FTC, Washington File Proposed $225 Million Settlement With Amway, WWG and LTD

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Washington have filed a proposed $225 million settlement involving Amway Corp., World Wide Group, L.L.C. (WWG), and Leadership Team Development Inc. (LTD), according to the FTC's September 17, 2026, announcement.

The proposed resolution would address allegations that the defendants misled prospective participants about potential earnings and encouraged participants to purchase products without sufficient consumer demand, while establishing new requirements governing aspects of Amway's business opportunity.

According to the FTC, the complaint and proposed order were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington following a 2-0 Commission vote authorizing the filing. The supplied order contains an unsigned judicial approval line, meaning the documents establish the filing of the proposed resolution rather than entry of the order by the court.

Under the proposed order, the defendants neither admit nor deny the allegations, except as specifically stated in the documents, and admit jurisdictional facts solely for purposes of the action.

Allegations About Recruiting and Product Purchases

The complaint describes WWG and LTD as Amway-approved providers that recruit Independent Business Owners (IBOs) and sell training to them.

The FTC and Washington allege that the groups promoted their training as important to success while teaching participants to purchase recurring amounts of Amway products and recruit others who would make similar purchases.

According to the complaint, the alleged system encouraged purchases intended to generate compensation-related points rather than purchases driven by genuine consumer demand.

The regulators also allege that prospective participants were given misleading impressions about an exclusive opportunity to receive guidance from financially successful mentors. According to the complaint, recruiters could offer the opportunity to individuals who followed specified instructions, while the mentors were allegedly not as financially successful as represented.

The complaint further alleges that Amway expanded a customer-sales reporting system in 2021 that was vulnerable to manipulation. According to the regulators, training-group leaders subsequently instructed IBOs to report sales that had not actually occurred.

Earnings Claims and Participant Results

The earnings allegations described in the complaint compare recruiting presentations with reported participant results.

According to the complaint, median Amway bonuses in 2023 were $139 before expenses. For IBOs who joined WWG and LTD between 2020 and 2023, the complaint states that both average and median bonuses were below corresponding training expenditures through March 2024.

Those figures concern bonuses and training expenses and do not constitute a complete calculation of participants' net income.

The regulators allege that representations suggesting participants could replace employment income or retire early did not accurately reflect the likely financial outcomes for participants.

Proposed Monetary Relief

Section VIII of the proposed order specifies monetary relief of:

• $154,700,000 against Amway;
• $39,780,000 against WWG and Amway, jointly and severally; and
• $26,520,000 against LTD and Amway, jointly and severally.

Under the proposed order, Amway, WWG, and LTD would respectively be required to make those payments to the FTC within seven days after entry of the order.

The documents state that Kelley Drye & Warren LLP holds the designated funds in escrow for payment to the Commission.

The proposed order separately provides for a $4 million payment to the State of Washington. That payment would be made within 30 days after entry of the order and could be used for costs, attorney fees, monitoring, enforcement, and other purposes permitted under Washington law.

The FTC announcement states that nearly all of the monetary relief would be directed to IBOs recruited by WWG and LTD who lost money.

The proposed order permits the use of funds for consumer redress and related administrative expenses. It also provides for alternative related relief where direct redress is impracticable and directs unused funds to the U.S. Treasury.

The FTC said additional information about any redress program would be provided later.

Compensation and Sales Controls

The proposed order would require eligible customer sales to represent at least 70% of each participant's monthly product volume, measured using product point values.

That volume would include participant purchases and credited online customer sales. Falling below the required threshold would reduce the business volume credited toward certain benefits.

The proposed order would also prohibit upline credit for a new participant's unsold purchases during the first six full months. After that period, specified proportional reductions would apply to upline credit.

The proposed order would require customer registration and detailed transaction records.

For offline transactions to qualify as eligible customer sales, participants would have to report them within 72 hours, including the actual amount paid and the payment method. Amway would then be required to send receipts within 24 hours after receiving those reports.

Recruiting would require prior sales to at least three eligible customers and completion of required training.

Corrective Actions and Independent Auditing

The proposed corrective-action provisions distinguish between participant ranks.

Following an investigation establishing specified false-sales conduct, Amway would be required to terminate participants at the Platinum qualification level or above.

Other participants would face suspension for at least one month and retraining for a first instance, with termination required following a second instance.

The proposed order would also require an independent auditor to be appointed within 120 days after entry of the order. The auditor would assess customer and sales records and provide annual reports for 10 years.

Disclosures, Refunds and Implementation

The proposed order would permanently prohibit misleading representations concerning potential earnings and require reliable substantiation for income claims, including implied claims conveyed through lifestyle imagery.

Required disclosures could not present averages without corresponding median information or provide earnings information without accurate information about relevant expenses.

The FTC announcement also states that Amway would be required to prevent approved providers from charging new IBOs for training or services during their first year.

Under the proposed order, participants and former participants would be eligible for full refunds, including applicable taxes and fees, for qualifying unsold products purchased within the preceding 12 months. Amway would also be required to pay applicable return shipping costs.

The compensation, recruiting, refund, and impermissible-benefit provisions would take effect nine months after entry of the order and remain effective for 10 years after entry.

These deadlines are tied to entry of the proposed order by the court rather than to the initial filing of the documents.

Procedural Status

The FTC and Washington State allegations described in this article are allegations contained in the filed complaint. The proposed settlement and proposed order are not the same as a final judgment entered by the court.

As of the filing described by the FTC, the proposed order remained subject to the judicial process. The defendants' agreement to the proposed resolution does not, by itself, constitute an admission of the allegations except where the documents expressly provide otherwise.

Amway also confirmed on its official newsroom that it had entered into a settlement agreement with the FTC and the State of Washington.

MLM Globe will update this report if the court enters the proposed order or if the parties publish additional substantive statements concerning the matter.