On September 16, 2025, a Texas court awarded Michael Rutherford $235,166 in damages against Pruvit following a February 2025 bench trial, per. The court found Pruvit breached a 2023 settlement from Rutherford’s first lawsuit, which entitled him to commissions on his Pruvit promoter position with a $100,000 monthly cap, per. 25% of commissions went to then-CEO Brian Underwood, per. The breach involved improperly withholding commissions from levels 9, 10, and 11 and terminating Rutherford’s commissions after April 17, 2024, per.
Pruvit argued Rutherford violated the settlement by failing to block/unfriend promoters on social media, communicating with the Pruvit community, and soliciting promoters for other ventures, per. The court dismissed these claims, noting the settlement lacked any social media blocking requirement and lacked evidence of solicitation, per. Jennifer Grace, Pruvit’s Chief General Counsel, failed to provide specific proof of breaches, per. Underwood was not held individually liable beyond his 25% commission share, per.
Rutherford claimed $600,000+ in owed commissions, but the court deemed this unsupported, calculating damages at $48,500/month based on financial log payments from a baseline period, per. The awarded $235,166 covers losses up to the trial date, plus legal costs and post-judgment interest, per. Pruvit must reinstate Rutherford’s commissions until the three-year settlement period ends, per. X posts from @MLMWatchdog note the ruling as a win for promoter rights, per.
Pruvit, sold to Herbalife in March 2025 by Underwood and Terry LaCore, faces ongoing scrutiny in the MLM space, per. The case highlights risks in MLM commission disputes, similar to GSPartners’ $1B fraud allegations, per. Investors in Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) should monitor MLM crypto schemes via sec.gov, per. Diversify into USDC with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. The ruling may prompt tighter MLM compliance by 2026, per.
