Apr 16, 2020 | Whistleblower
SEC Awards $27 Million To Whistleblower – Since Issuing Its First Award In 2012, SEC Has Awarded Approximately $425 Million To 79 Individuals
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making individuals aware that on April 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an award of more than $27 million to a whistleblower who alerted the agency to misconduct occurring, in part, overseas. After providing the tip to the SEC, the whistleblower provided critical investigative leads that advanced the investigation and saved significant Commission resources.
“This award marks several milestones for the program,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “This is the largest whistleblower award announced by the Commission this year, and the sixth largest award overall since the inception of the program. This award also brings the total amount awarded to whistleblowers by the SEC over the $400 million mark.”
The SEC has awarded approximately $425 million to 79 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards. Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.
As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that could reveal a whistleblower’s identity.
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission- SEC.gov
Apr 15, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
GSX Techedu Inc. Reportedly Overstating Revenue – GSX Techedu Investors Who Have Suffered Losses Greater Than $50,000 Encouraged To Contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of the American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) of GSX Techedu Inc. (“GSX Techedu” or the “Company”) (NYSE: GSX), as a result of allegations that GSX Techedu may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
On April 14, 2020, Citron Research issued a report (“GSX Techedu Inc – The Most Blatant Chines Stock Fraud since 2011“) which, among other things, stated that “GSX Techedu Inc is overstating revenue by up to 70% and should immediately halt trading and launch an internal investigation.”
Citron Research reported the following “takeaways from Citron’s extensive due diligence”:
After tracking >20% of available GSX classes, Citron estimates that 2019 revenue was overstated by 70%
[Citron’s] data indicates that most students are not from lower-tier cities, as GSX claims, when trying to explain how the company can grow so quickly when most Chinese parents in Tier 1 and 2 cities have never heard of them
Wuhan and the surrounding area make up almost 50% of the student composition in Q1 2020, which further supports [Citron’s] thesis that a large % of revenues are fudged given the large number of free classes offered to students of Wuhan during the Covid-19 crisis and, just as importantly, implies that GSX couldn’t have a strong diversified student base to begin with, and that the previous sales revenues are largely exaggerated
Duplicated classes (i.e., counted more than once) could be one way that revenues are inflated
GSX management has deflected criticism with unconvincing explanations that show a greater interest in protecting their stock price than operational integrity, and their filings are riddled with suspicious transactions [Emphasis added.]
Citron Research, “[a]s a result of [its] investigation . . . calls on the internal audit team at GSX to look into student enrollment numbers and revenue more closely. [Citron’s] research suggests a huge discrepancy between reported figures and reality.” [Emphasis added.]
On this news, GSX’s ADR share price fell sharply during intra-day trading on unusually high trading volume, thereby damaging investors.
GSX Techedu investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, GSX American Depositary Receipts and suffered losses greater than $50,000 are encouraged to contact either Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], or John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected], to discuss potential legal claims.
Apr 15, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
FTC Reports: From January 1, 2010 Through April 15, 2020, 18,235 COVID-19 Related Complaints Received; Consumers Reported Losing $13.44 Million To Coronavirus-Related Fraud
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that the FTC has reported the following:
- From January 1 until today, the FTC has gotten 18,235 reports related to COVID-19, and people reported losing $13.44 million dollars to fraud.
- The top complaint categories relate to travel and vacations, online shopping, bogus text messages, and all kinds of imposters.
- While reports of robocalls are way down overall, we’re now hearing about callers invoking the COVID-19 pandemic to pretend to be from the government, or making illegal medical or health care pitches, among other topics.
- The big states have, not unexpectedly, the biggest number of reports. Click here to see state reporting in this regard.
The FTC cautions consumers that if you are getting calls, emails, or texts, or seeing ads or offers online, it is important to note the following: First, the government will never call out of the blue to ask for money or your personal information (like Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers). And second, anyone who tells you to pay by Western Union or Money Gram, or by putting money on a gift card, is a scammer. The government and legit businesses will never tell you to pay that way.
Source: Federal Trade Commission – FTC.gov
Apr 15, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Class Action Filed On Behalf of TrueFire Customers Whose Information Was Compromised As A Result of TrueFire’s Alleged Failure to Adequately Protect Its Users’ PII
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on April 14, 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, against TrueFire, LLC and TrueFire, Inc. (collectively, “TrueFire”) “. . . on on behalf of all persons whose PII was compromised as a result of the [TrueFire] Defendants’ [alleged] failure to: (i) adequately protect their users’ PII; (ii) warn users of their inadequate information security practices; and (iii) effectively monitor TrueFire’s websites, apps, and ecommerce platforms for security vulnerabilities and incidents.” [Emphasis added.]
According to the complaint,
[o]n or about March 9, 2020, TrueFire began notifying customers and various state Attorneys General about a widespread data breach that occurred from August 3, 2019 to January 14, 2020. Hackers not only “scraped” many of TrueFire’s customers’ names from the website by infecting it with malware, they also stole customers’ addresses, payment card numbers, CVV security codes, and credit card expiration dates (“PII”) (the “Breach”). The criminals obtained everything they needed to illegally use TrueFire’s customers’ credit cards to make fraudulent purchases, and to steal the customers’ identities.
Not only did hackers skim TrueFire’s customers’ PII, on information and belief the stolen names and card information are now for sale on the dark web. That means the Breach worked. Hackers accessed and then offered for sale the unencrypted, unredacted stolen PII to criminals. Because of Defendants’ Breach, customers’ PII is still available on the dark web for criminals to access and abuse. TrueFire’s customers face a lifetime risk of identity theft.
This PII was compromised due to TrueFire’s negligent and/or careless acts and omissions and the failure to protect customers’ data. In addition to TrueFire’s failure to prevent the Breach, Defendants failed to detect the Breach for over five months, and when they did discover the Breach on January 10, 2020, it took them almost two more months to report the Breach to the affected customers on or about March 9, 2020.
The stolen PII has great value to hackers: It is likely that hundreds of thousands of music students—residents of most states—were affected by the Breach. For example, TrueFire filed data breach notices in California, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts and Montana, among others. [Emphasis added.]
Have You Been Impacted by A Data Breach?
If so, please either contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. Partner Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], complete the form on the right or send an e-mail to [email protected] for a free, no-obligation case evaluation of your facts to determine whether your privacy rights have been violated and whether there is a basis for a data privacy class action.
Examples of the type of relief sought by data privacy class actions, include, but are not limited to, reimbursement of identity theft losses and of out-of-pocket costs paid by data breach victims for protective measures such as credit monitoring services, credit reports, and credit freezes; compensation for time spent responding to the breach; imposition of credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance, paid for by the defendant company; and improvements to the defendant company’s data security systems.
Data privacy class actions are brought on a contingent-fee basis; thus, plaintiffs and the class members do not pay out-of-pocket attorney’s fees or litigation costs. Subject to court approval, attorney’s fees and litigation costs are derived from the recovery obtained for the class.
Apr 14, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Class Action Asserting Claims Against Bosch And VW For Selling Cars Equipped With Bosch-Made Automatic Emergency Braking Systems – Owners or Lessees Of VW and Audi Vehicles Equipped With AEB Systems Utilizing Either Bosch Mid-Range Radar Sensors Or Long-Range Radar Sensors Encouraged To Contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Audi AG, Audi Group of America, LLC (collectively, “VW”), and Robert Bosch GmbH and Robert Bosch LLC (collectively, “Bosch”) in United States District Court, Northern District of California.
This class action asserts claims against Bosch and VW who sell vehicles equipped with Bosch-made Automatic Emergency Braking Systems (“AEB Systems”). The vehicles at issue in the class action (i.e., the “Class Vehicles”) include all VW and Audi vehicles equipped with AEB Systems with either Bosch mid-range radar sensors (“MRR”) or long-range radar sensors (“LRR”).
According to the complaint:
The AEB Systems at issue here have a defect that causes them to falsely engage randomly and unexpectedly (the “AEB Defect”). The AEB Defect causes the Class Vehicles to detect non-existent obstacles, thereby automatically triggering the brakes and causing the Class Vehicles to abruptly slow down or come to a complete stop, sometimes in the middle of traffic. Simply put, as a result of the AEB Defect, the AEB Systems at issue here are a safety hazard, not a safety feature.
Many Class Vehicle owners have reported significant, unexpected slow-downs and stops due to the false engagement of the Class Vehicle’s AEB System, even though no objects were nearby. As one commentator described, ‘[w]hen the systems work, they are brilliant. When they don’t work, they are a frightening and dangerous nightmare.'[] Another aspect of the AEB Defect is that the AEB Systems frequently deactivate themselves for no good reason, rendering this safety feature effectively useless.
. . .
Defendants have known about problems with their AEB Systems for years but have been silent. Disclosing the AEB Defect would likely: (1) put Defendants at a competitive disadvantage both in safety ratings and in the race to get autonomous safety features on the market; (2) have a negative impact on their respective brands; and (3) reduce profits from sales. Instead, the VW Defendants market their vehicles as safe, despite their knowledge that the vehicles are defective and not fit for their intended purpose of providing consumers with safe and reliable transportation at the time of the sale and thereafter. They have actively concealed the true nature and extent of the AEB Defect from Plaintiffs and the other Class members and have failed to disclose it to them at the time of purchase or lease.
Had Plaintiffs and other Class members known about the AEB Defect, they would not have purchased and/or leased the Class Vehicles on the same terms or would have paid less for them. As a result of their reliance on partial representations and/or omissions by Defendants, Plaintiffs and the other Class members have suffered a loss of money and/or loss in value of their Class Vehicles. [Emphasis added.]
Purchasers or lessees of VW or Audi vehicles equipped with AEB Systems with either Bosch mid-range radar sensors (“MRR”) or long-range radar sensors (“LRR”) are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. to discuss potential legal claims.
