Vi-Tel Wireless Review and Profile

Vi-Tel Wireless no longer appears to be active as a direct sales company.

The original U.S. Vi-Tel Wireless network-marketing company is no longer active. It ended as a stand-alone operation in 2013 when its distributor organization and vendor relationships were transferred to Shopping Sherlock.

Original Npros business profile for Vi-Tel Wireless, preserved below for archival purposes:

Vi-Tel Wireless LLC was a Spring, Texas-based direct-selling company founded in January 2010 by Scott Rogers and James Pearson. Rogers served as chief executive officer, while Pearson served as chief operating officer. Rather than operating its own cellular network, Vi-Tel functioned primarily as a customer-acquisition and reseller platform for established third-party service providers. Independent representatives received replicated online stores through which they could market wireless phones, prepaid and postpaid cellular service, 4G internet access, satellite television, home-security systems, energy services and prepaid debit-card products. The company also developed a cellular bill-payment portal and the Vitel Benefits Network.

Vi-Tel's independent representatives earned commissions from customer purchases and service activations, along with multilevel compensation generated by recruited representatives. Historical plan materials listed three participation levels: Agent at $29.95 per month, Executive at $59.95 per month and Platinum at $99.95 per month. The organization used six achievement ranksâ€"Marketing Representative, Team Leader, Area Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, National Sales Executive and Regional Vice Presidentâ€"with advancement based on accumulated team volume and the development of qualifying leaders in separate downline legs. Five percent of company commissionable volume was allocated to a quarterly profit-sharing pool for qualifying National Sales Executives and Regional Vice Presidents.

In 2013, Vi-Tel introduced a $35 unlimited wireless plan, relaunched its prepaid cellular portal and added ViSocial, a social-media marketing platform priced at $69.95 per month. The company also announced financing from Gries Investment Fund. Despite these initiatives, management concluded that the business could not continue growing independently. In August 2013, Vi-Tel announced a merger with Shopping Sherlock, which absorbed its distributors and vendor relationships. By September 4, 2013, the Vi-Tel website had been taken down and redirected visitors to Shopping Sherlock. Rogers stated afterward that Vi-Tel had approximately 10,000 distributors and 500,000 customers at the time of the transition, although those figures were company-reported and were not independently audited.

Vi-Tel and its principals were later named in a private debt lawsuit filed by Williams Holding Corporation on January 29, 2015. A 2021 Texas State Securities Board order recounting Scott Rogers' financial history stated that the federal court entered summary judgment against Rogers on February 11, 2016, and ordered him to pay $295,669.39 over an unpaid promissory note. Rogers filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 9, 2016, and received a discharge on September 22, 2016. The securities order concerned later businesses operated by Rogers; it did not accuse Vi-Tel Wireless itself of securities violations.