<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> Sabrina wanted to make some extra cash. Chloe* followed other local mums. Ellen* was looking for love.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All three took part in in multi-level marketing (MLM) businesses that they say left them in financial or emotional ruin.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And they're not alone.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/texas-floods-victims-faces-of-the-devastating-tragedy/9795e553-a367-4d8e-a1de-6d83f48c8c4a" target="_blank"><strong><span>The faces of the Texas flood tragedy</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are about 300,000 MLM consultants in Australia, according to Direct Selling Australia (DSA) – about 80 per cent of them women. MLMs are legal in Australia but research shows most consultants will only lose money.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The industry has also been plagued with allegations of "toxic" culture and unethical business practices for years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yet more than 90,000 Aussies joined MLMs in 2023 alone, many just trying to make ends meet.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/multi-level-marketing-network-marketing-nucerity-sabrina-exclusive/03112f11-4270-46e7-ab25-97e1cdf5fdf7" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They prey on vulnerable people, they offer hope in this financial crisis," Ellen told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's all a lie."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>What is multi-level marketing?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>MLM businesses, also known as direct selling or network marketing, work by recruiting individual salespeople or "consultants".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But they don't receive a salary or wages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, they make money by selling MLM products, which they must purchase themselves from the business then sell at a markup or through recruitment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Consultants can make hefty bonuses by recruiting other consultants under them (known as their "downline") to earn a percentage on all those recruits' sales.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This model, popularised by brands like Avon and Tupperware, has been compared to those of illegal pyramid schemes but MLMs are legal under Australian Consumer Law because they offer tangible products.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But fewer than one per cent of MLM consultants make a profit, according to </span><a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/public_comments/trade-regulation-rule-disclosure-requirements-and-prohibitions-concerning-business-opportunities-ftc.r511993-00008%C2%A0/00008-57281.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="US research"><span>US research</span></a><span>, and a slew of MLMs have been accused of unethical sales and recruitment tactics.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Consultants predominantly sell and recruit through their personal networks, targeting friends, family and social media connections to buy or join.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And most MLMs require consultants to make regular purchases and meet sales targets just to stay in the business.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So why would someone ever join?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Lured in</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sabrina was working as a travel agent in Queensland when an old friend suggested she join skincare MLM NuCerity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She promised it would help Sabrina achieve financial freedom and be her own boss.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was doing a lot of overtime and she started telling me how it would be a great way to eventually get some time freedom," Sabrina told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I signed up straight away."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She believed her friend had her best interests in mind and ignored some red flags, like when other consultants allegedly told her not to Google the business.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I trusted her, so I didn't really question anything," Sabrina said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/carolina-wilga-search-for-backpacker-missing-from-outback-wa-expands-across-australia/91d37c37-34cd-4f4a-9c22-a16cf6ebfa4e" target="_blank"><strong><span>The call from missing backpacker's mum that raised the alarm</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Had she Googled NuCerity, Sabrina might have found warnings not to join the MLM that left her broke and emotionally "shattered".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sabrina was with NuCerity for four years but never made more than a few hundred dollars a month, even after quitting her job to focus on the MLM.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Any money she did make was spent on NuCerity products to stay in the business, so she had to rely on her then-partner to cover rent, bills and groceries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>NuCerity has since gone out of business. It was acquired by ARIIX</span><strong><span>,</span></strong><span> which has also gone out of business and in turn was acquired by NewAge. All three companies have not responded to a request for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Single mum Ellen was convinced to join a health product MLM by a man she met on a dating app who swore it would be the "perfect side hustle" on top of her nursing job.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She hoped to make extra cash and was involved with a string of MLMs over the next few years but lost thousands.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This has really f----- me over emotionally and financially," she said tearfully.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other former consultants told 9news.com.au they were recruited into MLMs by friends and relatives who promised they could earn easy money and work from home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Most said they only believed the claims because of their relationship with the recruiter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>'Is this a cult?'</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chloe, from Perth, was sceptical when local mums started joining a beauty MLM but was eventually recruited by a relative.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Though she made $6000 in less than a year, she said the toxic and "cult-like" behaviour she witnessed in the MLM shocked her.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Not only did I witness most mums losing money but the emotional and spiritual abuse was like nothing I'd seen before," Chloe said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She alleged other consultants bullied and harassed new recruits, manipulated them into paying for their own training courses and "shut down" anyone who challenged them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When 9news.com.au reached out to the health MLM it said it took "allegations of bullying and harassment extremely seriously but strongly rejects any allegations that misrepresent our business model, culture, or the safety of our products."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/multiple-pedestrians-hit-by-car-in-melbourne/56b9a06c-3aac-407e-b554-2ff0fa4d06c8" target="_blank"><strong><span>Woman killed, toddler hurt, man fighting for life after footpath horror</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sabrina alleged she was encouraged by NuCerity consultants to spend beyond her means to maintain the image of success even when she was scraping by.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She claimed that when she questioned these tactics, she was "gaslit" into believing she was the problem.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's incredible how these groups can just brainwash you," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"My auntie even asked me, 'Is this a cult?'"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It certainly felt like one to Ellen, who only stayed in the MLM industry for so long because she craved a sense of community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Most MLMs encourage consultants to connect and form groups, offering a sense of connection to vulnerable and isolated individuals.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm very isolated socially and I felt like I belonged," Ellen said, but it soured quickly.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They pretend to be your friend [but] they just close ranks and shut you out if you don't do exactly what they say."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>'The women who join are not dumb or naïve'</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former consultants alleged they were encouraged to target vulnerable people to boost sales and recruitment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We were encouraged to find a niche – burnt-out nurses, or menopausal women, or single mums – and infiltrate," Ellen claimed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To join all these Facebook groups, then start offering [MLM products] on the sly."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sabrina and two other NuCerity consultants went a step further, starting their own Facebook group to lure other women into the MLM.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Advertised as a group for women to make friends, they used it to identify and connect with potential targets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We started organising weekend coffees under the pretence of wanting to connect and make friends ... we were really sneaky, to be honest," Sabrina said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then they tried to sell to or recruit the women, many of whom had limited social or support networks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chloe said that mothers in her local area were prime targets, as many were socially isolated and craved connection with other women.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The women who join are not dumb or naïve," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are being recruited by their best friends, sisters, mums, aunties, work colleagues, people they know, like and trust ... and it's not simple to leave."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Leaving isn't easy</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When Sabrina finally left NuCerity it was because she couldn't afford the $200 minimum monthly spend to stay in the business.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As soon as that happened, the consultants she'd called friends cut her off.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everything just started crumbling. I completely lost my self-esteem, I was very depressed," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It took months to recover financially and emotionally, and years to come clean to members of the Facebook group she had started (after the other consultants left).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/jane-birkin-original-hermes-bag-sells-at-auction-for-whopping-86-million-euros/c2ae1a37-feee-47ac-9247-5731ea5f8b39" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Most famous handbag of all time' sells for $15 million</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ellen struggled for years before finally escaping the MLM industry after saying she said she realised it was "all smoke and mirrors".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a lot of manipulation, you're most likely not going to succeed, you're most likely going to lose a hell of a lot of friends and family," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She's suffered mental health issues as a result and is still thousands of dollars out of pocket.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sabrina, Chloe and Ellen now spend their free time educating other Australians about the financial and personal risks of MLMs in the hopes that other women don't fall into the same trap.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are not providing an opportunity for mums and vulnerable people," Chloe said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a model where only one per cent earn a decent income and the rest lose money."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sabrina added that Australians who leave MLMs shouldn't feel ashamed to share their stories, as they can help others find the motivation to get out of a bad situation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She, Chloe and Ellen called for better financial education for vulnerable groups and greater government protections and support for people who lose money in MLMs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>*Names changed for privacy.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>