Herbalife probed by FBI and U.S. prosecutors

By Christopher M. Matthews

The Federal of Bureau of Investigation and U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating Herbalife Ltd., said a person briefed on the matter.

The probe has been going on for months, and it isn't clear if any laws have been broken, the person said.

Herbalife said late Friday that the company has "no knowledge of any ongoing investigation by the DOJ or the FBI, and we have not received any formal nor informal request for information from either agency."

Herbalife's shares closed at $51.48 on Friday, falling roughly 14% after the Financial Times reported the agencies had launched a criminal probe into the maker of nutritional supplements. The publication didn't say what the agencies were investigating.

Herbalife is already facing a civil investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, which can penalize companies found to be engaged in unfair or deceptive trade practices.

The company has said it complies with all laws and regulations. That investigation is expected to take months.

"We believe this is market manipulation through leaks and we will turn over every stone to establish that," said Jonathan Schiller, an attorney for Herbalife, on Friday. "The company is cooperating with the FTC which is the only government inquiry the company has received and that is a civil inquiry that Herbalife looks forward to satisfying and concluding."

The probes are happening against the backdrop of a long-running fight with activist investor William Ackman, who argues the company is a pyramid scheme and has made a giant bet that the value of the company's stock will fall. So far, that bet has turned out to be a bad one. Other hedge fund investors including Carl Icahn piled into the opposite side of the bet, and Herbalife's stock has risen from where it was when Mr. Ackman unveiled his argument in December 2012.

Mr. Ackman declined to comment Friday. He has said he would go "to the end of the earth" defending his position on the company.

Herbalife, which recorded sales growth of 18% to $4.8 billion last year, has repeatedly refuted Mr. Ackman's claims.

Shares of the company more than doubled in 2013, but are down by roughly one-third this year, following news of the probes as well as letters sent by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey (D., Mass.) in January to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FTC calling for investigations of Herbalife.

David Benoit contributed to this article.