TwoAmerican companies that marketed themselves as online trading schools just gotslapped with multimillion-dollar penalties in Poland. Regulators found thatiGenius and International Markets Live weren't really selling education. Theywere paying people to recruit new members, which is textbook pyramid schemeterritory.Poland Just Busted Two"Trading Education" Companies for Running Pyramid SchemesThe Officeof Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) found that iGenius andInternational Markets Live structured their business models around recruitmentrather than actual education sales. This crosses the line from legitimatemulti-level marketing into pyramid scheme territory, which is banned underPolish and EU law.Bothcompanies marketed themselves as online trading schools, but investigatorsfound the real money came from signing up new members. The compensationstructures rewarded building recruitment networks more than teaching people totrade."Pyramidschemes rarely call themselves investment systems anymore," said TomaszChróstny, president of UOKiK. "Their creators learned from past mistakesand act smarter. They promise fast paths to financial freedom through internetlivestreams and training sessions."Expertshave noted that tradingeducation often involves conflicts of interest that need better regulatory oversight,particularly when compensation structures incentivize recruitment overeducation quality.How the Schemes ActuallyWorkediGeniusoperated through igeniusglobal.com, charging between $100 and $1,500 formonthly access to investment training materials. The company pushed userstoward its affiliate program, which required ongoing subscription payments toearn commissions.The catch?Your income depended mainly on how many other people you could convince to signup, not on the quality of education you provided or courses you sold.Promotersflooded social media with luxury lifestyle posts and promises of millionairestatus. UOKiK says this reflects typical pyramid scheme tactics that emphasizerecruitment rewards over actual product value.InternationalMarkets Live ran a similar operation through im.academy, recently rebranded asiyovia.com. The company sold courses on forex, crypto and e-commerce. Memberspaid upfront fees plus monthly subscriptions to become "IndependentBusiness Owners" who earned commissions mainly by building recruitmentnetworks.UOKiK'sinvestigation found both platforms structured compensation to reward bringingin new members rather than selling education services. This violates Polishconsumer protection law, which bans promotional systems where material benefitsdepend primarily on recruiting participants instead of moving products.Modern Pyramid SchemesHide Behind EducationInstead ofobvious investment pitches, today's schemes offer access to trading tools, AIalgorithms, secret strategies or guru mentorship. They hostprofessional-looking events that create an illusion of legitimacy.Butparticipants often discover the courses are low-quality materials availableonline for a fraction of the price. The real emphasis falls on recruitment andmaintaining distribution structures. The biggest earnings come from buildingyour downline, not from any trading knowledge you gain.Poland hastaken consumer protection seriously across fintech platforms. The countrypreviously fined PayPal$27.3 million forambiguous user agreements that made it hard for customers to understandprohibited activities and penalties.Part of a Larger PatternThese casesfit into a troubling trend in the trading education space. OmegaProdefrauded victims of over $650 million by promising 300% returns through"elite forex traders" while executives simply pocketed cryptocurrencypayments. The operation used lavish promotional events and even projected theirlogo onto Dubai's Burj Khalifa.Belgium'sfinancial regulator previously warned aboutInternational Markets Live, noting it specifically targeted younger people poorly educated abouttrading risks. The regulatory action in Poland represents an escalation fromwarnings to enforcement.Crypto MLMschemes have cost victims hundreds of millions, with the US Federal Trade Commission settlingcharges against promoters for $500,000. Even fake YouTubetrading gurus have run Ponzi schemes worth $18 million by using their channelsto lure investors.Going After Promoters TooUOKiK isn'tjust targeting the companies. The agency currently has six cases runningagainst people who promoted iGenius and three against International MarketsLive advocates.UnderPolish law, promoting a pyramid scheme is just as illegal as running one. Thisapproach makes sense because these schemes only function when regular peoplebecome recruitment agents.Theregulator is also investigating other suspected pyramid operations including BEPoland, GrowUp Session, Eaconomy and Jifu. UOKiK has issued public warningsabout multiple platforms and notified law enforcement agencies about itsfindings."Weregularly track, expose and eliminate this type of activity," Chróstnysaid. "But nothing replaces consumer vigilance and common sense."Thedecision against iGenius remains subject to appeal. International MarketsLive's ruling became final after the company stopped its prohibited practicesin May 2025. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.