Representatives of the Lake County chapter of the League of United Latin American Councils (LULAC) protested Herbalife’s sponsorship of the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) annual gala on May 2nd, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Community leaders and victims want to raise the issue on how the NMMA can accept a sponsorship from Herbalife, Inc. when it is being investigated by federal and state authorities on claims that it’s running a pyramid scheme that preys on the Latino community. LULAC has been leading a statewide campaign to raise awareness about Herbalife’s fraudulent business practices which have resulted in financial lose for hundreds of Latino Illinois residents.

“The NMMA was founded to provide accessibility to the arts, education and social justice for the Mexican community. This is blood money that Herbalife earned off the backs of Latinos,” stated Julie Contreras President of LULAC of Lake County. The Illinois Attorney General’s office, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York Attorney General’s Office have ongoing investigations into the company’s business practices. According to reports from Herbalife, 60 percent of the company’s distributors are Hispanic; however, more than 88 percent of them make zero money in payments from Herbalife.