YTB International

[JamesVincent]

I recently ran across an article about YTB International being bought out and re-opened after filing for Chapter 11. Maybe some of our friends from RealScam can chime in because I have never heard of the company before and doesn't seem to be too much out there on it.

http://www.npros.com/2013/10/14/investo ... rnational/

October 14, 2013 -- An investor has acquired the assets of YTB International. YTB, which once had more than 130,000 independent agents, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March after fallout from lawsuits filed by Illinois' and California's Attorneys General, alleging it operated as an illegal pyramid scheme.

[notorial dissent]

I'm feeling like my book is missing a few chapters. I've never heard of YTB before, not that that means anything,

YTB was formed in 2001 as a travel company, and was listed in one source as "a seller of Internet-based travel services and products", went to multi-level marketing to increase its size according to reports, going eventually to almost 130,000 agents, basically on the model of using agents to recruit further agents and whose payout was based on their downlines sales. Apparently CA and then IL disagreed with their business model and filed suit against them as a pyramid scheme, with the current result. The suits were settled, agents departed, company go boom as they say. They filed for bankruptcy in March in the East St. Louis FBC with about $1.3 million in assets and $7.1 million in liabilities and 40 employees. The 8-K filed for YTB lists a whole raft of subsidiaries, the assets, all of which, have been purchased by the newly formed YTB Global Travel.

Jamraval Inc has only been in existence for less than a year, and is listed as a mergers and acquisitions company, it appears to have been formed by two of YTB's secured creditors who have bought the travel assets of YTB out of the bankruptcy to create YTB Global Travel Inc, for $3.5 million and they were the sole bidder. The driving force behind this seems to be Sam Hathi and his partner??? Andy Cauthen, both of Chicago??

I think this is the first time I've ever heard of an MLM using a travel company as a base. Considering what the profit line in travel has been lately, I can't imagine any of them were making a living at it, and if they were internet based, why did they need agents? I's confuzzed??

[littleroundman]

I
I think this is the first time I've ever heard of an MLM using a travel company as a base. Considering what the profit line in travel has been lately, I can't imagine any of them were making a living at it, and if they were internet based, why did they need agents? I's confuzzed??

It's simple.

Even the most blatant endless chain recruiting / pyramid scheme needs a cover story, why not travel ??

[notorial dissent]

Oh, I don't doubt that for a second, it's just that this is the first time I've come across this particular innovation. obviously it didn't work any better for this than it does for anything else.

[JamesVincent]

There's been several MLMs doing travel service, I know of a couple of people who have done them for years. Some of them basically all you do is buy into the website where people book their travels, some are based on specific places and travel types and some are free for all travel agents.... supposedly. I only know one person who made anything at it and he basically come out a little bit above even every month.

[JamesVincent]

Found this article and it pretty much summed it all up.

http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stor ... l?page=all

More than 200,000 members in 2007 paid more than $1,000 a year to set up online travel agencies, but only 38 percent of the company's members made any travel commissions.

Consumers paid more than $103 million to the company in 2007, but made $13 million in travel sales commissions, according to the lawsuit.

[JamesVincent]

Andy Cauthen, both of Chicago??

Andrew Cauthen was one of the founders of YTB and it's CEO apparently.

http://www.npros.com/2012/6/5/ytb-inter ... t-and-ceo/

WOOD RIVER, IL--(Jun 5, 2012) - The Board of Directors of YTB International, Inc. announced today that it has appointed Andrew Cauthen as President and CEO. Mr. Cauthen has also been appointed as a Director to fill a vacancy on the Company's Board. The appointments became effective on May 31, 2012.

[littleroundman]

The whole sorry YTB saga from its' inception in 2005 can be followed here at MLMs and Travel: A Bad Mix

It was a hot topic on Scam.com Where's YTB / ZamZuu now

[Funkalicious]

The travel agency game has been a target of scammers for years -- the whole "travel for free"/"travel at an extreme discount using your Exclusive Travel Agent Discount" has been around at least since the 80's, when I saw my first one as a kid in junior high. For those at the top of an MLM, it doesn't matter if the core business has high margins since the MLM has little to do with the core business itself - it's only the selling of ancillary products that matters.