National Consumers League Statement on FTC Investigation of Herbalife – National Consumers League
March 12, 2014
Contact: Sally Greenberg, Executive Director, National Consumers League, (202) 631-2301, sallyg@nclnet.org or John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud, (202) 835-3323, johnb@nclnet.org
Washington, DC – The National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, today welcomed the news that the Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation of Herbalife, one year to the day after NCL originally called for such action. The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:
“We applaud the Federal Trade Commission for opening this important investigation. In early 2013, NCL met with representatives of the Direct Selling Association, Herbalife and Pershing Square Capital Management to examine questions about the legality of Herbalife’s business model and whether consumers recruited to sell products for the company were victims of a pyramid scheme. Unfortunately, these meetings did not alleviate our concerns. Subsequently, NCL asked FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a letter dated March 12, 2013 to open an investigation to determine whether Herbalife is a legitimate multi-level marketing company, as the company claims, or an illegal pyramid scheme.”
“The beneficiaries of today’s action will be the millions of consumers who purchase and try to earn money selling Herbalife’s products. This is an important step and we commend the FTC for its action.”
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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
