Was NC Democrat a pyramid scheme ‘queen’? Facts behind allegation in Charlotte Senate race
A Republican candidate in a competitive North Carolina Senate race is targeting her opponent with claims she scammed consumers as part of an illegal pyramid scheme shut down by the Federal Trade Commission over a decade ago.
Stacie McGinn’s claim is a reference to Democrat Woodson Bradley’s involvement with Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, where she served as one of the company’s top 11 earners and as a platinum sales manager, according to a LinkedIn page for Woodson Gardner, a name Bradley uses in her current Instagram page. The FTC shut down the company in 2013 for deceiving consumers, many of which came from Spanish-speaking and immigrant communities, by telling them they could earn income for selling products and recruiting other members, according to an FTC press release.
“Before purging her LinkedIn account of all references to FHTM, Bradley claimed to be one of those chosen few at the top of the pyramid. In federal court filings by the FTC and North Carolina, she is mentioned by name multiple times.” McGinn said in a statement. “So I ask you, as business men and women — not as Democrats or Republicans or Unaffiliated voters — if you were hiring one of us based on our relevant experience, who would you choose?”
Mailers sent out by the North Carolina Senate Majority Fund and authorized by McGinn’s campaign call Bradley “pyramid queen.”
“Bradley’s pyramid schemes were shut down by the FTC and fined over $1 million for scamming consumers,” one mailer states.
Bradley’s campaign called the accusation completely false, as Bradley was not a party in the case by the FTC against FHTM and was just a contractor, not an owner, of the company.
“This claim insinuates that Woodson was an owner of FHTM and a party in the case against the company. Woodson was an independent contractor. Woodson was never an owner of FHTM, never held a management position with FHTM, and was never a party in the case against FHTM,” Bradley’s campaign manager Wesley Davis said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “The claim that Woodson defrauded anyone is objectively false and a distraction from McGinn’s ties to (Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson) and their extremist policies.”
The District 42 race between McGinn and Bradley is one of the tightest in the region as Democrats aim to break the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly. A composite of votes cast between 2016 and 2022 show the district, which covers areas of south Charlotte, Matthews and Mint Hill, to be 47.7% Republican and 50.1% Democratic, according to Dave’s Redistricting.
Bradley’s involvement
Bradley listed herself on LinkedIn as a “platinum sales manager” at the company, a title that requires participants to have a downline of at least 636 participants, according to court documents.
A news release from McGinn’s campaign links to two videos of Bradley speaking in front of crowds about her experience with FHTM and urging others to join the company.
“But why not you?” a video shows Bradley asking a crowd from on stage in 2012. “Why not? ‘I just don’t know if it’ll work for me,’ Probably because you’re questioning whether or not it’ll work for you. Why not you? Go do this.”
Another video posted on FHTM’s YouTube account in 2012 shows Bradley talking about her career trajectory and success with FHTM. In the video she discusses the community and friends she found with FHTM and the positive impact it had on her family.
“This was priceless, and we found a home,” Bradley said. “We will never go anywhere else and we will be so passionate about sharing this with people.”
FHTM was shut down the year after these videos were uploaded. A court determined that participants in the company had to pay significant start-up costs and monthly fees to sell FHTM products, and more than 98% lost more money than they made. Most income made by participants, documents state, was made by recruiting other people to join the company. Bradley is referenced in court document footnotes on more than one occasion including as an example of someone who shared an image on Twitter of a mock-up check for millions by the company, but was not a party in the case from the FTC.
“Operations like this claim to offer career success and high earnings,” Gov. Roy Cooper told WBTV in 2013. “But the reality is that only the few at the top make money, and they make it at the expense of new recruits who end up losing.”
Davis, Bradley’s campaign manager, told the Observer the ads and claims by McGinn’s campaign are an effort to distract from real issues. The District 42 race should be about policy, he said.
“McGinn’s campaign for State Senate is solely focused on misleading and disingenuous attacks against Woodson Bradley to distract from her ties to Mark Robinson and their extremist policies,” he wrote in an email. “Woodson is a dedicated community leader and advocate for women, children, and families.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Was NC Democrat a pyramid scheme ‘queen’? Facts behind allegation in Charlotte Senate race."
