This morning Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) was charged criminally for paying bribes to Chinese officials. The action is related to criminal liability under FCPA (U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act). The company disclosed in an SEC filing today: Herbalife violated the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA The …
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver devoted this week’s episode to multi-level marketing. Although he uses quite a bit of humor in his presentation, his analysis of MLM is spot on. Multi-level marketing companies are pyramid schemes, plain and simple. MLM is not a business. It doesn’t matter what product …
I’ve been telling you for years that multi-level marketing is NOT about selling products. It’s about recruiting people into a fake opportunity. The products are the “front,” meant to make MLM look like a legitimate business. In reality, very little product is retailed to actual consumers. Instead, it’s sold to …
Last week a video was posted to YouTube showing Herbalife CEO Michael Johnson talking about recruiting. Herbalife had the video pulled from YouTube on the basis of copyright infringement. That is most certainly a bogus claim. I’m not an attorney, but I’m smart enough to understand the concept of fair …
This week New York State Senator Jeff Klein and Public Advocate Letitia James issued a scathing report on multi-level marketing company Herbalife (NYSE: HLF). The report, The Amercian Scheme: Herbalife’s Pyramid ‘Shake’down, is based on complaints filed by 56 Herbalife victims. It definitively calls the company a pyramid scheme and …
In light of the recent shutdown of multi-level marketing company Vemma (following allegations that it is a pyramid scheme),there has been much discussion of Herbalife. Is it a more legitimate MLM, or is it a pyramid scheme like Vemma and others that have been shut down before it (BurnLounge, Fortune …
In a video released this week, Pershing Square (the hedge fund that exposed the Herbalife fraud) contrasts Herbalife’s public statements about the “business opportunity” with the statements made behind closed doors. Herbalife claims to offer “the best business opportunity on the face of the earth.” But the reality is that …
Multi-level marketing companies that advertise shakes and potions designed to help you lose weight and get healthier are generally all guilty of the same offense: Distributors making false health claims. The products are generally terrible for losing weight and maintaining the weight loss. And the health benefits are nothing more …
I have researched multi-level marketing companies for nearly a decade. During that time, I came to the conclusion that the vast majority of participants fail. What does that mean? 99% or more lose money. Since the participants are largely getting in because of the “business opportunity” to “earn unlimited income” …
I talk frequently about how almost everyone loses money in multi-level marketing schemes. Companies like Mary Kay, Herbalife, Amway, and Avon want you to believe that money is being made from retailing the products. They say they are not pyramid schemes because they have legitimate products that can be sold …
