Robert Lawrence FitzPatrick is an

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He serves as president of Pyramid Scheme Alert, a consumer organization to confront the abuses of

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly im ...

Biography

Early career

Fitzpatrick's interest in pyramid schemes was sparked in the 1980s when he joined a business with a multi-level, direct-sales model. While Fitzpatrick didn't lose money, he did witness first-hand how one could get sucked into what he called "delusional behavior".

Author

FitzPatrick is the co-author of the self-published book ''False Profits: Seeking Financial and Spiritual Deliverance in Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes'' (), a 1997 critical book that examines the multi-level marketing industry. He has followed it up with his book ''Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing''.Pyramidschemealert website
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Speaker

FitzPatrick has been featured on

Fraud Squad TV ''Fraud Squad TV'' is a Canadian half-hour documentary television series aimed at bringing awareness to the public about the global problem of fraud. The series premiered on September 24, 2007, on Court TV Canada. The show interviews real peopl ...

ABC World News ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting ...

and

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's ''Chicago Matters''. He has been interviewed live on CBC's

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

. He has been quoted in newspapers and journals, including ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

References

External links

*
Robert L. FitzPatrick Official False Profits Blog

Pyramid Scheme Alert - Homepage

* ttp://www.pyramidschemealert.org/PSAMain/resources/FalseProfits.html Robert L. FitzPatrick Interview - ZenBiz Radio
Robert L. FitzPatrick - Speech at the annual meeting of the Association of Certified Fraud Specialists in San Francisco (September, 2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Robert Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American non-fiction writers Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina People associated with direct selling