Are the Birch Gold Group Scammers?

• The Birch Gold Group is a trading firm that offers trading services and education to help clients become successful with trading.
• The firm claims to help its clients achieve trading success using fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and news trading.
• The Birch Gold Group (BGG) is a commodity trading firm that claims to help its clients become successful with trading through a variety of methods, including fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and news trading.

The Birch Gold Group (BGG) is a commodity trading firm that claims to help its clients become successful with trading through a variety of methods, including fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and news trading. The company claims to have over 14,000 clients worldwide, which include celebrities, royalty, and professional athletes.

The Birch Gold Group Ponzi Scheme

The Birch Gold Group Ponzi scheme uses multi-level marketing, or MLM, to recruit new participants. MLM is a business model where participants make money by recruiting others into a scheme.
MLM schemes can be legitimate; however, they are also a business model that relies heavily on recruitment, which can be a fraudulent strategy.
MLM schemes present a double whammy for the investor. First, investors have to buy products just to participate in the scheme. Second, new recruits have to recruit unrelated parties into the scheme, which means that investors have to spend money on recruiting new investors.
Birch Gold Group uses MLM to recruit new participants. The MLM business model is exploitative, and Birch Gold Group appears to be running a scam.

Does Birch Gold Group Have a Legitimate Business?

Birch Gold Group, Inc. (BGG) is a legitimate business that markets bullion and metals. The company has been in business since 2005 and is one of the more established precious metals dealers in the United States.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives the company an A- rating. There are a total of 16 customer complaints filed against the company in the last 12 months, and two of these complaints have been closed in the last 12 months.
Birch Gold Group has a Better Business Bureau rating of A+. There are 13 customer reviews, 12 of which were negative.
Birch Gold Group has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. There are 32 customer reviews, 31 of which are negative.

Is Birch Gold Group a Pyramid Scheme?

The Birch Gold Group's website says the company offers members the opportunity to earn money by selling precious metals. The website also claims the company has been in business since 1996.
However, a review of the company's BBB (Better Business Bureau) page shows an "F-" rating. The BBB's website also shows 4 complaints filed against the company in the last 3 years. In 2018 alone, 60 complaints were filed.
A representative from the BBB also confirmed that the company has not been accredited since 2015.
The Birch Gold Group's website also claims that the company is "highly regarded" by the mainstream financial press. However, a search of major news outlets like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Bloomberg Business Week turned up no articles about the company.
Finally, the company's website also claims the company is registered and licensed in 43 states. The BBB website, however, shows that the company is not registered or licensed in any state.

Is a Ponzi Scheme a Pyramid Scheme?

The Birch Gold Group scam appears to be more of a pyramid scheme than a Ponzi scheme. The Birch Gold Group, like many online investment programs, offers high returns through recruiting new participants. These recruits, in turn, recruit new members, and so on.
Participants make payments on the promise of high returns, but pay their real money to new members. The promise of high returns may entice participants to initially invest, but, as new members are added to the scheme, the promised returns eventually fail to materialize.
Pyramid schemes are illegal and can result in severe penalties for those involved.

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The Bottom Line

While Birch Gold Group may be legitimate, it's hard to tell because the firm doesn't list its address, phone number, and ownership on the website.
Because the site is so poorly designed, it's difficult to even find the FAQ section or contact information. The BBB gives the company an F rating, and 1,150 complaints are listed on the BBB website.
The BBB also notes that the company doesn't list a physical location and that the owner couldn't be reached by phone.