Trek Alliance South Carolina Marketing Group

October 2001
By a former Trekkie

Trek alliance is not a legitimate business [sic]. While I was being recruited into their elaborate scam, I ignored the red flags that kept popping up around me.

The first red flag was very obvious. None of their "branches" has the name "Trek." The particular branch, which I dealt with was called "The Carolina Marketing Group." It was explained to me that they do it this way so they can give the office some local flavor. Personally I think it is because when you type "Carolina Marketing Group" into a search engine nothing comes up, but if you type in Trek, watch out.

After doing some initial investigating, I found that one of the founders of Trek had been arrested for sexually assaulting another Trek member. This was after I listened to what a great family man he was.

I had just moved to NC after graduating from college. I have a degree in Sport Management and saw an add in the paper that said "Sports Lovers." I thought to myself this would be perfect. But soon I found out that the job had nothing to do with sports, just the concept of a "team."

My fiancé was already working and I was desperate to contribute, help pay bills and such. They used this to their advantage. They asked questions that had no relevance to a job interview. What kind of car did I drive? What did my parents do? What did my fiancé's parents do?

The Trek people told me the only investment that I needed to make was a $50.00 for a starter kit. But what about all the products you have to buy in order to make any money?

My fiancé came to one of their meetings and immediately saw right through it. But it took me another couple of weeks to finally see the light. I only wasted about $150.00, but if I were there any longer it would have been much worse.

My advice to anyone if someone comes to them pushing Trek Alliance products, is to run in the opposite direction as fast as you can.