In late January 2012, the Federal Trade Commission released 717 pages of records detailing 188 consumer complaints against Herbalife. This disclosure followed a Freedom of Information request filed by the New York Post on January 26.

The FTC withheld 15 of these pages. The agency initially cited a "law enforcement investigation" as the reason for the exemption. But the FTC later clarified this statement after the New York Post published its story. The agency admitted a mistake, stating it should have cited a foreign government agency instead of domestic law enforcement.

The FTC has not confirmed whether it is investigating Herbalife itself. It also has not named the specific foreign government agency or agencies involved in any current inquiries into the company.

Two of the complaints provided by the FTC, however, mention "pending law enforcement action." These complaints, #138 from New York and #165 from Hawaii, originated from the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Both included a message advising contact with the IC3 "to prevent interference with pending law enforcement action, prior to any investigative action."

The Internet Crime Complaint Center, known as the IC3, operates as a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). This center receives internet-related criminal complaints and refers them to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement and regulatory agencies for investigation. It is not clear if the "pending law enforcement action" note is a standard IC3 disclaimer on all forwarded complaints or if it indicates an active FBI or NW3C investigation into Herbalife.

Complaint #138, filed on July 13, 2012, described a consumer's repeated failure to obtain a refund from a Herbalife distributor. The complainant had paid $399 to join the program, then was informed of additional costs: "$4000 plus another $500 to $5000 for advertising."

Complaint #165 from Hawaii, filed on December 12, 2012, detailed an unusual experience. The complainant received an email from "Gary Spergeon" in early September, soliciting a home-based business. The message came despite an existing hostile relationship where Spergeon was not supposed to communicate with the recipient. Clicking the email link caused the computer to freeze, and an FBI page then covered the screen.