Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) is seeing HLF stock dip lower on Friday following news concerning criminal charges against the wellness company.
Here’s what to know about the news affecting HLF stock today.
- A news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) notes that the company has agreed to pay $122 million to resolve the charges against it.
- These charges include falsifying bookings and bribing Chinese government officials to benefit its business in the country.
- According to the DOJ, Herbalife took part in these practices from 2007 to 2016.
- The company will be making payments of $55 million and $67 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a result of the agreement.
- Herbalife’s fine is 25% lower than the minimum from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines due to it cooperating with the investigation.
- The company also agreed to fully comply with any future investigations into its matters, which includes the company, its employees and agents.
- To go along with this, the company has terminated its staff that took part in the corruption with China.
- It’s worth pointing out that this corruption required the cooperation of many high-level employees at the company.
General Brian Rabbitt, the Acting Assistant Attorney of the case and member of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said the following.
“The integrity of our financial markets depends on the timely and accurate disclosure of material information about companies’ operations. Today’s resolution reflects the department’s ongoing commitment to combating international corruption and ensuring that investors can trust the accuracy of the financial statements of publicly traded companies.”
HLF stock saw a major dip early this morning after the news broke but has mostly recovered at the end of normal trading hours on Friday.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
