What can be done to stop these companies from defrauding the public, deceiving our youth, and ruining people’s lives with promises of grandeur? The answer lies a few key areas: education and litigation. Currently, there is little legislation we can use against these types of companies, even if you are a person who has been defrauded by them. But are we powerless to stop these companies from sifting through people, constantly looking for those with ambitious hearts and electric personalities they can use to filter more money to Larry Hahn? I say no.
Education
Currently, education is our most powerful tool. Link to this site! Mirror this site! Make copies of "Scam: Scentura Creations and Bad Business" and give them to local media outlets, post them near distribution centers, or just give them to your friends looking for jobs. In due time, this website may be taken down just as the one before it was. It takes little effort to save the HTML on the main page and put it up on your site. The more web real estate this information gets, the more search engines it will infiltrate, and the more people will be able to access it.
Go to your local paper! If you see an ad in the paper matching the pattern for a Scentura distribution company, call it up and see if you can’t get them to admit the purpose of their business. Then call the newspaper and alert them to the fact they are being deceived. Make sure to get the name of the company so it can be added to the master list of distribution companies kept on this website and in the group site. Once you know the pattern of ads to look for, you’ll be surprised at the number you’ll find. Some newspapers (the Chicago Tribune, for example) are starting to check up more on those who list ads for "general management," and will remove ads that are shown to be fradulent. Since these ads are essential for running Scentura's business, they may be a weak link that can be used to legally bring down these companies.
As beneficial as these actions are, we must realize that education alone will not stop the people mill. There will always be those who believe the hype, in spite of how much we yell and scream. Years ago, when my parents told me how these companies work (quite accurately, by the way), I thought they were full of it and continued on. In the end, the only way for some people to learn is to make their own mistakes. What we are trying to put a stop to is the deceptive actions taken in part by the distribution companies. If companies are honest, recruit people through straight-forward forms of advertising, and do not employ cult-like, psychologically manipulative techniques in order to keep people in the system, then who can argue with them? There will always be "get rich quick" schemes and people who believe in them.
More information is always needed. The information from defectors from the Scentura system is invaluable, since it exposes the methods used to keep people away from the truth. For people with the time and energy, you can find a local distribution company, call them up and ask for an interview. With your enlightened pair of eyes, take note of what words they use to try and deceive you, and then ask them the right questions to put them in an awkward position. Inform others in the training sessions about the true nature of the business and watch as you lead a mass exodus out of the office.
Litigation
Scentura is not breaking any laws. I am not a lawyer, but I believe that class-actions can be taken against some of the local distributors. While this may not quell the overall flow of product – these local companies come and go with the wind – it may provide a stepping stone to further civil actions higher up the pyramid. Anyone with access to legal counsel would do us a great service in consulting them about this matter, asking them what questions need to be asked and what legal precedent there is regarding these matters.
I have heard of many cases where criminal activity has been alleged to some local distributors. These accusations include many stories of sexual harassment. The culture of many of these offices is a very greedy, take-what-you-want type culture, and this fosters – in my unprofessional opinion – unwanted sexual advances and other issues of sexual harassment. I have also heard accusations of fraud, theft, and invasion of privacy. If any of these actions can be linked to a broader conspiracy, there may be a criminal case to be made.
Other Ideas
In America we live in a market based economy. The only reason companies like Scentura are even still around after all these years is they do turn a profit. If we can somehow figure out how to erode this profit by using legal market-based tactics, then we can expose this model as inefficient and remove the profit incentive from doing it. This is indeed a difficult task. Each bottle of perfume cost Scentura Creations about $3 to $4. After the final sale of these bottles, Scentura is due about $10. To make a profit, the salespeople must then sell the bottle for more than $10. If we can figure out a way to create an honest, competing system where we can sell these bottles to the salespeople for somewhere between the cost ($3) and the price ($10), then it will be more economical for these salespeople to purchase the perfume from us. This would still require them to sell it on the street to make a buck, but they’ve already committed to doing that for Scentura in hopes of striking it rich. This would remove the pyramid from the scheme, still allow the salesperson to make a profit, and impact Scentura’s bottom line.
I am in no hurry to get into the perfume business. The point is the Scentura model is bloated and full of middlemen who add nothing to the end product. If there is a market for this product, a true entrepreneur could theoretically enter that market and compete Scentura out of business. If this is not possible, then Scentura is truly using fraudulent practices to make its profit and is perhaps in violation of anti-trust laws. If the only way Scentura can turn a profit is to depend on free labor from its constant flow of young applicants, then perhaps some law is being broken.
Conclusion
In the end, all we can do is the same thing the common person can usually do against a large corporation: bitch and moan. This should not discourage us, however, because this simple action of generating public awareness has no doubt been the driving force in much of the change effected in this country. In the end, justice will be served.