Two of AdvoCare’s top promoters also settled with the FTC for $4 million, most of which was suspended, based upon their inability to pay, and were also banned from multi-level marketing. They also agreed to a ban from all multi-level marketing.

AdvoCare and its former chief executive agreed to pay $150 million to compensate some distributors and buy back unsold inventory from distributors who chose to leave. The majority of distributors either made no money or lost money. According to the FTC, AdvoCare rewarded distributors for recruiting other distributors to spend large sums of money pursuing the business opportunity. AdvoCare did not admit to or deny allegations but did agree to change how they did business. In October 2019, the FTC ruled that Advocare had operated as an illegal pyramid scheme. He had previously served as Chief of Staff for US Representative Jim McCrery. Wright became president and CEO of AdvoCare. Ragus was in training camp with the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s. He had initially founded the MLM company Omnitrition International in 1989. Before founding AdvoCare, Ragus worked as a regional vice president for Fidelity Union Insurance, and as a MLM distributor for Herbalife. The name AdvoCare is short for 'Advocates Who Care'. The company, headquartered in Richardson, TX, was founded in 1993 by Charles Ragus.Ĭharles Ragus founded AdvoCare in 1993 as a multi-level marketing (MLM) company to distribute dietary supplement products. They are a direct sales company and a former multi-level marketing company that was charged with operating a pyramid scheme.

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