Ascendra scam warning: just a pay-to-play pyramid scheme

Ascendra operates in the insurance MLM niche.

To find out who runs Ascendra on its website, you need to check the FAQ section;

This information could definitely be better presented.

Both Ascendra CEO Jurgen Gonzales and CSO Joseph Lim are linked to the AIM Global pyramid scheme.

Jurgen was AIM Global’s VP for Business Development. Lim was a “Hall of Fame” promoter for AIM Global.

Jurgen announced his departure from AIM Global on May 28th, 2025:

Joseph Lim announced his departure a day later on May 29th:

AIM Global, also known as Alliance in Motion Global, is a Philippines pyramid scheme run by Eduardo Cabantog (right).

Regulatory enforcement actions have been taken against AIM Global in Vanuatu, Pakistan, and Uganda.

Despite being around since 2009, Philippine authorities have yet to take action.

Ascendra’s website domain (“ascendrabusiness.com”) was privately registered on June 26th, 2025.

At the time of publication, there appears to be an issue with Ascendra’s website homepage. It currently redirects to “take.app,” which appears to be a service provider.

Both Ascendra and its executives are based in the Philippines.

Read on for a full review of Ascendra’s MLM opportunity.

Ascendra’s Products

Ascendra does not offer any retailable products or services.

Promoters can only market the Ascendra promoter membership itself.

Ascendra promoter membership provides access to life insurance plans from an undisclosed provider. Coverage appears to be limited to the Philippines.

There are two tiers of Ascendra insurance:

• Basic – P3500 a month

• Premium – P5000 a month

Ascendra promoters can also purchase supplements from an undisclosed origin:

• O-Mega Life (salmon oil supplement) – P1600
• Barley Fusion (barley supplement) – P900 for two pouches
• Best Barley (green barley supplement) – P600 for two pouches

Ascendra’s Compensation Plan

Ascendra does not provide a copy of its compensation plan to consumers on its website.

The following breakdown is compiled from various Ascendra corporate presentations on YouTube.

Ascendra Promoter Ranks

There are twelve promoter ranks within Ascendra’s compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

1. Associate – sign up as an Associate promoter
2. Builder – sign up as a Builder promoter
3. Consultant – sign up as a Consultant promoter
4. Director – sign up as a Director promoter
5. Executive – sign up as an Executive promoter
6. Prime Partner – not disclosed
7. Lead Partner – not disclosed
8. Senior Partner – not disclosed
9. Managing Partner – not disclosed
10. Enterprise Partner – not disclosed
11. Brand Partner – not disclosed
12. Legacy Partner – not disclosed

Recruitment Commissions

Ascendra promoters are paid per affiliate they recruit.

Recruitment commission rates are determined by how much an Ascendra promoter pays when they sign up:

• Associate tier promoters receive P1700 on the recruitment of an Associate, P1900 for a Builder, P3000 for a Consultant, P6000 for a Director, and P10,000 for an Executive
• Builder tier promoters receive P1700 on the recruitment of an Associate, P3500 for a Builder, P4500 for a Consultant, P8500 for a Director, and P15,500 for an Executive
• Consultant tier promoters receive P1700 on the recruitment of an Associate, P3500 for a Builder, P9000 for a Consultant, P12,000 for a Director, and P20,000 for an Executive
• Director tier promoters receive P1700 on the recruitment of an Associate, P3500 for a Builder, P9000 for a Consultant, P22,000 for a Director, and P30,000 for an Executive
• Executive tier promoters receive P1700 on the recruitment of an Associate, P3500 for a Builder, P9000 for a Consultant, P22,000 for a Director, and P40,000 for an Executive

Residual Commissions (binary)

A binary compensation structure places a promoter at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):

The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).

Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as needed, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.

Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of promoters. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.

At the end of each pay period, Ascendra tallies up new sales volume (BV) on both sides of the binary team.

BV is generated by purchases made by promoters directly and indirectly recruited into the binary team:

• recruitment of an Associate tier promoter = 600 BV
• recruitment of a Builder tier promoter = 1000 BV
• recruitment of a Consultant tier promoter = 3200 BV
• recruitment of a Director tier promoter = 8000 BV
• recruitment of an Executive tier promoter = 10,000 BV
• Best Barley supplement purchase = 7 BV
• Barley Fusion supplement purchase = 10 BV
• Omega Life supplement purchase = 15 BV
• Basic insurance plan subscription = 20 BV a month
• Premium AI subscription = 35 BV a month

Residual commissions appear to be paid as 25% of 40,000 BV matched on both sides of the binary team.

Residual Commissions (unilevel)

Ascendra appears to pay residual commissions via a unilevel compensation structure.

I say "appears" because Ascendra’s compensation presentation doesn’t really make much sense:

BV values on the left are easy enough to follow, but how commissions are actually paid out (percentages?) is not disclosed. It’s just a confusing chart all around.

Matching Bonus

Ascendra pays a Matching Bonus on binary and unilevel residual commissions.

Binary commissions match

• Builder and Consultant ranked promoters earn an 8% match on level 1 (personally recruited promoters)
• Director and Executive ranked promoters earn a 10% match on level 1
• Prime Partner through Senior Partner earn a 10% match on level 1 and 5% on level 2
• Managing Partner through Legacy Partner earn a 10% match on level 1 and 5% on levels 2 and 3

Unilevel commissions match

• Executives and Prime Partners earn a 10% match on level 1
• Lead Partners earn a 10% match on levels 1 and 2
• Senior Partners earn a 10% match on levels 1 to 3
• Managing Partners earn a 10% match on levels 1 to 4
• Enterprise Partners and higher earn a 10% match on levels 1 to 5

Lifestyle Fund

Ascendra’s Lifestyle Fund requires ranked promoters to meet certain criteria in order to receive Lifestyle Fund rewards:

• purchase 100 PV and generate 2400 BV a month and receive a monthly “shopping” fund
• purchase 200 PV and generate 3200 BV a month and receive a monthly “gadget” fund
• purchase 400 PV and generate 4800 BV a month, rank at Consultant or higher and receive a monthly “travel” fund
• purchase 600 PV and generate 9600 BV a month, rank at Executive or higher and receive a quarterly “car” fund
• purchase 1000 PV and generate 19,800 BV a month, rank at Senior Partner or higher and receive a quarterly “luxury car” fund
• purchase 38,400 PV and generate 1500 BV a month, rank at Brand Partner or higher and receive a bi-annual “property” fund

Lifestyle fund tiers appear to be qualifiable consecutively, meaning promoters keep previous qualifications as they rank up.

Note that specific Lifestyle Fund tier values are not disclosed.

Joining Ascendra

Ascendra promoter membership costs between P8500 and P199,800:

• Associate – P8500
• Builder – P17,500
• Consultant – P45,500
• Director – P110,500
• Executive – P199,800

The more an Ascendra promoter spends when they sign up, the higher their income potential.

Ascendra

Ascendra is a typical product-based MLM pyramid scheme. It seems Jurgen Gonzales and Joseph Lim realized there’s always more money in owning a pyramid scheme than being stuck in one.

Newly recruited Ascendra promoters sign up with a fee. The more they pay, the higher their income potential.

Although this is evident in Ascendra’s compensation plan, it’s also openly admitted on Ascendra’s website:

This is "pay to play," one of the strongest indicators of an MLM pyramid scheme.

New Ascendra promoter fees trigger recruitment commissions for whoever recruited them. Recruitment fee volume also feeds into residual commissions, funding Ascendra’s compensation plan.

After the initial joining fee, monthly commissionable volume is then generated via supplement purchases or an insurance subscription, creating residual recruitment commissions.

Things get quite ridiculous at Ascendra’s Executive tier, easily enabling inventory loading:

As with all MLM pyramid schemes, once recruitment dries up, so too will commissions.

This will lead to those at the bottom of the Ascendra pyramid scheme eventually stopping their forced monthly purchases.

In turn, this will cause those above them to stop getting paid. Unless new recruits are found quickly, these promoters will also eventually cancel their monthly purchase.

Once enough recruited Ascendra promoters cancel their monthly purchases, an irreversible collapse is triggered.

Pyramid schemes are illegal in the Philippines according to The Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act 7394).

Additionally, math guarantees that when an MLM pyramid scheme inevitably collapses, the majority of participants lose money.