A series of court cases has resulted in nine women in the Bristol area being convicted of conning about £20m from friends and family by running an illegal pyramid scheme:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nine-convicted-of-multi-million-pound-pyramid-promotional-scheme
I started to take an interest in this story back in 2008 when it was reported in the Daily Mail. I feel sorry for all the people who have been conned out of their money.