Jeff Ifrah of Ifrah Law Advises MLM Companies Caught Up in Federal Investigations

WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwired – May 2, 2014) – Last week’s news about the Los Angeles-based nutritional supplements company Herbalife Ltd. made the headlines after the Financial Times reported that Herbalife was under an investigation. When faced with the news, Herbalife put out a statement denying any knowledge of such activities. Jeff Ifrah, the founder of the Washington, DC based law firm, Ifrah Law, advised, “If Herbalife is unaware of the investigation, it’s possibly a sign that the probe has not yet reached a critical stage.”

On firm blog Crimeinthesuites.com, David Deitch and Jeff Ifrah point out that for the Federal Trade Commission the Herbalife case could constitute a valuable opportunity to define its rules on what constitutes a pyramid scheme and how it differs from a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. The two attorneys explain that the only FTC guidelines for MLM companies that are currently in effect stem from litigation in 1979 when Amway, a direct selling company, was accused of running an illegal pyramid scheme. With the ongoing growth of the MLM industry — according to a study it was worth approximately $30 billion in 2012 — an increasing number of companies are facing the challenge of protecting themselves against pyramid scheme accusations. Aside from the guidelines following the Amway case and a staff advisory opinion in 2004, the FTC has provided little to no further definition on what constitutes a pyramid scheme and how companies can show that their operations are legitimate and legal.

Thanks to his extensive experience, Jeff Ifrah is ideally suited to advise companies that get involved in enforcement matters with the Federal Trade Commission or other state agencies. Jeff helps these businesses to establish company policies that show their good faith effort. Jeff started his career as a trial lawyer and officer in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and as trial counsel to the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth. He then served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Jersey and worked for the global law firms Paul Hastings and Greenberg Traurig before he established his own law firm in Washington D.C.

Jeff Ifrah Law: http://www.jeffifrahlaw.com

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