Amway and Affiliates Agree to $225 Million Settlement Over Earnings and Recruiting Claims

September 18, 2026

Amway FTC settlement — Amway and affiliates World Wide Group and Leadership Team Development have agreed to a $225 million settlement with the FTC and Washington state over allegations involving earnings representations, recruiting practices and product purchases by Independent Business Owners. Nearly all of the monetary recovery is expected to provide redress to IBOs recruited through WWG and LTD who lost money. Busurmanov/Shutterstock

Amway Corp. and two affiliated groups have agreed to pay $225 million to resolve allegations that people recruited into the multilevel marketing business were misled about potential earnings and pressured to buy products and training that could cost more than they earned.

The Federal Trade Commission and Washington state announced the action September 17 against Amway, World Wide Group, L.L.C. (WWG) and Leadership Team Development Inc. (LTD).

According to the FTC, the monetary relief represents the largest recovery the agency has ever obtained in an action against a multilevel marketing company. Nearly all of the $225 million is expected to provide redress to Amway Independent Business Owners, or IBOs, recruited through WWG and LTD who lost money.

The companies neither admit nor deny the allegations under the stipulated order, except as specifically stated in the order for jurisdictional purposes.

Regulators Say Some Recruits Were Promised Substantial Income

Amway sells nutritional supplements, energy drinks, beauty products, household products and other goods through a direct-selling structure.

Participants, known as IBOs, can sell Amway products and recruit additional people into the business.

But the FTC and Washington complaint alleges that prospective and existing IBOs received misleading messages about how much money they were likely to make.

According to regulators, some participants were told they were likely to earn substantial income exceeding $40,000 annually or could eventually replace the income from a full-time job or retire early.

The complaint alleges that most people who joined Amway through WWG or LTD after 2020 instead spent more on Amway products and training than they received from Amway.

FTC Says Participants Were Pressured to Buy Products

Regulators also challenged the role that IBOs’ own purchases played in the business.

According to the complaint, WWG and LTD taught participants to purchase set amounts of Amway products every month, regardless of whether they actually wanted the products or could resell them to customers.

The FTC alleges that recruits were then encouraged to bring additional people into the organization and teach them to follow similar purchasing practices.

The complaint further alleges that Amway sold more than three-quarters of its U.S. products in recent years to its own IBOs rather than outside customers.

Regulators contend that many participants eventually stopped pursuing the business after discovering that monthly product expenses could exceed the bonuses they received.

Complaint Alleges Some IBOs Were Told to Report Sales That Didn’t Happen

Another part of the government’s case concerns how customer sales were recorded.

The FTC and Washington allege that IBOs were instructed to report Amway products as sold even when no genuine customer sale had occurred.

According to the complaint, that could make the business appear more focused on retail sales to customers rather than purchases by participants within the organization.

The government’s allegations also extend to training sold through WWG and LTD.

Regulators say those organizations marketed training and support services as important to succeeding with Amway while leaders could receive income connected to those training systems.

Settlement Would Require 70% of Product Volume to Come From Customer Sales

The proposed $225 million stipulated order doesn’t only require monetary payments.

It would substantially change how Amway’s compensation system treats product purchases.

Under the order, at least 70% of an IBO’s monthly product volume would have to come from qualifying sales to eligible customers. Compensation to participants and their uplines would be reduced when that requirement isn’t satisfied.

The order also establishes detailed requirements for documenting customer sales, including reporting certain offline sales promptly and providing customers with receipts.

Amway would be required to terminate participants who fake customer sales or teach other IBOs to do so.

New IBOs Would Get Their First Year of Training Free

The order also addresses the training programs sold to Amway participants.

Amway would have to require approved providers such as WWG and LTD not to charge new IBOs for training or services during their first year.

Participants would also have to receive required training before they could begin recruiting other IBOs.

The proposed order calls for Amway’s sales records to undergo regular audits by an independent outside auditor.

Together, the provisions are designed to place greater emphasis on documented sales to actual customers rather than product purchases made by people participating in the business opportunity.

Most of the $225 Million Is Expected to Go to IBOs Who Lost Money

Nearly all of the monetary judgment will be used to provide redress to IBOs recruited by WWG and LTD who lost money, according to the FTC.

However, affected participants shouldn’t assume they need to submit a claim immediately.

The agency says information about its redress program for the case will be provided later.

Former and current IBOs who believe they could be affected may want to preserve account statements, records of product purchases, training expenses, bonus payments and other documentation while waiting for additional instructions.

The FTC’s official Amway case page is the safest place to watch for updates about the case and any future refund process.

The Settlement Still Requires Court Approval

The FTC and Washington filed the complaint and stipulated proposed final order in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The Commission voted 2-0 to authorize the action.

The FTC notes that filing a complaint means the Commission has reason to believe the defendants violated or are about to violate the law and that bringing the action is in the public interest; it isn’t itself a judicial finding that every allegation is true.

Stipulated final orders carry the force of law once approved and signed by a federal district court judge.

For people considering any multilevel marketing or direct-selling opportunity, the case also provides a useful financial reminder: compare realistic earnings with the complete cost of participating, including required or strongly encouraged product purchases, training, events and other recurring expenses, rather than evaluating the opportunity solely on advertised income examples.