Herbalife Disputes Report of Criminal Probe

FTC releases loads of documented complaints, but may not be an actual investigation

Herbalife said Monday that it is not aware of a law enforcement investigation reported by the New York Post.

The newspaper said late Sunday night that it found out about the investigation after the Federal Trade Commission released documents containing 192 complaints against Herbalife from the past seven years. The complaints, which reportedly included false promises made by Herbalife and difficulty the company's distributors had collecting income they were owed and getting refunds, were released by the FTC in response to a Freedom of Information Law request by the newspaper. But the FTC, reported the Post, said it didn't have to give out "information obtained by the commission in a law enforcement investigation." The agency's documents did not say whether the probe was criminal or civil, according to the Post's report.

The nutritional supplements distributor, which has also been defending itself against a hedge fund manager's accusation that it is a pyramid scheme, fired back later in the day.

"Other than the voluntary dialogue with regulators, which we communicated on our January investor day, we are unaware of any other regulatory interest and/or investigation. We are demanding a correction from the NY Post," the company said in a statement.