Complaint Review: Nu Skin

To Meatheadagain,
First of all, I'm not Mr. Reality, I'm Mrs. Reality. You probably thought I was someone you knew, but you're wrong. You see, Nu Skin and Ms. Sandie Tillotson have gained a lot more enemies over the years than they know about. Most of the enemies are former distributors who've had enough of the bullshit and deception. When Adam Baker's book came out it was viewed as a long overdue jab at the upper crust of Utah's Happy Valley. When his book was bullied off the web it was not too shocking, to me at least, I know what big money can accomplish. I also know what the determination of the 99% can yield... Adam Baker's book back out on the world wide web. It's found at http://mlmfu.com on Nu Skin's page.

Secondly, why wouldn't a person investigating a business opportunity check with their CPA to see if it's a viable decision? The Mormon church recommends their members to do so, why wouldn't you? My CPA told me the write-offs for MLM homebased businesses are excellent for reducing your "real" income... you know, the money you make at your day job. I asked him if anyone ever makes any money from MLM and he didn't answer. He just laughed. Now, to be fair, I know as well as everyone else that some people make money from MLM, but it's also obvious who those people are... the owners.

Last, why would I bring in the topic of stock price or board of directors? Simple, I used to own company stock in a different Fortune 500 company and was always notified of major changes and votes. After all, I was a stock holder and those board members had a "fiduciary obligation" to every stock holder. In fact, the CEO failed to honor his responsibilities and a class action suit ensued.  I was awarded a piece of the settlement. (It was small, but still the principle of the matter is the same.) Sandie mishandled her relationship with Adam Baker and he struck back the only way he could--he wrote a book. Sandie and/or Nu Skin chose poorly how to handle the book and soon a scandal arose. Now we're battling it out on Ripoffreport because someone failed to honor their fiduciary obligation. The stock price of Nu Skin fell for different reasons (David Einhorn) but have failed to regain back to where it was before. And all along the way, Sandie's husband #2 is now climbing into the next slot of trouble for Nu Skin and Ms. Tillotson. His website http://diederikvannederveen.com is still up and it's been almost three months. Why can't Nu Skin shut it down? Why can't Sandie's lawyers shut it down? Why is Mr. van Nederveen offering a reward for former distributor's stories? I think this is just getting going and Adam Baker's book is just the catalyst for bigger trouble.

I tried for the reward money on Diederik's site but I was active in Nu Skin too long ago so I didn't qualify. Anyone who dropped out of Nu Skin 2007-2012 should definitely visit his site. http://diederikvannederveen.com/reward

The cosmetic industry is like any other industry be it cars, planes, security, clothes, vitamins, name it. all are over-priced products doing the same thing. When you buy a product you buy a brand. Bobbi Brown or Loreal? Amgen or Merck? Nike or AND1? I can hear the crys "Loreal make up
remover really works" , "Bobbi Brown does have the best lip-stick products" Same applies to Nu Skin. You are buying a brand and the product line that associates with the brand. Some of these products are probably great and some of these products not so great. Seldom has any product ever been scientifically founded to be 100%. Take Prozac or anti depression drugs? Guess what? They are proven to be absolutely useless and placebo, but they still work? Go figure.

No one wants to ask which are setting up sweat shops for production? Testing on animals? Fixing of oil prices?

Business is not for everyone. There is only so much crying from the same five people on the internet over and over advising to ask a CPA about MLM. With all due respect why would anyone take entrepreneurial advice from a CPA. If your CPA had the answer they would be doing it already without telling you. Oh! Right thats why they are a CPA, imagine that

"When a woman, who is on the board of directors of a publicly traded company, decides to marry a stripper a decade and a half younger than her, and then needs to have her 'friends' try to reestablish her credibility because said husband gets upset when his silver spoon is taken away, the question needs to be asked... Why was she allowed to remain on the board of directors with a personal life that was so out of whack? Don't the shareholders have a say in the type of people allowed to be in control of the company they invest in? Actually, they do. Their voices are heard every time the share price drops like it has recently."

Voice of Reality Wow! What a sly one you are in introducing stock price into the equation. I also like how you slip in a cheap stab about Sandie being on the board too. The real question that needs to be asked is why anyone would care to ask questions about someones personal life and their board
status in a Nu Skin thread. Since when are you the RipOffReport resident stock expert? Since when have you gone without error in your personal life? Since when do you have the evidence to validate all these unfounded claims? How long have you been on the board of directors? Where is your years of research and study? What accreditation do you hold?

Last I checked Sandie is not the first or last board member, director, executive, whatever to have false claims made against.  Murdoch, Obama birthers, find someone famous and successful and you will find someone who hates them. Please tell me what to invest in next because obviously you are so imaginative about stock. How about the stock compare option HerbaLife versus Nu Skin and then following the overall economy. Does that make sense Mr. Reality. Of course it won't you have other intentions. Good luck with that.

In response to the above comment by Voice of Reason, I have a dose of Reality. It's perfectly clear that Sandie Tillotson and/or Nu Skin posted that comment to build up the character of Ms. Tillotson. Best friend you say, stand with her till the very end? I hope you don't have a boyfriend or husband because she'll soon be in bed with them. She's done it before to her 'Best Friends'. Sandie Tillotson has a long history of abusing her ex-lovers, even filing false charges, as I've found on the internet.

The book, Formerly Filthy Rich, which was removed from this original post by Nu Skin's ruthless lawyers, is still floating around out there in cyberspace. It's only a matter of time until it finds its way onto a site where it cannot be 'bought off'. These sites do exist, mind you.

The 'Blessed the lives of Millions' with the 'Force for Good' charity crap stated above is Nu Skin's way of looking good while the distributors are the ones who are paying the money to purchase items through 'Nourish the Children' (a FOR PROFIT initiative -read the fine print listed on the inside back cover of the current product catalog.)  Posing for a photo with starving children means nothing really. Now, if Sandie was to show her charitable contributions that she claims on her taxes, that would be something to defend.

As far as her claims of Sandie working so hard to get the company going, it's not true. Sandie is just the token face. Clara McDermott is really the one who was the driving force from the early beginnings. Clara is Sandie's ex-mother-in-law.

The above poster said: "What you have with this whole Adam thing is one man that "got rich
quick" without paying the price Sandie did to get there. He lived
in opulence for a while but he did not have the
emotional character forged by the journey to keep it together. He blew
it. Now he wants more $$$ and is resorting to extortion."

I guess the fact that Sandie Tillotson chose to marry a stripper and drag him into the 'opulent' lifestyle has nothing to do with it?

When a woman, who is on the board of directors of a publicly traded company, decides to marry a stripper a decade and a half younger than her, and then needs to have her 'friends' try to reestablish her credibility because said husband gets upset when his silver spoon is taken away, the question needs to be asked... Why was she allowed to remain on the board of directors with a personal life that was so out of whack? Don't the shareholders have a say in the type of people allowed to be in control of the company they invest in? Actually, they do. Their voices are heard every time the share price drops like it has recently.

The above poster says she only wanted to buy wholesale products from Nu Skin and that the 99.94% failure rate is bogus. My response to that is, even wholesale price is waaaaaaaay too much money for shampoo that makes your scalp itch and turn red. Question- does she pay the $100 a month minimum to remain 'active'? Does her friend who only wants to make a car payment pay $100 a month minimum to Nu Skin? Most likely so. Nu Skin's #1 product is listed on the first page of the catalog in the first three words--AN UNSURPASSED OPPORTUNITY. It is the product that is promoted the most often at their high pressure sales meetings and its not even a product at all, its an opportunity. If the above poster or anyone one else for that matter loved the Nu Skin products so much why don't they just buy them for the full retail price and not become part of the 99.96% failure rate. For a publicly traded company trying to appear successful alongside the other Big Boy companies, they should really be trying hard to improve the failure rate of the distributors. They could do that by encouraging people to buy retail UNLESS they really want to push the business and are properly motivated to do so. It's possible the failure rate could improve. But that's not what a Pyramid Scheme does. They are dependent on you and others like you 'buying wholesale' and paying out $100 a month.

So, before Sandie Tillotson and/or Nu Skin tries to defend her character or the company's #1 product, they might want to open their eyes to the way the rest of the world perceives them.
-Voice of Reality

It is hard to believe anyone would fall for this blatant display of extortion. Sandie is one of the kindest, most generous, and loving people I have ever met. I have had the wonderful blessing of being a long time friend of hers and would stand with her until the end. 

To me Sandie is a wonderful inspiration. She was born in very humble circumstances (her father being a carpenter in Long Island, NY). She moved to Utah at age 17 to go to BYU on an full-ride academic scholarship. After graduation she became a high-school science teacher while her first husband, and current best friend, Craig worked on the oil rigs. They both had big dreams and began to explore entrepreneurship... They chased the American dream and defied all odds by turning a little Provo company into a Billion dollar publicly traded business. Is she perfect? Who is? But she is definitely not the person this extortionist is trying to make her out to be. Along her journey she has blessed the lives of millions. One example http://www.forceforgood.org/ffg/global/home.html

What you have with this whole Adam thing is one man that "got rich quick" without paying the price Sandie did to get there. He lived in opulence for a while but he did not have the emotional character forged by the journey to keep it together. He blew it. Now he wants more $$$ and is resorting to extortion. That's illegal by the way... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion

Adam never mentions that Sandie still takes care of his kids financially... Not out of a court order but because she loves those kids. She has even given each one of his kids a college/schooling fund. One of his daughters used these funds to go through hair school. Oh, and she has had all of Adam's kid over for Christmas ever years since the divorce.

----

Now about Nu Skin. People have sited 99.6% as a failure rate of some kind. That is also untrue. I joined Nu Skin years ago, not to make me a millionaire, but so I could get products at wholesale. I didn't want to keep bugging Sandie for product :-) It doesn't cost anything to sign up as a distributor.

So technically I am a distributor (part of the 99.6%) but like the majority of distributors in the company, I joined to get the products at wholesale. And I love the products! My experience with Nu Skin has been a complete success despite my lack of Nu Skin millions.

I know other distributors that joined Nu Skin to make a car payment or a house payment. These people would also fall under the "failure" category despite having reached their individual goals. Individual success does not necessarily require making the kind of money the .4% makes.

In conclusion, Sandie is an amazing mother, grandmother, and friend. She is up on a pedestal because of her success and people "throw rock and thing that shine." I love Sandie with my whole heart.

My friends alerted me to the fact that my original post has been altered. Adam Baker's book, Formerly Filthy Rich, was removed from this posting without any notice of why. No formal arbitration statement in the title, no court order listed, nothing. This is a perfect example of abusive power since the Rip Off Report is known for its strict policy of not removing posts only allowing rebuttals. Nu Skin lawyers could have simply produced evidence to counter Adam's claims but they did not making Adam's claims ever more plausible. This is an obvious violation of freedom of speech and I'm shocked that RoR bowed down to the Nu Skin bullies. Regardless of what the 99% has to say, no matter how crude, the 1% is able to shut it down with money and power because they think the 1st Amendment doesn't apply to them.

According to Jon Taylor, who commented on this blog, the second husband has been working on his story and is back in the States and working with his editors to finalize the book. Hopefully he'll have better luck with his efforts.

My sister was a major Nu Skin distributor in Toulouse, and Paris France. I write was because she quit after reading this story. Half of the people in her downline quit and that was the end of what she thought was a great business.

The last opportunity meetings were filled with people arguing about the impact this story has had on their business. It lead to many of the attendants to research the industry which confirmed many of Adam's but especially the information given by rebuttal posters.

I lived in Philadelphia for sixteen years and know the American culture well. This kind of story has a strong impact on the perception people have of MLM, the Nu Skin company and particularly, Sandy and her family. I don't understand how this has been possible to ever happen. Are these Mormons really this sick and crazy?
The more I read the more I am forced to come to that conclusion!

I found a web site: www.josephlied.com and couldn't stop reading. My husband too became incensed and simply forbade me to ever use or bring the product in to the home ever again.
Not that I have used their products consistently but I did like some of their skin care stuff. Be it that most of theirs is nothing revolutionary. Just as overpriced and ineffective as most of anything you'll see anywhere.

I too did my research on the business part of the company and learned that the CPA who posted earlier is right. The true chances of making any money are dismal and I am surprised that it is still legal for Nu Skin to operate and present their business as an actual opportunity when their own numbers say that less that 0.06% of the people make money.

I will be looking close at how this develops. Finally I like to add, if any politician in France would ever say he or she believed in a treasure hunting pedophile to the order of Joseph Smith he or she would be removed from public office or never be elected to begin with. For that man Romney to actually be taken serious is one of the things that makes America great and on the other hand makes people weary of the level of idiocy that is common practice in American politics: anything goes!
Nu Skin should ask Sarah Palin to become their corporate speaker since that would complete the lunacy.

I found these articles that deal with Nu Skin and some of what Adam Baker talked about in his book. Underneath the personal relationship that Adam and Sandie had lies the heart of the whole issue... the Nu Skin empire.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/mitt-romney-nu-skin-mormon-church
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/jon-huntsman-pyramid-scheme-mlm

Isn't it funny how a multi-billion dollar company and their political associations can fly under the radar until one of their prominent public figures goes slumming and picks up a stripper, gives him the world and then yanks it out from under him and his children's feet creating a viscious vendetta seeking lunitic which inadvertently exposes the ugly side of big corporate dealings?

I've been following this story since Adam launched his book. This has interested me since I know Adam and many of the Tillotson family members. It's absolutely sickening how this has been handled by the good 'ole boys of Utah. I'm glad BJean took it upon him/herself to bring this to light after it was buried and then put it high enough out of the reach of Nu Skin and their lawyers. Now that's freedom of speech!

I wonder how Sandie's current boyfriend, Gary Scott, is handling this whole ugly mess. I checked out his website http://dolomiteswalkingtours.com/about-the-Dolomites-vacations and found many beautiful photographs filled with Sandie Tillotson and her children endorsing his site. Interesting that she takes such ownership in his success. When they breakup she will most likely handle everything similar to how she dealt with Adam and make sure his business suffers or even fails. Does this man understand how truly screwed he is?  (Check out this heartfelt letter from Adam's nine year old son pleading to not be evicted at Christmas time by Sandie after Adam remarried. http://www.squidoo.com/christmas-scrooge

Most of my friends and acquaintances who have been in Nu Skin or personally know Sandie would love to post on this Ripoff Report but they're afraid to with good reason.

I receive this question a lot: 'shall I sign-up in any of these MLM deals and expect to make mney?
My answer has always been: 'Only if you want to waste money to become part of a social club that preys
on others to sell the illusion to make money.'
 
Asking me or any other CPA will produce the same result: 'Nu Skin is not a viable business investment.'
Their own numbers (which they are obliged to publish) tell a story of grand theft.
 
Essentially all NS does is take money through clever deception and then, in order to look good,
give some of it (partly tax free) to a charity that has the greatest tear jerk impact which in turn will attract
ever more gullible souls to pluck from, etc.
 
The argument that NS 'gives more than other MLM companies' maybe true but they do so because they
are able to take more at the other end. What ever they 'give' pales in light of what the owners seem to
be spending on consumables. I too read Adam's book and did some research and found that Sandie is
not alone in gross, personal over spending.
 
Also, 8 years ago my son took a summer job working for the father of a school friend who assigned him to mow
and weed at Nedra and Blake Roney's home down in the Provo area. All I can say is that what he reported
does not support their claim to be altruistic people. People who give while restricting their personal consumption
of goods and services. Charity to them is a grand show designed to be part of the recruiting game.
 
No matter how you twist and turn the intelligence, more than 99% lose out and the relatively few who make a profit
do it on the back of those who lose, being urged to bleed their 'warm-market' first.
I strongly object against these type of scams and it didn't take me long to decide if I wanted to comment on this report.
 
I challenge anyone to prove me wrong and know that you will be up against 99.99% of all CPA's
 
Kerry C. CPA, Kearns, UT

Here are two links to what Sandie Tillotson feels is the true Christmas Spirit(better have a tissue handy): http://bookburninginamerica.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-saved-one-of-blogs-thank-goodness-for.html
http://bookburninginamerica.blogspot.com/2011/11/evictions-at-christmas-favorite-holiday.html

Be sure to check out the other stories on that site.

Re: cwilder, Craig Tillotson was not husband #2, Diederik was.

I did some further investigation and found some more info on these other husbands. Here's an active link to, Diederik Van Nederveen's acting on Acapulco Heat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaW_ewnByGQ This guy is currently ranked #1 on BeautifulPeople.com, I wish I had a billion dollars so I could buy one. I wonder why they divorced?

Husband #2, Craig Tillotson, is Nu Skins top distributor and in the team elite group. He is the owner of Pirates Cove in Boulder NV, an extremely lavish retreat/home. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-2bXMOLCiI&feature=related

I think most of the book is true, if not all of it. Why else would Sandie Tillotson and her lawyers go through such extremes to keep a lid on it. I agree with the other consumer that there's two sides to every story, or in Sandie's case, three ex-sides. The first is the top distributor for Nu Skin so I really don't think he'd say anything bad about her. I googled the second husband and found out he was a movie star http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaW_ewnByGQ .  I sent an email to the address listed at the end of the video asking for his take on Adam Bakers book, but no answer yet.

I read the book and really am having a hard time believing everthing the author wrote. He mentioned two other husbands prior to his marriage to her and I have to wonder if Ms. Tillotson is such a bad wife why havent her other ex-husbands spoken up too. There's always two sides to every story and I have to wonder how much of Adam's side was purposfully left out of the book. It is curious though why this book was removed from the internet and Lulu.
 
Many years ago I signed up in Nu Skin, thought I'd be swimming in money soon, didn't work. I guess I didnt have enough family and friends to signup. Products were overpriced and no one could afford it so I gave up. According to Adam Baker, the biophotonic scanner was all a scam anyway. If even half of the contents of this book are true, it paints Sandie in a disasterous light. But without other confirming sources, Adam's book is just another tell-all.

Do we live in the United States of America or the United States of Nu Skin? I want to know what the court order said that would have given the authority to remove this book. The courts were never involved with this debacle or else Adam would have had to appear in his own defense and that hasn't happened according to a friend of mine who's in the know. I smell a national news feeding frenzy.