ACN Prey on People; Deceive Concord, North Carolina

I MUST be the biggest idiot walking the earth.  No Im not I imagine there are 1000s of people who gave ACN $500.00 because they were absolutely desperate.  I didnt fork out $500.00.  I lost a lot of hours with these guys and time is money but what I experienced was worse than loss of time or money.  I saw a complete lack or respect, dignity or true compassion.  I found myself surrounded by evil today and it scared me. 

ACN (google it!!) lures you in any way they can.  One of those ways is with the endorsement of Donald Trump

My neighbor is a Widower and told me that when he met with his Up-line lets call him Davidthat he was toldIm going to put you directly in touch with Michael hes the (insert big impressive title here) 

My neighbor immediately gets a meeting with the Oh so special Michael who woos him with:  Ive heard about you.  I know your story.  Youre a good Christian man and Im going to personally take you under my wing and make sure youre successful   

My neighbor then went into the Edify mode with me.  (again, stick with me they make it confusing and exhausting for a reason I will explain the Edify )   

He and the other Michael make 40,000 a month.  They split it, my neighbor told me.   Oh and there was the and hes friends with Donald Trump.
 
Thats all I needed to hear.  I have been working on a way to help a local non-profit  - and when I say non- profit Im not talking typical non-profit that pulls donations from every direction nationwide.  Im talking about a sweet Christian lady that takes care of people who are terminally ill.  I hope to expand on her story. 
 
But, when I heard Donald Trump I was so excited about the opportunity to help my non-profit friend.  Donald is moving into our area and opening a golf course here.  My friend wants to open another home so that she can serve more families.  Good will for Donald / donations for the non-profit / more families served.  Its what I call a win-win-win.  So, as the wheels were turning as to how I can get in front of the powers that may be who have the power to get me in front of Donald Trump.  On the phone - my neighbor said You know what?  Do you have a second?  Im going to see if he (All Powerful Michael) has 5 minutes to talk to you.  Can you hold on?  Im going to call him on 3-way. 

Sure! I said.
 
So my neighbor calls Michael (you know, the amazing Super Power who is so successful - yet still has time in the middle of the afternoon to talk to me a stranger?  Wow! He must REALLY REALLY want to help my neighbor!) but then again, he does believe in my neighbor, you know, because of his story. 

Michael asked me what I do for a living.  I told him that Ive just starting my own marketing company.  He told me that he worked in marketing for many years.  He was involved in the Internet world did IP Procurement (whatever that means) until the big dot com crash.  (insert sob story  then deregulation of energy, and what led him to ACN)

I never got to my point about my non-profit before he had to hop off the phone
 
So, my neighbor was having a (name of that meeting - ?) at his house on Wednesday evening, the following week and asked me if I wanted to come.  He said that he would request that Michael be at the meeting so that I can talk to him about my non-profit idea.  Then- he told me that the other Michael well call him Michael #2 -  was scheduled to be there but as a special favor to Jim he was coming to this meeting and I would definitely have time to talk to him. 
 
I told him Id think about it.
 
There was a lot going on for me that week.  I had a lot of prospects that I needed to close and had meetings set up for initial business prospects.  Not to mention, a 10 minute presentation scheduled for Wednesday morning at 7:30 am. I was working around the clock in fact, I awoke at 2:00am Wednesday to work on that presentation.  That was followed by a full day of work.  I did as much as I could and stole 45 minutes of sleep before showing up at my neighbors house for the meeting.  Just as instructed, my friend introduces Michael rattles off a bunch of impressive stats about the man and gives the floor to him.  He introduces himself, tells the room how ACN has changed his life then shows us a video about deregulation of energy a vague explanation of how ANC reps can make money on mobile, hi speed internet, etc.and topped it off with the big Trump endorsement)  Following the video Michael talked for maybe 20 more minutes, then he tells us that he has another meeting across town and will have about 5 minutes to talk in the kitchen if anyone has questions. 
 
So, anyone with manners is going to move the conversation into the kitchen, or else appear as anti-social.  I asked a few questions all based on the tangible return.  You said just this past Sunday that your mother-in-law came to your house and said she wanted the new i-phone that costs $499.00 but she wanted to buy it through ACN, recapping what he said, 

I asked, Now, did she need to become a member of ACN under you?  Or could you just sell the service?  No, you can just sell the service, is what he said.  (Id asked my neighbor the same question and he said the opposite.) 

So, notice, this was the second time Id spoken with Michael  and never got my chance to talk about how one hour of Donald Trumps time could make the difference in whether my non-profit lady can get the funds she needs to build another end of life house, and to pay for someone to handle her marketing and fundraising. 

He had to leave quickly that evening for another meeting. 

My neighbor tells me that hes going to an ACN training meeting on Saturday.  Hell see if he can get me some time with Michael.  (This is the same week as the Wed night mtg)  Later, he informs me that Michael will give me a few minutes before the meeting, if I can come to the meeting. I was in.  My thinking:  My plan for my non-profit idea makes sense.  Michael is a smart business guy.  Donald appreciates strategy.  I have a great plan!!  I just need to explain it to Michael!!! 

So, my neighbor and I talk Friday night.  I told him that I was not yet sold on the ACN return.  I need something tangible.  I need numbers that make sense if I were to sell it.  If Im going to ask someone to buy into something, I need to give them something tangible. 
 
Thats when my friend said  Youre not selling the service, youre selling the opportunity for them to come in under you and then getting people to buy in under them.

Yes, I get it.  Its a pyramid based opportunity.  But what am I selling?  I filled out the form from the other night. (Where I listed my payments for phone, electricity, gas, wireless, etc.) Ill give it to you and if you can save me hundreds of dollars each month then Im in.  Thats an easy sell!
 
I wont be able to save you that much.  Maybe like 1,300 per year, he said. 
 
I knew it didnt make sense, but I was going to go to the meeting the next day to get my time in front of Michael; and feeling as though my neighbor just wasnt business savvy if I sat in and got a better understanding of what theyre pushing no harm.
 
As exhausted as I was, I got up at 7:00am on a Saturday morning to get ready. My neighbor had texted me and said in order for me to sit down with Michael wed need to arrive early, and hed pick me up at 9:00.  I wasnt sure how to dress, so I went middle of the road with some skinny jeans and heals and a blouse.  When my neighbor shows up in slacks, tailored shirt and tie, I immediately felt discouraged.  You could have told me to dress up, I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster especially since I was ready at 8:50 and he didnt arrive until 9:10.

My work colleague called me on the way there and we discussed business for a few.  In the mean time, my neighbor calls his upline, and I heard him mention something aboutI know I cant go back there, but Michael said hed give Peggy a few minutes   

After he and I both hung up from our calls, I asked my neighbor, So what does this look like?  Am I coming here for ACN or to get a few minutes with Michael?   

His response was:  To get some time with Michael, I just talked to David and its all set.

So, we arrive at the Hilton in Charlotte where people are mingling in the lobby.  The ACN men were in full suits the ladies, dressed from business conservative, to black dress youd wear on a night out.  We chatted with my neighbors Upline David for a bit.  Then my neighbor introduced me to Michael Crowders partner, Michael (?)  His suit probably cost as much as my monthly
salary if not more. 
 
My neighbor pulled him to the side and said, Michael told me that hed sit down with Peggy before the meeting.  Can you make sure were still on?  This Michael goes into the ballroom and returns about 5 minutes later.
 
Yes, he tells my neighbor. Hes still setting up, but give him about 5 min. 
 
And we can go in?  asked my neighbor.  Yes, I will let you know when, replied Michael 2.
 
So, another 5 minutes later, we get to see the glorious man behind the curtain.  The fabulous Michael Crowder had on a suit that was equally shiny and expensive as his partner.  (Guess thats what you can do when you make 20,000 / mo. conning people.)  So, I stand around for about 10 minutes listening to him talk to another man who got the privilege to backstage access to King Michael

As the rest of the people who were there waited in the lobby, the elite ACN crew hustled about the ballroom setting up, dancing to loud music and laughing.  The other suits kept a watchful eye and whispered amongst themselves as I FINALLY got my time to tell Michael about my non-profit idea.  He glanced at his watch, his partner (Michael 2) rushed him, the glances continued.  I knew my time was limited so I talked fast.  He interrupted me with his input that was irrelevant.  He was tossing names around and getting me off track.  I hadnt reached my point before his partner said We HAVE to get started.  We cant wait any longer.
 
Well talk after the meeting.  Just hang out and well talk some more, Michael tells me.

Are you kidding me?  This is the 3rd time this man has blown me off!  Oh well, I told myself, If I can just get in front of him with my idea, hell think its brilliant and it will all be worth it. 
 
I was under the impression that this training would last an hour or so.  I could get some insight on the offer and how to sell it, so I thought Why Not? Before the masses were let in, the suits and dresses huddled up for what appeared to be a prayer session.  (Thats nice.  Michael did throw out some verbiage that made me believe hes a good Christian man.  This is great!!  A Christian group that makes a lot of money and wants to show others how to!)

But things got very strange very quickly.  The room filled.  I wondered: are these people like my neighbor, whod just recently joined ACN?  I heard a girl in the lobby mention that she had just joined; so I assumed.

There were some introductions of the Oh So Powerful panel who, one by one got up to speak.  As they were introduced we got the rundown of how ACN changed their life and how within 2 or 3 years, they made the Presidents Club.  There were the I worked around the clock to make ends meet before this  and how good it feels to be able to take that For Sale sign out of someones yard, and Now Im a stay at home mom  One after the other.blah blah blah.  Before they came up to talk the room stood and gave them a standing ovation.  There were a few Yea!s!!! in confirmation throughout their testimonials. Then came each persons pitch on how to get people under you.
 
There was never any logical explanation of why the system works.  There was no strategy other than You sell the value of getting people to sign on and when they get people to sign on and here is how you do it
 
I can make it thru this, I told myself.  Just another 30 minutessurely.
 
Wrong.  Try 2.5 hours later.
 
I sat thru so many high-strung pitches on how to convince people to join ACN. And you have to sign up today!!! You need to schedule your first home meeting right away in the next week.
 
And  You need to write down 100 names.  You call them and ask them:

1)   Do you look at other ways to make money?  Hi ___________.  Do you have a minute?  (Wait for response)  Do you look at other ways to make money?

2)   Insert YOUR why.  

WHY you are doing ACN  (I looked at my situation and I realized that doing what Im doing right now is not going to get me where I want to be in the next 3-5 years. So I started looking for something.

3)   New Technologies

Ive found a company that deals with New Technology & Energy

4)   Edify Speaker

And Ive met an individual named __________(insert Michael here, in my case) who is expanding his business in our area, and having tremendous financial success; this person is going to be at my house at date/time to show me and a small select group of people exactly what he is doing.  ACN I put you down as coming?
 
5)  Confirmation Call 

Someone from his / her office will be giving you a call just to confirm the appointment 

They brought up another panel of 7 people who gave a quick briefing of how long theyd been with ACN and how many members they had on board.  (And youre at this meeting, because????) Being on the third row I saw I lot of head nods in the first 2 rows.  I talked myself into believing that was ok - because they must be veterans and maybe this was some kind of special meeting.   

The longer I sat there, I realized that there were more long time members in the room than newbies like my neighbor.  In addition to the 7 who got up later on in the program, Michael thought itd be inspirational to point out those who were sitting amongst us and how quickly they became successful.  He must have introduced 6 people in the room who said how long theyve been with ACN and how many people they had under them.

(Again And you're here because???)
 
So between all those that made it big in the room and the Mysterious Men in Suits behind the curtainwho was left in the room?  I started counting heads. And doing the math.  $500.00 per head (the suckers that are buying in which was all you have to do to be successful) minus the blood suckers in the roomit was hard to tell who was who because it seemed like a room of blood hungry sharks but separating the suits and head nodding and clappers and standers I would make a very humble and conservative estimate that maybe there were 15 people (aka suckers) there and if they signed up at $500.00 each = 7500.00.  Thats being modest.  I dont know who was there because they were curious vs who had just bought in or who were already members and there to suck the room dry.  I do know that my neighbor has been going there for training on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. 
 
Its a scam.  And its a scary one.  First of all, I have a good sense of people and their true intentions.  Michael is a good actor.  The Special people behind the curtain gave a good talk but other than their whispers amongst each other when I had my brief time to talk to Michael they never made eye contact, they made absolutely no gesture to be welcoming.  There was this hierarchy and a too good for you mentality which contradicted what they were saying on stage.

About 15 minutes into the meeting, I looked at those in the rows in front of me and their total fixation on the speaker and told myself:  This is a cult. 
 
I try to see the good in everyone and over the 2.5 hours I was there, Id peek beside me and behind me and try to find some normalcy.  There wasnt any.  There was no person in the room that I felt I could relate to. 

I hadnt heard any logical explanation and I realized that my neighbor pulled the ACN system on me.  This is a man thatd I helped.  I built his website and constructed his marketing plan.  I met with him a week ago and gave him a strategy to get him in front of a major restaurant chain I spent hours construction a 3-phrase plan that would get him to his ultimate goal which was to eventually have his own cable program in 8 years.  I dont blame him.  He bought in to a stupid scam.  Why?  Because he was desperate.  He should have spent the last 7 months doing what he knew best and dedicating himself to his business - but when it wasnt easy, he heard the voices from ACN and eventually caved.   

About 2.15 hours in and after the Powerful Michael spoke and walked out into the lobby so did my neighbor.  Then the most important person EVER  - Michael 2 got up to talk.  This was like an Evangelical Preacher who had never read the Bible.  

He got up front and told everybody to stand and bend and turn to your right and rub your neighbors shoulder and turn to your left and rub your neighbors shoulder.  I stood straight up and was thinking nobody better touch me.  I looked around and everybody was doing this.  I was disgusted and was done.  It was noon. I was trapped.  After the pre-school - get your energy going routine I sat down and listened to this man in a $5,000 suit tell the room HOW and WHY YOU DO THIS.  (Imagine the most greedy misconceiving evangelical preacher this was him.)  My neighbor came back about 5 minutes into this clowns speech.  I have to go, I told him.  He said OK.  We started packing up and I felt bad about walking out in the middle of All Powerful Michael #2s speech.  My neighbors Upline who was sitting in the row in front of us knew mid-sentence as I was telling my neighbor I need to go turned around with a reassuring grin and mouthed Ill call you.  Well talk. 

I nodded politely, and mouthed OK.    I was tearing up and needed to get out.  My neighbor said Its not a problem, we can go.  We got up and walked from the 3rd row past Id say 15 isles of people - who all seemed to tense up and look. I kept my eyes down until I reached the back door and I kept going until I was out of that hotel.  Michael #1 was in the corridor talking on his phone.  I felt no need to make eye contact.  I just wanted out. 

I cried the entire ride back home.  I told my neighbor that I couldnt believe he wasted my time like this. I work around the clock and have no time to myself.  I spent a phone conversation, a home meeting and a Saturday meeting all because I wanted to help my non-profit friend for whom I spent weeks of my own time trying to come up with a logical plan that she could present for a grant.  The Michaels present themselves as Christian men and $500.00 seems like a little amount of money to take the risk of getting exposed so, they must be honest, right?   I have a feeling the Michaels would sell out there grandmothers to make a quarter.  They prey on the weak, desperate, or anyone questionable.  The people that spoke on their behalf are self-serving people who bought into their evil to make money.     

 If anyone is fooled by their presentation, think for one second about a few facts: 

1)  They spend their nights and weekends doing What they love to do helping other people (What?  Not at home with your family?  Thats what you preach)

2)  The people that buy in are going to these meetings on Friday nights and Saturdays (Yea, that sounds like a great life, especially when you con someone into going and by 12:15 theyre in tears.  Great investment of $500.00. Friendship = done)

3)  Whats the payoff?  So, you get your friends and family to come to your meeting and they are suckered in after a meeting like I was at today.  Your payoffyou just scammed your friends and family for $500.00. 

The only value with ACN was when you get people to buy in under you.  There was no logical tactic as to why one should just a bunch of evil people lying to you to get a measly $500.00 out of you and put pressure on you to get $500 out of your friends and family.

These men are thieves and deceivers and the women who stood up with them and for them better get on their knees and pray for forgiveness.  You stand by your man  until he leads you to evil. 

I find it hard to believe that Donald Trump is behind this.  He said it on your DVD  - but I doubt hes seen this model in action.