By: Ashmar Mandou

Members of the Hispanic American Community Education and Services and Brighton Park Neighborhood Council are educating Latinos about the dangers of fraudulent schemes through their new exhibition Faces of Fraud, which took over the Thompson Center Wednesday morning showcasing the stories of victims who were lured into pyramid schemes by high-profile companies. “People look at financial fraud victims as a statistic, so our hope is that by hearing their stories the public is reminded that pyramid schemes are causing real harm to real people in our community who are simply trying to create a better life for themselves and their family,” said Maria Elena Jonas, CEO and President of the Hispanic American Community Education and Services (HACES). “It’s not easy to admit that you are a victim of financial fraud, so we are proud to support these brave individuals who want to stop the cycle by telling their story.” Four individuals part of the Faces of Fraud exhibition shared their personal story with Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper in hope that their experience will educate the Latino community.

Norma Velasquez – Chicago, IL

What motivated you to share your story with the Faces of Fraud campaign?

I was motivated to share my story with the Faces of Fraud Campaign so that Herbalife does not continue defrauding more people by lying to them. All Herbalife is doing in our community is lie to people; they are basically stealing from our community.

When did you realize you were a victim of fraud?

I realized I was defrauded when I received a letter by Herbalife telling me that I had to pay $15 dollars to renew my membership with them. At the time I was at 42 percent discount level with the company and they were letting me know that they were going to bring me down to the 25 percent level because I did not reach the goal of 50 percent in the first year. Herbalife was going to bring me down to a lower level and I still had to pay $15 to renew my membership. I thought it was unfair that I was going to lose the 42 percent discount that I had work so hard to reach for them to just bring me down to a lower level. I felt like I would be starting all over again, I did not think this was a great business opportunity. I declined to renew my membership and cut my losses with the company.

What advice would you give to others on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud?

I would advise people to not sign up right away, to do some research, and to ask questions. None of the Herbalife distributors are truthful when they tell people how much they make. I’d definitely advice that they ask for evidence! If distributors state they make a certain amount, ask to view one of their Herbalife checks to see if it’s true. Don’t get scammed!

Juanita Ramirez – Waukegan, IL

What motivated you to share your story with the Faces of Fraud campaign?

I was motivated to share my story because I want the Attorney General’s Office to know that we do exist, that we are real people that were defrauded by Herbalife. The AG’s office needs to stop businesses that tell lies to people in the community only to make money from us. These types of businesses leave many of us in debt. In reality, distributors for Herbalife urge you to enter into this business opportunity by telling you that they make a lot of money through selling Herbalife products. But it’s all a lie. The person that recruited me would often ask people for money to be able to make her orders. If this was such a great business opportunity why was my recruiter asking friends to loan her money? I wanted to shed light on this.

When did you realize you were a victim of fraud?

I realized I was a victim of fraud when I asked for my friends to lend me money because I had already gone through my savings and was worried on how I was going to make my product purchases. Distributors would also ask us to make outrageous claims in order to get people to invest people in the product. I recall one of our distributors asking a woman to cry because she “had” been cured thanks to Herbalife. I knew this wasn’t right, we were being told to lie to people about the benefits. I also became ill while consuming the products, I was diagnosed with anemia. I was told by my distributor that all the shakes and tablets I was consuming would be healthy for me but instead it deteriorated my health. I began to wonder if the products were for good nutrition, why was my health getting so bad?

What advice would you give to others on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud?

I would advise others to research the business plan of any business opportunity and to not believe everything they tell you. They should request more help and information before committing the mistake of investing time and money. We must definitely ask for proof first!

Gustavo Urbina – Round Lake, IL

What motivated you to share your story with the Faces of Fraud campaign?

I was motivated to share my story so that others are not defrauded like me. I was lied to in order for me to invest my money. I did it with the hope that I would be able to become rich but sadly it was all a lie. That is the value in sharing my story, the majority of us that have been defrauded by this company have been at a vulnerable time in our lives and we were susceptible to Herbalife’s get-rich-quick scheme. I thought I would have a better life and be able to help my family if I invested.

When did you realize you were a victim of fraud?

I realized that I was a victim of fraud when I saw that I was working long hours and I was just getting more in debt. I never saw a return on my investment like I was promised. I was even encouraged to leave my job but I would notice that I was barely making money as a distributor, why would I leave my job for that? I was promised financial freedom through Herbalife but that was far from the truth. I was a supervisor with Herbalife for two years and I was never able to make it to the next level because it required for me to make an even larger investment. Money I just didn’t have. It was all invest and invest and I never moved up.

What advice would you give to others on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud?

I first would tell others not to get involved with Herbalife because they will scam you. You need to make sure you read the fine line because when they made me a distributor, I was never explained what I was really getting into. By the time I learned the truth about how much income I could really make with Herbalife it was too late. I was already in debt; I even took out an additional credit card to be able to make my product orders. Today, I am still paying for that credit card.

Juan Palomar – Waukegan, IL

What motivated you to share your story with the Faces of Fraud campaign?

I was motivated to share my story with Faces of Fraud so that more people are prevented from being defrauded like I was. In reality, things are not how they were promised to me. Instead of me making money I lost a lot of my savings. I hope that through my story people are encouraged to share their story and don’t become victims of fraud.

When did you realize you were a victim of fraud?

I realized I was a victim of fraud when I noticed that I had lost a lot of money all because I was too concentrated in making points for the company. In the end I spent thousands of dollars of my hard earned money because I really believed that I was going to be better off if I made a small investment.

What advice would you give to others on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud?

My advice would be for people to do their research online regarding Herbalife’s history. They will find a lot of information from people that like me were defrauded by this company. I unfortunately believed what my recruiter was telling me and didn’t think about looking into the company’s history of fraud in our community. Had I known then what I know now I would never have invested in Herbalife.