I can't imagine why:
"Ackman Herbalife Probe Said To Include Outside Consultant" by Patricia Hurtado and Duane D. Stanford, Bloomberg News March 14, 2015
NEW YORK — The long-running US probe of Herbalife Ltd. and of possible manipulation of its stock by billionaire fund manager Bill Ackman has extended to one of his firm’s outside consultants, people familiar with the inquiry said.
The FBI is investigating a contractor, Global Strategy Group, hired by Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP and whether false statements were made to regulators, said two people familiar with the matter. Ackman and his firm haven’t been served with a subpoena, the hedge fund manager said.
US prosecutors in New York, the FBI, and the Federal Trade Commission have been looking into the dietary supplement maker’s marketing practices. Ackman accuses Herbalife of misleading distributors, misrepresenting sales, and selling a commodity product at inflated prices. His fund bet $1 billion against Herbalife’s shares.
Ackman Friday said he was aware some of his contractors were contacted by the FBI in connection with his firm’s investment against Herbalife.
“A handful of the people that have been hired, that work for them, have been interviewed by the FBI,” Ackman said in an interview on CNBC. “I was aware that representatives of Global Strategy Group had received subpoenas from the Department of Justice and that had given interviews.”
Global Strategy Group, a government relations firm, said Friday in an e-mailed statement that it’s cooperated with the inquiry and isn’t its target.
“GSG has never made false statements about Herbalife,” Matt Canter, a senior vice president at Global Strategy, said.
Herbalife has lost about half its value over the past year, hurt by the FTC investigation. Ackman claims Herbalife’s reliance on independent distributors for its nutrition products constitutes an illegal pyramid scheme.
While Herbalife has repeatedly denied the allegation, the probe has added pressure on the business to adopt more conservative sales practices.
Jim Margolin, a spokesman for Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, declined to comment on whether there was a probe. Chris Sinos, an FBI spokesman, also declined to comment on it. The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Herbalife’s business can’t survive, Pershing Square said in an e-mailed statement. More than 1,000 US victims have come forward, it asserted.
“We are proud of our work over the past two years exposing the pervasive victimization by Herbalife of millions of people and would welcome any scrutiny of those efforts,” the fund said. “We have been completely transparent about our position and our research.”
Herbalife has spent more than a year denying Ackman’s accusations. In that time, the company has won allies, including billionaire Carl Icahn, who has become its largest shareholder.
Herbalife said Thursday in a statement it was confident in the strong fundamentals of its business model.
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Never really Herrt him, did it?
