company commissioned its own lab testing and found that those products did not contain high enough amounts of lead to require special labeling. Business model Herbalife Nutrition is a multi-level marketing company. A 2010 article in the Los Angeles Business Journal claimed that Herbalife Nutrition was one of the most profitable companies in Los Angeles County and directly benefited from its business model. As a result of the 2016 FTC settlement, the company is required to prove that at least 80 percent of its sales are made to individuals outside of its distributor network. Distributors are responsible for providing receipts for sales and proving they have legitimate customers. The settlement also required that distributors are only able to earn one-third of their rewards based on recruitment. In the U.S., the company now differentiates between individuals who join as a member to buy discounted products and those who join as a distributor seeking a business opportunity. Discount buyers are unable to earn rewards or sell products. Herbalife Nutrition is also required to have its practices monitored by an outside party for seven years to ensure compliance. In the past, company management considered the number and retention of distributors a key parameter and tracked it closely in financial reports. By January of each year, sales leaders are required to requalify. In February of each year, individuals who did not satisfy the sales leader qualification requirements during the preceding 12 months are removed from that rank. For the latest 12-month requalification period ending January 2019, approximately 67.9 percent of the eligible sales leaders requalified. In a California class action suit (Minton v. Herbalife International, et al.) filed on February 17, 2005, the plaintiff challenged "the marketing practices of certain Herbalife International independent distributors under various state laws". In a West Virginia class action suit (Mey v. Herbalife International, Inc., et al.) filed on July 16, 2003, the plaintiffs alleged that some of Herbalife International's distributors used pre-recorded telephone messages and autodialers to contact prospective customers in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The case was resolved with Herbalife and its distributors paying $7 million into a fund for class members part of the suit. Liver disease inquiries Hospitals in Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Iceland, Argentina, and the United States have reported liver damage in a number of patients who used Herbalife products. In 2004, Israel's Health Minister began an investigation into Herbalife's products