Equinox International was a multi-level marketing

Multi-level marketing

Multi-level marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation...

 organization, headed by William Gouldd. In the early-to-mid-1990s, Equinox was one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It had its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

.

Beginning in 1996, Equinox came under scrutiny for a number of improprieties and illegal acts, including deceptive recruitment tactics. Numerous individuals had filed criminal and civil complaints against Equinox, claiming the firm had swindled them out of money.

On 25 April 2000, the Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...

issued a notice that Equinox International had settled the court case with a penalty of $40,000,000 in restitution to the victims of Equinox International.

Additionally, Gouldd, the principal of Equinox International, was forced to liquidate many of his possessions, and is furthermore barred for life from participating in any network marketing organization in the United States.

Equinox International dissolved in 2001.