• If Herbalife Was a Pyramid Scheme, It Would Have Collapsed By Now

    One of the most common arguments used against those who deem multi-level marketing companies pyramid schemes, is that pyramid schemes collapse. Because Herbalife hasn’t collapsed, it must not be a pyramid scheme. Because the company has avoided total collapse for […]

  • Herbalife Does Not Track Retail Sales

    This little gem is courtesy of Shortzilla, a Seeking Alpha contributor. In a 1986 Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction against Herbalife in California, the company agreed to the following: B.  defendants shall be in compliance with this Section 5, as […]

  • Bill Ackman on His Herbalife Short

    Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) has been hit by a short seller again. Earlier this year it was David Einhorn simply asking questions about the business. This time it is Bill Ackman calling Herbalife a pyramid scheme and laying out his case. […]

  • Multi-Level Marketing or Pyramid Scheme?

    Recently Bruce Craig, a retired lawyer from the Wisconsin Department of Justice in the area of consumer protection, published an interesting article on multilevel marketing: An Investor’s Guide To Identifying Pyramid Schemes. The controversy surrounding Herbalife (NYSE: HLF), and initiated […]

  • Stopping Crystal Cox’s Harassment and Extortion

    Last week Marc Randazza, his wife Jennifer, and his daughter Natalia filed suit against “investigative blogger” Crystal Cox in United States District Court in Nevada. The suit is a treasure trove of tales about a nutty blogger who fancies herself […]

  • Crystal Cox: Still an Extortionist

    Last week, an arbitration panel issued a decision in favor of Marc Randazza and Randazza legal group in a dispute with “investigative blogger” Crystal Cox. You may recall that earlier this year, Crystal Cox was up to her old tricks […]

  • Kevin Trudeau and the First Amendment

    Kevin Trudeau is a charlatan with a colorful history of interaction with the authorities. Over and over, he has been found misleading consumers via infomercials (his main method of self-promotion), but now he would have you believe that he’s just […]

  • Multi-Level Marketing Companies and Pyramid Schemes

    For decades, muti-level marketing companies like Amway, Mary Kay, Herbalife, Avon, and Usana have fought against being labeled as pyramid schemes. They say that pyramid schemes are illegal, and that their MLM business format is perfectly legal. My definition of […]

  • On Buying a House During Bankruptcy

    Recently, watchers of the MckMama train wreck were treated to the news that blogger Jennifer McKinney has bought a home. This lovely home in West Salem, Wisconsin, was most recently on the market at $289,900. Jennifer “MckMama” McKinney bought the […]

  • What Milwaukee Public Schools REALLY Spends Per Child

    Today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on an analysis of school spending. According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau called Public Education Finances: 2010, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) had 82,096 students in 2009-2010, revenue of $1.27 billion (p. […]