A class-action filed in California alleges Pruvit distributors are in fact employees.

Plaintiff Jennifer Carrera filed the suit in Contra Costa’s Superior Court on February 13th, 2025.

Named defendants in Carrera’s suit are:

  1. Pruvit Ventures Inc.;
  2. LaCore Enterprises LLC;
  3. Brian Underwood;
  4. Christopher Harding;
  5. Terry Lacore;
  6. Jenifer Grace;
  7. Debra Aaron; and
  8. Blake Mallen

It should be noted that Pruvit was owned by LaCore Enterprises but was sold to HerbaLife in March 2025.

As alleged in Carrera’s suit;

Via its pervasive marketing and sales guidelines, Pruvit directs Promoters to market and sell a variety of “Keto” diet supplements.

In exchange for the Promoters’ work promoting the brand on social media, referring new customers, providing customer service, and driving traffic to Pruvit’s website, Pruvit pays Promoters at most a paltry commission.

Pruvit’s ability thus far to avoid accountability to its employees turns on the fact that it operates as a multi-level marketing business (“MLM”)

Pruvit’s recruitment tactics purportedly promise its Promoters the opportunity to build a business; in reality, however, they supply Pruvit with free marketing and sales support that would otherwise cost tens of millions.

The law Pruvit is alleged to be violating is California’s AB 5.

AB 5 is a bill the Governor signed into law in September 2019 addressing employment status when a hiring entity claims that the person it hired is an independent contractor.

AB 5 requires the application of the “ABC test” to determine if workers in California are employees or independent contractors.

Under the “ABC Test”;

a worker is considered an employee and not an independent contractor, unless the hiring entity satisfies all three of the following conditions:

A. The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact;

B. The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and

C. The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

Notably, AB 5 has a “direct sales” exemption. Carrera however argues the exemption doesn’t apply to Pruvit.

The exemption is expressly limited only to those salespersons making “in person” sales, such as door-to-door salespeople and home “Tupperware party” hosts.

It does not cover Pruvit’s modern, online business model.

Indeed the AB 5 exemption does require in-person demonstrations and sales presentations to be the “primary” method of business.

Carrera claims, as a Pruvit distributor, she “was paid virtually nothing”. Through her class-action suit, Carrera seeks to have Pruvit distributors in California classified as employees.

This classification would allow class members to

recover unpaid wages, overtime compensation, penalties, interest, injunctive relief, other equitable remedies, damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Carrera maintains Pruvit distributors were misclassified and are owed “millions of dollars”.

Looking at the Pruvit “employees” class-action case docket, an Amended Complaint filed on April 18th.

June 23rd minutes from a Case Management Conference reveals the Pruvit defendants have presented Carrera with a time-sensitive “999 settlement offer”.

Another Case Management Conference has been scheduled for October 6th, 2025.

Stay tuned for updates as BehindMLM continues to track the Pruvit “employees” California class-action.