In addition to its recent $50,000 settlement with the Maine Attorney General on charges of operating an illegal pyramid scheme, the internet-mall style MLM also entered into a $20,000 settlement with Maine retailer LL Bean.

According to WMTW, Channel 8 News in Portland, ME, BigSmart representatives claimed a relationship with the well-known mail order company which did not, in fact, exist.

Documents filed in Cumberland County, Maine, stated that BigSmart:

"falsely claimed an affiliation with L.L. Bean and endorsement by L.L. Bean in order to induce consumers to purchase business opportunities from BigSmart.com."

Later, BigSmart stated that L.L. Bean did not have the "technical know-how" to work with BigSmart, which was also false.

This type of misrepresentation seems to be a common occurrence among internet-mall style MLMs. However, members of such companies should not assume that they can continue to misrepresent other companies without some legal repercussions.

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 This page updated Jul-15-00

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