Herbalife Key Documentation Regarding “Deception” Left On Sidelines [Part I]

On a day when an FOIA request to receive SEC documents regarding Pershing Square is denied due to a "law enforcement" issue, it seems only fitting that what has become a high profile media debate framing alleged fraud and deception practiced inside Herbalife might come down to two articles written by titans in the world of business journalism. The New York Times Joe Nocera, particularly noted for benchmark work in the MF Global incident, perhaps best identified the Herbalife issue that matters most: the loose regulatory legal definition of an illegal pyramid scheme makes predicting the outcome of the Federal Trade Commission’s deliberations on the issue uncertain.

The intriguing detailed article preceding Nocera and helping shape...