Government is set to crack down on get-rich-quick advertisements and pyramid schemes.

The schemes -- currently proliferating in Bermuda -- will be banned after new consumer protection legislation goes to Cabinet next month, officials said yesterday.

"At the moment pyramid scheme programmes are not illegal here,'' said Consumer Affairs Officer Karen Marshall. "The new legislation will rectify that.'' Also set to end are the days of companies being secretive about their financial affairs.

"We want 100 percent truth in lending,'' said Mrs. Marshall. "Businesses will have to be completely up front, no longer will they be allowed to hide information and only tell part of the truth. There will be full exposure.'' The comments came as The Royal Gazette probed the legitimacy of Rick C. Ernst, who has several local distributors selling his Richer Life Program through his International Coaching Institute.

Distributors pay up to $2,500 for a set of 24 audio cassettes and a book on Mr. Ernst's "Proven Principles of Prosperity''. They then are sent ads to place and postcards to mail.

Each distributor is given a personal ID number which they include in their ad.

When responding to the eyecatching ads, which promise lots of cash for little work in a short span of time, the caller must use the ID number listed.

Some of the ads require a long distance phone call while others have local numbers where a recorded three minute message includes testimonials from Bermudians; Delores Thomas, Francis Jeffers, Jenna Phillips, Jason Cross and Brenda Raynor, who all claim to have made significant financial gains.

A second call to a number given in the recorded message, puts you in direct contact with someone in the US who advises sceptics to go directly to Jeans Plus in the Washington Mall and talk to Delores Francis who they say has made so much money that she quit her regular job.

A Royal Gazette reporter posing as a customer called Delores Francis. She insisted "there's no catch'' to the scheme and although she started back in December, she maintained timing had nothing to do with her success.

"I didn't know anybody in it when I started, I took a leap of faith and it paid off for me,'' she said.

Crackdown planned "We've been conditioned to think that we have to work very hard for money but many of us have been working very hard for over 40 years and all we have is stress.'' Freely claiming to have made well over $10,000 after just a few weeks as a distributor, Delores Francis said she gave up her full-time job.

She noted that when last she checked, 137 Bermudians were on board as distributors and she was quick to point out that the market is not limited to Bermuda.

"I don't place ads here any more'' she revealed. "I am placing some in Caribbean islands and Canada. The ads are actually cheaper there.'' And according to Rick C. Ernst advocate, Delores Francis is only one of many locals and Americans raking in the money. There is also a report of a local man who made $7,000 before his sign-up cheque even reached The International Coaching Institute.

The commercial crime unit of the Bermuda Police Service revealed they have had several calls inquiring if the Richer Life Program is a scam, but to date they have had no complaints.

Ms Marshall has had a similar experience. Both the Police and the Consumer Affairs Officer said they have been advising the public that the programme is of the pyramid type and warn that it is more likely that distributors will lose money, than make any significant gains.

Inquiries in Florida, where Mr. Ernest is based, revealed no warrings against him. Nor is his programme listed with any of the National consumer agencies contacted by The Royal Gazette .

Consumer protection legislation does exist in the US and often pyramid schemes, which are technically legal in Bermuda, are illegal in the US.

Mrs. Marshall noted that the legislation Bermuda is looking to implement will be modelled along that used in the US, Canada and Britain.

Once it takes effect, what is now the Consumer Affairs Bureau, will become a "Consumer Protection Agency'' explained Mrs. Marshall, which will monitor advertising and truth in advertising and enforce the law.

Consumer Protection Inspectors who will be responsible for this monitoring will have to be hired to supplement the current staff, she added.

Offenders will face fines and/or other penalties.

Mrs. Marshall also pointed out that in addition to the new legislation, several other Acts will be brought up to date. She warned that the amendments could be a lengthy process and noted that her department will be working very closely with 16 others to achieve them.