More than $3.5 million has been lost by the 207 victims of Herbalife, Inc., who have filed complaints with the Illinois Attorney General’s office. The Illinois Herbalife Campaign shared those sobering stats with federal regulators and law enforcement officials who gathered for a symposium on combating pyramid schemes in Latino and immigrant communities organized by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). To further raise awareness of predatory business practices in our communities, the Illinois Herbalife Campaign’s Faces of Fraud exhibit was invited to the symposium to share the stories of how hardworking members of the community were drawn by Herbalife’s pyramid schemes. According to representatives from the SEC, speaking with actual victims at the event will help develop initiatives to alert consumers of pyramid schemes that target various ethnic and religious communities. Hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) the symposium held two panels that featured federal agencies like the SEC, FTC, FBI, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. The federal agencies came together to discuss and exchange tactics in detecting and combating pyramid schemes that target immigrant communities. For more information on the Faces of Fraud exhibit or upcoming events, please email us at ilherbalies@gmail.com.