Some promoters of pyramid schemes use Black Lives Matter to justify ‘sou-sou’ scams

Promoters of illegal “sou-sou” pyramid schemes, some using the Black Lives Matter movement to snare victims, want Black folks to believe their participation is for a good cause.

To do this, promoters are misappropriating the sousou name that has its roots in Caribbean and West African communities. Some are using efforts to build wealth in the Black community, such as the BLM movement, to pitch an unlawful pyramid structure.

Typically, a sou-sou involves a small group of people who all know one another or members of a family who pool their money in an informal savings club. Participants may agree to contribute a set amount of money on a weekly or monthly basis and take turns getting a payout. Eventually, everyone gets back only what they put into the sou-sou. There’s no interest paid or triple-digit return guaranteed.

Familiar with the practice from her native Ghana, Alberta, now living in Virginia, decided to try the American version, which promised that she would receive $3,500 in four weeks after putting in $500 — a 600% return. Participants have to recruit at least two people.

Alberta, who asked that her last name not be used for fear of reprisal, said weeks after she was promised her payout, she’s still waiting for her money. So are three other people she persuaded to join, unaware that it was an illegal pyramid scheme.

“I feel so stupid,” Alberta said in an interview. “I feel so bad for the people that I brought into it.”

Alberta shared a text message from an organizer explaining why she and others have not been paid.

“Nothing is happened or happening bc people have failed to bring in their two people,” the message said. “Which is the ONLY WAY the flower will move and people will get blessed . . .”

For my part in exposing the uptick in illegal sou-sou schemes, I was accused of not supporting efforts to uplift the Black community.

“I get it that you work in corporate america and part-take in the racist banking system ran by this country,” one reader emailed. “However it is clear that you are just another ‘corporate’ type person (back in the day you would have been called ‘a house . . . [n-word]).’ “

That’s rich. Disparaging me for trying to prevent others like Alberta from losing their hardearned money.

Here’s a Q&A to explain why you should avoid one of these pyramid schemes. : What’s the difference between a traditional sou-sou and an illegal pyramid scheme?

: A traditional sou-sou does not promise profit to its members, says Kati Daffan, an assistant director in the Federal Trade Commission’s division of marketing practices.

What many people are being pitched is an imitation sou-sou or “susu,” Karen Hobbs, assistant director in the Division of Consumer and Business Education for the FTC, wrote in a recent blog post.

“These kinds of illegal pyramid schemes are the exact opposite of a sou-sou: They promise you’ll make more money than you put in and depend on recruiting new people to keep money flowing into the fund. Like all other pyramids, once they run out of recruits to bring into the club, the money dries up, leaving everyone waiting for