OpTree

More questions keep coming up about DSA Member company YTB and whether or not the company is completely legit. Lawsuits have been filed, board members have resigned, and allegations have been flying for months now that the company, an online travel site, is running an illegal pyramid scheme. There has also been some talk about insider deals within the company.

Now comes word that amongst the members of the Board of Directors is Florida State Senator Burt Saunders, (R-Naples). Saunders serves on the Board of YTB International which operates YourTravelBiz.com.

Saunders, who is currently running for U.S. Congress has been paid in the past by the company to be its director and has received money as a consultant for the company. Financial documents show that he had received $16,000 dollars in 2007 from the company, no word yet on whether or not he has been paid for any services this year.

Currently YTB is facing two class action suits each asking for over $100 million dollars, with California asking for restitution for victims in that state. California’s Attorney General even went so far as to call YTB a pyramid scheme.

Saunders has yet to release any official statement regarding his current affiliation with the direct sales travel company, although he did say that the law suits were “silly.” In this day and age, when every politician’s life is looked into so deeply, this could have serious repercussions for Saunders if YTB is found to have operated an illegal pyramid scheme. I wouldn’t be surprised if Saunders is the next in line to step down from the board.

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Global nutrition and wellness company, Herbalife has just appointed a new general manager of Herbalife India. Ajay Khanna will assume the role of country manager/general manager of Herbalife operations in India.

Khanna will oversee all operations within India, focusing on driving sales and growth within the region. Herbalife India, which is headquartered in Bangalore, has grown significantly over recent years and the company is hoping that Khanna’s vast experience in the business world will help him achieve various business objectives. Khanna will world closely with Tim Sanson, VP of the Asia Pacific region which includes Australia, India and Thailand.

Khanna has a great deal of experience in sales and business development. Before joining Herbalife, Khanna spent 15 years at Xerox where he held various senior positions, including Associate Director-office post sales group of Xerox, India Ltd.

This is a very good move on Herbalife’s part and will help the company strengthen what most believe is major opportunity for Network Marketing countries, India. With its growing population and more specifically, its growing middle class, the desire for herbs and natural products, this market is ripe for companies like Herbalife to see significant growth in over time.

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Although online travel company YTB proclaimed their innocence and defended themselves against accusations of fraud, it seems all is not well over at YTB headquarters. Apparently the lawsuits have begun to affect the company in a very short period of time. YTB International Inc. has reportedly terminated 25 people from its corporate headquarters this past Wednesday.

One employee who was laid off said that he and over two dozen others were told their positions were being terminated due to the tough economic situation in the United States. They were told that the management “regrets this necessary decision.”

The laid off man who asked to remain anonymous, said that ever since the California Attorney General filed a suits against YTB the company has continued to tell employees that all if fine, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In a recent statement, YTB CEO Scott Tomer defended the company saying, “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on pending litigation. However, we can tell you that YTB believes the allegations we’ve heard are without merit, and we will vigorously defend ourselves

YTB Employs between 300 and 350 people at its Wood River Illinois headquarters. Currently the company is spending $25 million to expand the facility. While YTB has grown significantly over the last few years, it seems that this case is hitting them hard.

A local Wood River Paper attempted to contact the company, but to no avail as the company would not respond to any inquiries regard layoffs or the current financial situation at the company.

YTB is pretty adamant about their innocence and feels justified telling their employees that all is “OK” with the company. However, for a company that is allegedly financial sound and feels secure with their business model, it seems odd that they would “lie” to their employees about the company’s stability, only to turn around and lay their loyal employees off. Instead of spending a ridiculous amount of money expanding an organization that is under attack, they should focus on treating their employees better and defending themselves against fraud allegations.

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GeneLink, Inc. has just launched GeneWize the MLM industry’s first company to focus solely on products that cater specifically to each consumer’s genetic makeup.

GeneWize will take advantage of their parent company patent and patent pending technology to collect DNA information that will allow the company to design personalized health, beauty and wellness products. The collection process is a non-invasive technique that helps the company assesses the DNA to combine a possible 177,000 ingredients in order to formulate the perfect product for each consumer.

The company held its two day launch event last weekend in Orlando, Florida and filled the house with almost 2,000 new distributors and their guests to celebrate the launch. GeneWize has almost 5,000 independent affiliates ready to go on their team.

Monte Taylor, GeneLink’s CEO, noted that “We are pleased and excited to announce that during the GeneWize pre-launch, over 4,700 Independent Marketing Affiliates joined the GeneWize marketing organization. In terms of Affiliate enrollments, GeneWize has already exceeded our first-year projections.”

Among the first products GeneWize will market are the proprietary LifeMap Nutrition and LifeMap Skin Care customized products. In the next year, they hope to launch an Anti-Aging line. Consumers receive a list of all ingredients along with their personalized products. Products are available only in the US now, but I’m sure as they become more popular, they will expand to other countries.

I can’t wait to hear feedback on this product. The idea is genius and nothing like it exists now. The health and beauty market is competitive and having a product that is made specifically to each persons unique DNA should give them a leg up on the competition.

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