道道網訊 Court ruling imposes permanent multi-level marketing ban and $7.3 million judgment on Noland, other defendants as result of FTC actions.
　　法院根據聯邦貿易委員會（FTC）提起的訴訟，裁定永久禁止諾蘭及其他被告采用多層次營銷的禁令，判處罰金730萬美元。
　　A federal court sided with the Federal Trade Commission,?ruling that James D. Noland, Jr.?illegally owned and operated two pyramid schemes—Success By Health (SBH) and VOZ Travel—in violation of the FTC Act and that Noland violated a previous federal court order barring him from pyramid schemes and from misrepresenting multilevel marketing participants’ income potential.
　　聯邦法院裁定支持聯邦貿易委員會（FTC）的裁決，判定James D. Noland，Jr.（詹姆斯·D·諾蘭）非法擁有和經營Success By Health（SBH）和VOZ Travel兩家金字塔式傳銷組織，其行為違反了FTC法案。與此同時，諾蘭此前還違反聯邦法院禁止他從事金字塔傳銷和誤導多層次營銷參與者鼓吹收入潛力的命令。
　　The FTC sued Noland (also known as Jay Noland, J.D. Noland, and J. Noland), his wife Lina Noland, Scott Harris, and Thomas Sacca, in connection with?SBH in January 2020?and added charges related to?VOZ Travel?in September 2020. The FTC alleged that they operated the businesses as pyramid schemes, making outlandish claims that “the masses” could be making more than $1 million each month by following Noland’s system, when in fact very few consumers made any money, and most lost significant sums.?
　　聯邦貿易委員會（FTC）2020年1月對Jay Noland、J.D. Noland（諾蘭，又名J. Noland）、他的妻子Lina Noland（莉娜·諾蘭），以及Scott Harris（斯科特·哈里斯）和Thomas Sacca（托馬斯·薩卡）提起與SBH相關的訴訟，并在2020年9月增加了對VOZ Travel的相關指控。FTC指控他們經營的這兩項業務均為金字塔式傳銷，夸大其詞地聲稱只要“大眾”遵循諾蘭系統，每月便可賺取超過100萬美元，而事實上只有很少的消費者能夠賺錢，大多數人損失慘重。
　　In its ruling, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona found that the Nolands, Harris, and Sacca violated the FTC Act by operating SBH and VOZ Travel as pyramid schemes and using false promises of “financial freedom.” In addition, the court found Harris and Sacca were aware of the order against Noland stemming from?a prior FTC case, and thus, they and Noland were in contempt of that order. In its ruling, the court cited the “sheer volume of deceptive tactics and statements associated with” both SBH and VOZ Travel.
　　在裁決中，美國亞利桑那州地區法院認定諾蘭夫婦、哈里斯和薩卡違反FTC法案，將SBH和VOZ Travel作為金字塔式傳銷經營，并使用“財務自由”的虛假承諾。法院還認定哈里斯和薩卡明知諾蘭在此前FTC提起訴訟的案件中已被判處的禁令，因此他們和諾蘭都藐視了法庭的該項禁令。法庭的裁決引用了與SBH和VOZ Travel相關的“大量欺騙性手段和陳述”。
　　“The court’s order holding these defendants in contempt and barring them from the multilevel marketing business should send a strong message that FTC orders should not be ignored,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will not hesitate to act with the full force of the law to protect the American public and hold recidivists accountable.”
　　“法院禁止藐視法庭的被告從事多層次營銷活動的同時，也向公眾傳達了美國聯邦貿易委員會的命令不應被忽視的強烈信息”。美國聯邦貿易委員會消費者保護局局長塞繆爾·萊文（Samuel Levine）表示，“美國聯邦貿易委員將毫不猶豫地運用法律的全部力量來保護美國公眾，并讓屢教不改者承擔責任”。
　　The court also noted that Harris told an audience at one private SBH marketing event, “Is this one of those pyramid things? Hell, yeah it is. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it. Do I look dumb enough to go get a job again?”
　　法院還注意到，哈里斯在一次SBH私人營銷活動的演講中告訴觀眾：“這是金字塔傳銷嗎？沒錯，它就是。如果不是，我就不會干了。我難道看起來會傻到還要再去另外找份工作嗎”？
　　In addition, the court ruled that the defendants’ false claims about Noland’s own wealth in selling the pyramid schemes were “outrageous.” Noland, for example, told SBH and VOZ Travel members, “I’ve been financially free, completely time and money free since I was 36.”? In fact, as the court found, at the age of 36, Noland “was living (or was about to start living) off credit cards.”?
　　此外，法庭判詞指出，被告們關于諾蘭在銷售金字塔傳銷方案時對自身財富的虛假宣傳“令人震驚”。例如，諾蘭告訴SBH和VOZ Travel的會員們：“自從我36歲起，我就實現了財務自由，完全擁有時間和金錢的自由”。然而，事實上，正如法院調查所發現的，36歲的諾蘭“當時正依靠信用卡生活（或即將開始靠信用卡生活）”。
　　Additionally, although Noland told SBH and VOZ members he was a multi-millionaire, the court explained that “[i]n his January 2020 sworn financial statement, Noland reported he had a negative net worth.” Similarly, at a deposition in this case, “Noland was unable to identify a time he?ever?had a positive net worth.”
　　另外，雖然諾蘭告訴SBH和VOZ的會員他是一位身家數百萬的富翁，但法院的判詞稱：“在諾蘭2020年1月提交的財務聲明中，他報告自己的凈值為負數”。同樣，在此案的庭審中，“諾蘭無法指出自己何曾擁有過正值凈資產”。
　　The defendants used these and other false claims to boost their promises that SBH affiliates would achieve their own financial freedom, like becoming millionaires, or having an income stream of $20,000 per month. Instead, the court found “the great majority of SBH affiliates were net losers” of money, and “the few who may have eked out a net positive outcome did not obtain anything close to the ‘financial freedom’ that was being offered.”? The court, for example, found that one “top retailer” in SBH earned less from those sales “than what an individual would earn from a full-time minimum wage job.”
　　被告們利用這些虛假宣傳來強化他們的承諾，即SBH的加盟商將實現財務自由，比如成為百萬富翁，或擁有每月2萬美元的收入。然而，法院發現“絕大多數SBH加盟商都是凈損失者”，只有“少數可能勉強獲得凈收益的人，也沒有獲得接近所承諾的‘財務自由’”。例如，法院發現，就連SBH的一位“頂級零售商”，他從銷售中獲得的收入“低于從事全職工作的最低工資收入”。
　　The court’s ruling permanently bans Noland, his wife Lina Noland, Harris and Sacca from any participation in multi-level marketing. In its ruling, the court said they “…have found themselves to be utterly incapable of operating an MLM business in a lawful manner.”? The ruling also imposes a $7.3 million judgment on Noland, Harris, and Sacca, the full amount sought by the FTC. Any amount recovered by the FTC will be used to redress consumers.
　　法院的裁決永久禁止諾蘭、他的妻子莉娜·諾蘭、哈里斯和薩卡參與任何多層次營銷活動。在裁決中，法院表示他們“發現自己完全無法以合法方式經營多層次營銷業務”。法庭裁決還對諾蘭、哈里斯和薩卡處以730萬美元的罰款，這是FTC所要求的全部金額。FTC追回的任何金額都將用于賠償消費者。
　　The court also found that the defendants committed multiple “acts of dishonesty,” including “destroying evidence, violating court orders, giving false under-oath testimony, and taking no accountability for the misconduct after being caught.”
　　法院還發現，被告犯下了多項“不誠實行為”，包括“銷毀證據、違反法庭命令、在宣誓下作偽證，以及在被發現后拒不承擔不當行為責任”。
　　The FTC’s suit against SBH and VOZ Travel also named a number of corporate entities behind the two pyramid schemes; the case against those entities is ongoing. The FTC has extensive information and guidance for consumers about?multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes?on its website, as well as?guidance for businesses.
　　美國聯邦貿易委員會（FTC）對SBH和VOZ Travel提起的訴訟，還涉及這兩個金字塔傳銷方案背后的多家公司實體，針對這些實體的案件目前仍在進行中。FTC在其網站上為消費者提供了大量關于多層次營銷和金字塔傳銷的信息和指導，同時也為企業提供了指導。
　　The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and?protect and educate consumers. ?The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at?consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at?ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the?FTC on social media, read?consumer alerts?and the?business blog, and?sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.
　　美國聯邦貿易委員會致力于促進競爭，保護和教育消費者。FTC永遠不會要求支付金錢、發出威脅、指示你轉賬或承諾給你獎品。要了解更多關于消費者的問題，請訪問consumer.ftc.gov，或在ReportFraud.ftc.gov上報告欺詐、騙局和不良商業行為。在社交媒體上關注FTC，閱讀消費者警示和業務博客，并注冊以獲取最新的FTC新聞和警示。