June
08, 2015, 01:00 pm
Pyramid scheme disguised as a business opportunity
By Johanna Amaya
Washington
is more concerned with politics and fighting than protecting
hardworking people. If someone blew the whistle on a company making
billions of dollars by scamming low-income Latinos, you would expect
the government would be more focused on stopping it. When it comes to
the pyramid scheme called Herbalife, the only thing anyone in
Washington wants to talk about is the Wall Street investor who
brought the company’s predatory business practices to light. As
someone who has lost a lot of money to Herbalife, I’m standing up
and asking why does nobody seem to care about the victims of this
pyramid scheme?
I
became involved in Herbalife because I was promised the American
dream. I was told I would own my own business and make a good income
by selling protein powder and vitamins and getting others to sell as
well under me. That dream turned into a nightmare and I ended up with
a mountain of credit card debt. It troubles me to hear people say
that the situation with Herbalife is a battle between Wall Street and
Washington, DC. This takes the focus off the real issue, the
individual victims of Herbalife.
It’s
not easy to talk about being a victim of a scam, but I am speaking
out because I don’t want people to forget what is at stake here.
Real people have lost money, some even lost their life savings,
because they joined a pyramid scheme disguised as a business
opportunity. I joined Herbalife after I was told I would “earn what
I was worth” by starting a “micro-franchise.” But this
“home-based business,” as it was called, cost me thousands in
credit card debt and countless hours of hard work that I will never
get back. I was required to invest in packages that promised to help
me find customer leads who would then buy my Herbalife products.
These packages were extremely expensive and worthless. I ended up
with over $30,000 in credit card debt and nothing to show for it!
I
am hardly alone as a victim of Herbalife’s scam. There are
thousands of victims like me, people who were simply trying to make
ends meet and ended up in a scam. Most people who join Herbalife will
earn nothing and many will actually lose money. In fact, according to
the company’s own data,88 percent Herbalife’s distributors never
receive a payment from Herbalife. The business scheme forces more
than 1,000 distributors to drop out daily. How much longer will I
hear about people who can’t pay their mortgage, put food on the
table, or make ends meet before someone does something to stop this
company?
I
bet few people in Washington know about the stories of Herbalife
victims. Herbalife tries to change the subject by focusing on Bill
Ackman, a hedge fund manager who could make lots of money if the
government shuts down Herbalife. For years, Herbalife has made sure
that our story didn’t get told. It took the attention of a hedge
fund before people realized that Herbalife is intentionally targeting
low-income communities like mine. If Bill Ackman makes money out of
this that’s ok by me because it will mean that Herbalife is no
longer taking advantage of people like me.
At
the end of the day, I hope that by sharing my story, people in
Washington start to realize that this isn’t about a hedge fund—it’s
about real people who have suffered real loss because they were duped
into a scam. Until people start talking about the victims, how can we
stop Herbalife from continuing to harm the vulnerable communities
with their lies and deceptions?
Amaya
is a Southern California resident and victim of Herbalife’s
business structure. She filed a consumer complaint against Herbalife
Ltd with the California Attorney General’s office in April, 2015
