Predatory financial scheme pushed at UND
Presenter compared himself to founder of Apple
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on February 15, 2017, 9:35 P.M. CST
Last night a room full of curious entrepreneurs (or, shills planted in the audience) listened to a presentation by a Twin Cities man that compared his company to Apple.
So what does that mean?
It means the University of North Dakota’s creepiness fetish has once again been temporarily satisfied.
And…
New Web pages may now be added to the many existing Amway horror stories due to this - the latest stunt connected to UND.
Quintin Higganbotham, Grand Forks, told Write Into Action that on Valentines Day he accompanied a female friend to a presentation in a conference room at the local CanadaInn where they were told they would learn about a great business opportunity.
“My friend was going to it. I just went with to observe and support her,” Higganbotham said.
He said it was very disturbing and he wants to warn the public.
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| Quintin Higganbotham |
“It was a get rich quick scheme,” he said, noting he believed it was connected to Amway.
“You make money by buying things,” Higganbotham said, shaking his head. “He’s flying to Texas – and then to Florida,” he continued, rolling his eyes and cynically recounting the speaker’s grandiose claims.
Higganbotham said his friend was prompted to attend the meeting by UND associate John Bye. “[John Bye] told me last night he teaches traditional dances and math at UND,” Higganbotham said.
Higganbotham said Bye approached him, as well, at the Biolife facility in Grand Forks over a year ago, pushing the same thing, and gave him a business card.
Higganbotham made some interesting observations about many of the people in attendance. He said they were very well dressed and gave very positive feedback to the speaker. “It seemed like they were actors,” Higganbotham said.
Higganbotham said the presenter used “extremely high pressure” tactics and punctuated words such as “marketing” and “networking” while claiming he made $38,000 in his first month.
He tried to get me to join without allowing me time to think about it, Higganbotham said. “Let’s get you signed up right now,” Higganbotham said, recounting the high pressure tactic.
“The guy kept emphasizing that he would never do anything illegal – he kept using the word illegal – emphasizing it was legal,” Higganbotham said.
“Do you think the founder Apple ever set out to start something that was illegal,” Higganbotham said, paraphrasing the speaker.
The audience was told things such as “You get to be home with your kids and watch them grow up” because you’ll have “financial freedom to do what you want, and go where you want,” Higganbotham said.
Higganbotham was disgusted at the predatory nature of the scheme. "I wonder if its a cult," he said.
Decades of survior stories show that groups such as Amway are a lifestyle cult.
Survivors of pyramid schemes such as the one in Grand Forks often describe very narrow lives that require they only associate with others in the 'business; repetition thought-programming using audio tapes; shunning and shaming of quitters; loud music brainwashing at marathon conventions where purchases are mandatory and sleep deprivation is used as mind control.
Fly by night operations such as Amway, Quixtar, and other spin-offs are notorious for clever cons that often target youth and college students. In one Amway survior story online, a man described being casually approached in a college book store by a married couple that were looking at books about yachts. The couple told the man they were going to be buying a yacht because they had gotten lucky and made a short-list of people allowed to join a once in a lifetime business opportunity.
Involvement with these pyramid schemes often result in bankruptcy, divorce, and even suicide.
Higganbotham said after the presentation he tried to convince his friend that it was a scam but believes she has been snared.
He said he felt obligated to bring awareness to the public because the whole thing was bull-shit.