Former AdvoCare distributors who accepted an FTC refund in 2022 are receiving a second payment in October 2026, part of 170,571 checks and PayPal payments totaling more than $11.4 million. The payments are automatic; there is no claim form and no new application.
What Was Announced?
The Federal Trade Commission is sending a second round of refunds to people who lost money as AdvoCare distributors. Its refund page, updated in October 2026, says it is sending 170,571 payments totaling more than $11.4 million. Payments are going out by check and PayPal.The second round goes only to people who accepted their first AdvoCare payment. That first distribution began in May 2022, when the FTC announced more than $149 million in payments to more than 224,000 people. The refund page now says the first round returned more than $137.8 million.
Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
Who Is Getting Paid
Not every former AdvoCare distributor qualified for the original refunds. According to the FTC, eligibility generally depended on having reached the company’s Advisor level, having spent much more on products than was received in rewards, and meeting other criteria.The second round narrows that group further to people who accepted the first payment, for example by cashing the 2022 check or accepting the PayPal payment. The FTC has not opened a new claim process, so a former distributor who was not paid in the first round has no way to join this one.
The FTC gives totals rather than individual amounts. Divided evenly, the second round would come to roughly $67 per payment, but that figure is arithmetic, not an official amount, and the FTC does not say whether payments vary by person.
Background: The FTC’s 2019 Pyramid Scheme Case
The FTC sued AdvoCare International, L.P., a Texas-based multi-level marketing company that sold health and wellness products such as its Spark energy drink, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in October 2019. The agency alleged that AdvoCare operated an illegal pyramid scheme in which distributor income depended on recruiting rather than retail sales.According to the FTC, distributors paid $59 to join, and reaching Advisor status, which was required to earn every form of compensation, typically meant spending $1,200 to $2,400 a year on products. The FTC alleged that the company and its top promoters made exaggerated income claims, and it said that in 2016, 72.3% of distributors earned no compensation at all.
AdvoCare and its former chief executive, Brian Connolly, settled by agreeing to a $150 million judgment and a permanent ban on multi-level marketing. Two top promoters, Carlton and Lisa Hardman, agreed to the same ban and a $4 million judgment to be suspended upon their surrender of substantial assets. The FTC has said the AdvoCare refunds come from settlements reached before the Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the agency could no longer obtain money in federal court under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act.
Payment Deadlines and Scam Warnings
The FTC says checks should be cashed within 90 days and PayPal payments accepted within 30 days. Payments not cashed or accepted in that time may expire. The refund administrator is Analytics Consulting, LLC; the FTC’s refund page lists its contact details and links to the agency’s refund FAQ.The FTC has said it never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund. Under that policy, a request for a fee or account information in connection with an AdvoCare payment would not come from the FTC’s program.
Questions
Who receives the second AdvoCare refund payment?
The FTC says the second round goes only to people who accepted their first AdvoCare refund payment, which began in May 2022. Eligibility for the original refunds generally depended on having reached AdvoCare’s Advisor level and having spent much more on products than was received in rewards, along with other criteria.
Can former AdvoCare distributors who were not paid in 2022 apply now?
The FTC has not opened a claim form or application for the second round. Payments are going to people identified from the first distribution as having accepted their first payment.
How much is each second-round AdvoCare payment?
The FTC gives only the totals: more than $11.4 million across 170,571 payments. Divided evenly, that would be roughly $67 per payment, but the FTC does not say whether individual amounts vary, so that figure is arithmetic rather than an official amount.
How long do recipients have to cash an AdvoCare refund?
According to the FTC, checks should be cashed within 90 days and PayPal payments accepted within 30 days.
Where does the AdvoCare refund money come from?
It comes from the 2019 settlement of the FTC’s case alleging AdvoCare operated an illegal pyramid scheme. AdvoCare and its former chief executive agreed to a $150 million judgment and a ban on multi-level marketing. The FTC has said the refunds come from settlements reached before a 2021 Supreme Court ruling limited its ability to obtain money in federal court.
Sources
- FTC — AdvoCare refund program — second-round totals, eligibility and deadlines (October 2026)
- FTC press release — first-round payments (May 5, 2022)
- FTC press release — AdvoCare settlement (October 2, 2019)
- FTC case page — AdvoCare International, L.P.
