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A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

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Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#23

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

A relatively close-knit, high-trust society, with a lot of housewives eager to make themselves some money in a socially acceptable way?

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#24

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

Completely anecdotal but this might be related to the notion of it being the MLM capital as well. Most marry young and settle down quickly. The notion of a housewife being able to contribute monetarily is infatuating. This coupled with the fact that Mormons (typically) are trustworthy of insiders means frauds and MLMs can spread virally.

Entire communities would get caught up in the latest herbal essence MLM.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#25

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

I used to be Mormon, I think Mormon culture is the main reason. This article seems to describe the reasons well: https://religionnews.com/2017/06/20/10-reasons-mormons-domin...

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#26

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

No post body was provided.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#27

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

I lived in Utah. There’s plenty of MLMs and Ponzi schemes due to the religious culture. Oils, beauty products, blankets, weight loss solutions, workout pants, you name it.

There are many stay at home mothers who get involved in these schemes to make a few dollars here and there. They end up buying plenty of product up front and not being able to sell it.

Hope that helps.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#28
post #25

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

I used to be Mormon, I think Mormon culture is the main reason. This article seems to describe the reasons well: https://religionnews.com/2017/06/20/10-reasons-mormons-domin...

Likewise. All negative or positive aspects of the religion aside, the geographical aspect to Mormon congregations build affinity networks quickly. This is both an asset (it can integrate you into a community quickly) while also being a liability (more MLM and Ponzi schemes).

I learned this weekend this geographic designation for local congregations is shared among the Amish, where congregation (to my understanding and happy to be corrected) are between 20-40 families.

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#29
Very interesting article and it's worth considering how even though we can easily recognise these stories as being laughably fake these days, it's worth keeping in mind that fearmongering stories like this continue to be peddled to people with certain prejudices, and the only thing that's really changed since then is its shape and approach

Re: A Mormon housewife turned a fake diary into an enormous best-seller

#30

> Utah, reputed to be the fraud capital of America; the state is estimated by some to boast a Ponzi scheme for every hundred thousand people Small tangent, but does anybody in Utah have insight into why this might be? This is bewildering to me.

I lived in Utah. There’s plenty of MLMs and Ponzi schemes due to the religious culture. Oils, beauty products, blankets, weight loss solutions, workout pants, you name it. There are many stay at home mothers who get involved in these schemes to make a few dollars here and there. They end up buying plenty of product up front and not being able to sell it. Hope that helps.

It does, thank you. I hadn’t considered the stay at home moms.
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