Three links, all to do with scams

[dolorosa_12]

I have an endless fascination with scams, pyramid schemes, and multi-level marketing schemes (whether they involve crypto bros or fundamentalist stay-at-home mothers selling leggings and essential oils). There’s something about the peculiar, cultish nexus of capitalism, evangelical religion and self-help that is both infinitely interesting, and desperately sad.

I’m not sure if the release of the glossy new Shondaland drama about Anna Delvey happening at the same time as these three deep-diving articles is a coincidence, but in any case it’s an interesting juxtaposition.

These Women Say Satan Has Taken Over An Essential Oil MLM

The elaborate con that tricked dozens into working for a fake design agency

‘I More So Consider Myself a Con Artist Than Anything’ What Danielle Miller learned at Horace Mann and Rikers. (With bonus Anna Delvey: apparently there is something of a revolving door of overlapping New York socialite financial scammers.)

All three stories are at once fascinating from a sociological perspective, and desperately sad when thinking about the individuals involved.

Comments

[singedsun]

Highly recommend the podcast by Robert Blevins, Life after MLM. She exited LulaRoe and has taken on calling out the predatory nature of MLMs on a variety of platforms, but the podcast is really good.

[dolorosa_12]

Thank you for the recommendation. I can't really do podcasts, but I have no doubt that hers is excellent, and I admire her for doing what she's doing.