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 highlights the company's deceptive practices.
Since 2004, only 56 Herbalife victims in New York have been brave enough to file complaints against the company. Most victims are afraid of betraying family, friends, and neighbors.
The 56 victims that have filed complaints reported nearly $1 million in financial losses ranging from $90 to $100,000. The average amount loss was approximately $20,000.
Over 60 percent of new members make initial investments larger than the required $60 to $100 for the new member kit. The average initial investment is $1,800, but some are as high as $10,000.
Herbalife distributors purport that supervisors can make as much as $20,000 in monthly income.
Of 56 complaints analyzed, only eight victims received a check directly from Herbalife for their royalty claims. The average amount was $100.
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.