pyramid scheme
py·ra·midsc·heme
noun
1.
a fraudulent scheme in which people are recruited to make payments to the person who recruited them while expecting to receive payments from the persons they recruit; when the number of new recruits fails to sustain the hierarchical payment structure the scheme collapses with most of the participants losing the money they put in
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.