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BOSTON — Herbalife shares fell as much as 3.5% on Tuesday following a report that Canada’s top consumer regulator has launched a formal probe into complaints that the nutrition and weight loss company runs a pyramid scheme.

The New York Post, citing unnamed sources, reported on Tuesday that the Canadian Competition Bureau has interviewed former Herbalife distributors and can now apply for “information gathering orders.”

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The report comes less than a week after U.S. Senator Edward Markey called on two U.S. regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commision, to investigate the company, sending the stock down 15%.

A spokesman for the Canadian authority declined to confirm or deny any investigation. A spokeswoman for Herbalife said, “We are unaware of any investigation and have not been contacted.”

Herbalife’s share price has been a battleground for billionaire investors for more than a year. William Ackman has accused the company of running a pyramid scheme, something Herbalife vehemently denies, and bet $1 billion that its share price will go to zero when regulators shut the company down. On the other side, Carl Icahn and more recently William Stiritz, are big owners who expect the stock price to go up.