On June 2, 2025, Maple Mountain Group, Inc., the former parent company of the MLM firm Modere, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada, as revealed in an August 2025 court filing related to a lawsuit by former Modere employees, per. Signed by Thomas Avila, the company’s Sole Director and Chief Restructuring Officer, the petition highlights a sharp financial downturn, with no revenue reported since February 1, 2025, per. In the 90 days prior to filing, Maple Mountain spent $6.1 million, including over $1 million on legal and consulting fees, $245,305 to Emily Gibson Coaching (a network marketing coaching firm), and $65,000 to the Direct Selling Association, per. The exact debt to creditors remains undisclosed, but the filing signals severe insolvency, per.
Modere, a Utah-based MLM selling wellness and beauty products, collapsed without warning in April 2025 after 23 years in operation, leaving distributors and employees in limbo, per. Under former President Nate Frazier, who vanished around the closure, Modere was sold to Shaklee Corporation in May 2025 for an undisclosed amount, acquiring trademarks, patents, formulas, manufacturing equipment, and inventory for key products like Liquid BioCell Collagen and Trim, per. Shaklee, a 100-year-old wellness pioneer, integrated these assets, making products available from May 28, 2025, via its ambassadors and website, per. This move preserved customer access but raised questions about Modere’s hidden financial woes, per.
In the wake of Modere’s collapse, a group of top promoters, including Tony Zolecki, Brandy Sinoto, and Jake Berg, launched Nueva, a pre-launch MLM promising peptides, travel business, and wellness products, per. Described as “divinely led” in Zoom pitches, Nueva features a compensation plan and clinical research claims, but lacks products and raises red flags as a potential rebrand of Modere’s model, per. Reddit discussions in r/antiMLM label it a “pyramid scheme,” with critics noting the rapid pivot from Modere’s failure, per. Nueva’s launch, teased in April 2025, targets former Modere affiliates, but its success remains uncertain amid MLM scrutiny, per.
The bankruptcy underscores risks in the MLM sector, where Maple Mountain’s spending on coaching and associations highlights unsustainable practices, per. Former Modere employees are suing for WARN Act violations, seeking 60 days’ notice and wages for ~160 staff, per. Shaklee’s acquisition ensures product continuity, but lawsuits against ex-executives like Justin Prince persist, per. No direct crypto ties, but MLM’s overlap with wellness scams like OnPassive ($32M SEC settlement) warns investors, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) are unaffected, per CoinMarketCap. Diversify into USDC or ETH with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for MLM updates. Nueva’s trajectory could signal MLM evolution or more failures in 2025, per.
