Hedge fund titan William Ackman has been trying to prove that Herbalife is a nutrition/supplement based pyramid scheme for years. With all his billions, Ackman can’t make his Herbalife charge stick. (So far, anyway.) Maybe Ackman should hire Al Jazeera. The FTC announced this week that Vemma Nutrition has been shut down for “deceptive and unlawful acts and practices.” The energy drink and supplement company was found to be a pyramid scheme preying on young people.
The Al Jazeera news organization first exposed Vemma in October of 2014, publishing a long investigative “in-depth look at multilevel marketing” written by Laura Rena Murray. There are approximately 1,400 multilevel marketing companies operating in the US today, according to Pyramid Scheme Alert. If journalist Murray every grows weary of crusading for justice, she’s probably got a very lucrative job waiting for her at Ackman’s hedge fund. Thanks to her, Ackman can now borrow one of Vemma’s taglines (which doubles nicely as a billionaire’s mantra): “It’s all within your reach. The choice is up to you!”
