It didn’t take long for Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) to respond to the report about the latest investigation of its business practices. Today we learned that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office has begun its own investigation of the controversial multi-level marketing company. Her office is just the latest to launch a probe into the big question: Is Herbalife a pyramid scheme, as Bill Ackman and others claim it is?
Herbalife remains confident in Illinois business
After the report of the Illinois investigation, Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) issued the following statement on its website:
“We have more than 15,000 members and many more thousands of satisfied customers in Illinois. We will continue to provide the outstanding products and services that they have come to expect from Herbalife over the past three decades. We will always support the good work of our members.
“We are confident in the integrity of our longstanding business and the Company’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We look forward to working with the Illinois Attorney General’s office to resolve the consumer complaints it has received.”
Herbalife investors take it all in stride
At this point, Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) investors pretty much take everything in stride. The number of agencies which are investigating the nutritional supplements company is growing quite rapidly, and there’s always the chance that even more state attorneys general will follow suit. The Federal Communications Commission and the FBI are also investigating claims that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme which preys on low income minorities.
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) continues to deny these claims and states with each investigation that it will work with investigators to take care of the complaints agencies have received. Bulls seem intent on believing that the company will be proven innocent of the allegations, while bears continue to side with Bill Ackman in his short of it.
When he first announced his position in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), the activist investor said its shares would fall all the way to zero after officials exposed it. Until recently, it appeared as if Ackman was fighting a losing battle, but now, things could be starting to shift his way—unless, of course, investigators from all of these agencies side with Herbalife.
