaire who lived in mansions and traveled via private jet, was actually an average schlub living in an average row of average houses in Middleborough, UK. He wasn’t a millionaire, or even wealthy.
Governments across the globe are cracking down on pyramid schemes like this one. Big names from Tupperware to Avon are feeling the heat, and will soon be forced to change their business model or close. The definition of “pyramid scheme” is expanding to include any business which makes the majority of its sales internally, as in from one sales person to another. The bottom line is, if you aren’t doing business ethically, you will soon find yourself out of business. Smoke and mirrors are quickly dismantled in the age of information.
