The problem with MLM and the reason why people do get drawn in is because some of them have a decent product behind them, and some people do make money, so the claims made by the less desirable ones are not fraudulent but are strongly exaggerated but do have figures to back up some of the claims they make.
So for instance, I have a friend who did pampered chef for about nine years and actually made money doing it. She went on the holiday incentives, the money she earned gave her the opportunity to stay at home with her children while they were younger, and there were some decent and tangible products behind the brand. But like other MLM's most pampered chef consultants do not make a decent living from it but would likely still uphold the fact that there are some decent products available, which there are, even if they're largely very expensive, but then so is Lakeland and lakeland isn't an MLM so you don't have to be a fraud to have over-priced products iyswim?
By the same terms Avon and Ann Summers, Usborn (sp?) books, Phoenix cards etc are all also MLM's but have some products which people might want to buy, and most of them have been running for years so don't need to exploit people.
However then come the juice plus, the Herbalife and the foreverliving types who need to make their broad claims based on some alleged ingredient or fad or outcome, and you only need one or two people to give a positive testimonial for individuals to think that it works. And for the people who start out at the top the sales model does work for a period at least, by which time people have been sucked in.
And there will always be one who makes money so the model continues. I know someone who has made an absolute fortune out of Herbalife, and not only that, he's lost a phenomenal amount of weight which needed to happen for him. But because he's done this he's been able to quite legitimately sell the product to a multitude of other people. By the same token however I know people who have bought the foreverliving/juice plus model and who just spout the same stuff the probably one or two people they know spout, have lost friends into the bargain and have blocked everyone who disagrees with them. They will never make money, but truth is they will probably never make money at anything they do because they haven't bothered to find out the facts behind the rubbish they're pedalling, they're just so desperate to make money because they probably have no other skills that the social side alone is likely enough.