Texas Couple Gets 40 Years Each for $30 Million Pyramid Scheme

A Texas couple has been sentenced for running an illegal pyramid scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The defendants’ pyramid scheme victimized more than 10,000 people across the country and inflicted more than $30 million in victim losses.

How the BINT Pyramid Scheme Operated

The Texas couple was sentenced to 40 years in prison each for running a fraudulent chain-referral pyramid scheme, following their convictions by a jury on conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges in January 2026.

READ MORE: East Texas Police Bust Multi-State ATM Crime Ring

Prosecutors Describe a Pandemic-Era Fraud Scheme

According to Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Deva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, “At the peak of the pandemic, LaShonda and Marlon Moore launched an investment fraud scheme and cheated struggling Americans out of $30 million. Opportunistic fraudsters like the Moores belong in prison.”

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How Participants Were Promised 800% Returns

The Moore's used a polished image and a reality TV appearance to build trust, but behind the scenes, they built a deceptive pyramid scheme with fake ‘playing boards’ and false promises of 800% returns.

LaShonda Moore, 38, and Marlon Moore, 39, of Frisco, Texas, co-founded and ran “Blessings in No Time,” known as “BINT,” an illegal chain-referral pyramid scheme that targeted victims during the COVID‑19 pandemic from June 2020 to June 2021.

Victims were promised an 800% return on each $1,400 investment and were guaranteed a refund if they were unsatisfied.

The Moore's promised the “blessing” payments would be paid back eight-fold within a few weeks.

The defendants structured the scheme around "playing boards" that had positions for participants on four levels: eight Fires, four Winds, two Earths, and one Water. Once eight new participants were recruited to fill all eight Fire positions on the playing board, each Fire was directed to “bless” or pay at least $1,400 to the participant in the Water position.

Participants who reached the Water level received eight payments totaling more than $11,000. After a Water participant received his or her payment, other participants at lower levels would move up one level on the playing board and then be required to recruit new participants into the Fire positions to perpetuate the scheme.

To profit from the scheme, the defendants placed themselves in positions on the playing boards so that they received many of the ultimate payments, and they otherwise diverted substantial money to themselves that was paid by the participants.