To All Our Loyal Distributors and Friends,
Youngevity has nearly a 20 year history of sharing Dr. Wallach’s mission, delivering life changing products, and treating our distributors like family. As with all families, every effort must be made to protect our loyal family members against those who would cause them harm. In the case of Youngevity, that means ensuring that the company's rules, and in particular our rules against cross-recruitment of distributors, are enforced. Doing so is not only a matter of fundamental fairness, it is a necessity to ensure the maintenance and integrity of our distributors' downlines. You deserve and we preserve your right to conduct your Youngevity business without fear that your business may be put in jeopardy because unscrupulous people wish to lure it away from you. You honor yourselves and your downlines by refusing to engage in cross recruiting or promotion of non Youngevity products within your organization. Make no mistake, Youngevity will fiercely defend your interests and your hard work and has the necessary resources at its disposal to do so. In short, Youngevity has your back and will fight to defend your income and downline from illegal cross recruiting.
Youngevity places its loyal family first. You can always count on us to protect our family members with honor and integrity. Although Dr. Wallach is heartbroken at the betrayal he feels from a small group of the people he has considered family for over 19 years, he is absolutely determined to protect the rest of our Youngevity family, a family he has worked so hard to fortify all of these years. The health and prosperity of loyal Youngevity distributors has been and will always be his number one mission. Michelle, Dave and I – as well as the entire Youngevity Corporate team – join him in that mission. Those loyal to Youngevity, who faithfully uphold the company's rules, may rest assured that the company will protect their interests from those whose acts of betrayal would otherwise steal their downlines. Those disloyal to Youngevity, who recruit the company's distributors to competing companies, should be aware that the company will enforce its rules and end their distributorships, causing their commissions to be forfeited permanently.
We have listened to countless conference calls and watched numerous videos and social media feeds where falsehoods were told or implied about Youngevity not issuing checks and even some where people were crying about how awful it was to have to go on vacation using their investment accounts because money had been taken from them when they had done nothing wrong. The Truth is that many of you began calling and visiting corporate in late February, expressing concerns about receiving social media solicitations, phone calls, letters, and emails, soliciting your defection from Youngevity. Concerned for your downlines and your income, you asked us to investigate and to enforce our rules to protect the downlines you have worked so hard to build. We have investigated and have discovered that your concerns are confirmed by the evidence, and we have acted in accordance with our rules to stop the abuses.
With a protective spirit we placed certain individual's accounts on suspension and sent them letters seeking clarification, reminding these people of the sections in Youngevity's policies and procedures that prohibit cross recruiting on pain of termination. It was our goal to inform the violators and purported violators of Youngevity policies so they might refresh their recollection of the company's rules and provide us necessary assurance of their compliance. Suspended funds were held in escrow for these people, pending our investigation into whether they were in fact engaged in or facilitated cross-recruiting.
In two instances, we met with individuals, even one who brought her lawyer, in person, to Youngevity Corporate Headquarters. Against our attorneys’ advice, although there were no lawyers present from our side to protect Youngevity, we chose to go on with the meeting. We took this step in the hopes of settling the matter. Ironically, in both instances, the story was the same. We heard repeated assurances that they were not involved in any competing company, that they were 100% loyal to Youngevity, and that they would never jeopardize their own integrity or honor by doing such a dishonest thing as betraying the company by cross-recruiting. Upon our request that they satisfy the simple requirement of reducing their own statements to writing so we could put this all behind us and move forward and get back to work, they flatly refused. Those refusals, combined with mounting evidence of cross-recruitment and complicity with those engaged in cross-recruitment, led us to terminate the few distributorships involved. We did so reluctantly, and with a heavy heart. We took those steps only after finding them essential to uphold the company's rules, protect the company, and protect your financial interests in the company.
In spite of an agreement for the contents of the meetings to be held in strict confidence, in both cases, that confidentially, although upheld by Youngevity corporate, was nonetheless sadly breached. The lies told to us and to others, were continuing to pollute their own and other Youngevity downlines. These individuals stated repeatedly that they "aren't about the money” and, instead, they “are about their integrity." To Youngevity, not only are they spreading lies to defame our company, they are intending to ruin your business as well. We want to assure you that this poisonous and destructive activity will not be tolerated. I promise you that the deception will be exposed and made known to all. As in all things, with time the truth comes out and, when it does, those who have spun a web of lies have their true identities exposed.
On Friday, Youngevity learned that a lawsuit had been filed in Utah by Todd Smith and his small startup company, alleging that Youngevity and its policies and procedures are prohibiting them from poaching Youngevity distributors! Incredible as it may seem, this new company wants the courts to grant them the right to steal your Youngevity downlines. Youngevity will not stand for this. Our attorneys have reviewed the suit and determined it to be frivolous. We were dismayed that just 10 days after Todd Smith's very public letter pledging honor and respect for Dr. Wallach and Youngevity, Todd filed suit to allow him and his start-up to take from you.
Once we received word of the lawsuit, and after 45 days of being hopeful that these individuals would rectify their separation with Youngevity and tell us that they had been misled, or prove their innocence by putting in writing that they were not involved in a competing company, we learned of their undeniable deception to hurt some of you and Youngevity. Sadly, we had no choice but to deny this deception and terminate six relationships this past Friday, 3/18/2016.
In 19 years Youngevity has never pro-actively sued anyone other than the government for your health freedom rights. We never wanted to terminate any distributors, including those involved in other Direct Sales, but sometimes we must take action against the few to protect the many. This truly becomes necessary when our Policies and Procedures, which our Distributors agreed to, have been so blatantly violated.
Part of this new company’s initiative is targeted at couples or partnership positions whereby one partner or the spouse purports to continue with Youngevity and looks for poaching opportunities, all the while continuing to earn commissions from Youngevity, while the other builds in the competing company, utilizing Youngevity distributors and confidential distributor lists. Poaching downlines by splitting joint positions defies not only logic, but this open deceit violates our rules against cross-recruiting and distributor confidentiality. While we were shocked and saddened to learn of the dishonor and lack of integrity evidenced by those involved in this plan, ones we formally believed to be honorable, we are glad that our investigation exposed the truth to us early on so we could nip this in the bud.
We all need to be vigilant and inform our upline and Youngevity management of any unscrupulous activity in violation of our rules taking place in your organization. Reach out to your teams and make sure they understand the policies and procedures of Youngevity, particular sections E7 and E12. Share the importance of operating with integrity and rest assured that your company will be by your side, working tirelessly and sparing no expense to protect all of you.
At the end of the day - the mission of Dr. Wallach, Dr. Ma Lan, and the Youngevity Team does not have to be the mission of everyone. Those who are here are here to assist us, help us, and guide the field - and at the end of the day they are free to choose for themselves their own missions and goals in their lives. We not only support this - but we encourage it and embrace it. We've had Distributors move on to new opportunities. Many have chosen to come back and we have been here to welcome them.
There is great hope and promise on the horizon – that, I can promise you all. And may we never forget there is only one true leader in Youngevity and that is Dr. Joel D. Wallach... and we are simply his humble servants sharing his message of health and wealth with the world!
Steve Wallach, CEO
