WCNC
On May 26th, local Charlotte, North Carolina news station WCNC (via Dealbreaker) posted an article about Ken Lewis’ wife Donna Lewis and how she had taken a job with a “pyramid scheme” marketing firm called Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing.
Similar to Primerica, Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing (FHTM), which is based out of Kentucky, lets you join up for a fee of $199 and gives you tools to recruit more members. They also up-sell training tools to their staff, as showcased on their website.
WCNC spoke with Donna Lewis via telephone and extracted this gem from her:
“It is truly not a pyramid,” Donna Lewis said, when reached by phone at her home. “It’s helping people in this horrible economy make a living.”
Lewis said she joined FHTM but is not actively involved in selling the program or products.
“I just did it to tell a few people about it who really needed help,” she said.
Meanwhile, FHTM is getting hit with fines from Montana’s Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, with the Commish herself saying that the company runs a “pyramid promotional scheme.”
Now, adding fuel to the fire, there are some websites floating around the Internet saying that former BofA CEO Ken Lewis had joined the firm back in February of 2009 (see screenshot below).
Clearly, someone was trying to profit off Lewis’ name, because we called Bank of America up for comment and were told that the news was completely false and that Lewis had a policy of not serving on multiple boards. That and Donna Lewis has said her husband isn’t affiliated with the company whatsoever:
Some FHTM sales reps used Lewis’ name to promote the company, even publishing websites that erroneously link the name of the former Bank of America chief executive to the scheme.
“He is not involved at all,” said Donna Lewis, adding, “If he thought it was wrong he would not let me be involved.”
From the looks of things from both our perspective and the State of Montana’s, FHTM looks to be nothing more than one big multi-level marketing scheme. Plain and simple. And to boot, the Kentucky Better Business Bureau gave the company a rating of F, which does not bode well for the firm’s credibility.
Watch WCNC’s investigative report below to get an in-depth look at how Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing does business.
