Feb 8, 2018 | Securities Class Action Archive
Quantum Stock Price Drops Significantly During Intraday Trading on February 8, 2018
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Quantum Corporation (NYSE:QTM) resulting from allegations that Quantum may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
On February 8, 2018, Quantum, “a leading expert in scale-out tiered storage, archive and data protection,” announced that it received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 11, 2018 regarding its accounting practices and internal controls related to revenue recognition for transactions commencing April 1, 2016. Quantum further stated it was postponing the release of its fiscal third quarter 2018 results and earnings conference call so that its audit committee could complete an investigation into Quantum’s accounting matters and related internal controls.
Quantum Corporation Postpones Its Earnings Conference Call
Quantum Corporation’s earnings postponement announcement stated that QTM is
. . . postponing release of its fiscal third quarter 2018 results and its earnings conference call, which were scheduled for this afternoon. [Quantum] is taking this action so that Quantum’s audit committee, in keeping with its strong corporate governance practices, can complete an investigation into accounting matters and related internal controls that were raised in response to a recent inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Further, Quantum stated that
On Jan. 11, 2018, Quantum received a subpoena from the SEC regarding its accounting practices and internal controls related to revenue recognition for transactions commencing April 1, 2016. Following receipt of the SEC subpoena, [Quantum’s] audit committee began an independent investigation with the assistance of independent advisors, which is currently in process. Because the audit committee’s investigation is ongoing, Quantum decided it was prudent to postpone its quarterly results release and conference call, pending conclusion of the investigation. [Quantum] is cooperating with the SEC and cannot predict the timing of completion or outcome of either the audit committee’s investigation or the SEC’s inquiry at this time. (Emphasis added.)
On this news, the price of Quantum stock shares fell sharply during intraday trading on February 8, 2018.
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Quantum Corporation Investors
If you purchased shares of Quantum Corporation and have questions or concerns about the securities investigation or your potential legal rights, please contact John A. Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected], complete the form above on the right or e-mail [email protected].
Feb 8, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Operation Allegedly Took More Than $14 Million From Consumers Seeking to Start Their Own Online Business; Operation’s Defendants Falsely Claimed Consumers Could Earn Substantial Income
On February 8, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that at the FTC’s request, a federal court temporarily halted an operation that took more than $14 million from consumers seeking to start their own online business. The operation misrepresented that its purported business coaching program would enable consumers to earn substantial income, such as “six figures in 90 days or less.”
According to the FTC, the defendants, Digital Altitude LLC, Digital Altitude Limited, Aspire Processing LLC, Aspire Processing Limited, Aspire Ventures Ltd, Disc Enterprises Inc., RISE Systems & Enterprise LLC (Utah), RISE Systems & Enterprise LLC (Nevada), The Upside LLC, Thermography for Life LLX, also doing business as Living Exceptionally Inc., and Michael Force, Mary Dee, Morgan Johnson, Alan Moore and Sean Brown, induced consumers to pay for a series of tiered memberships with increasing fees, falsely claiming that consumers would learn how to make substantial income with an online business. The defendants promised consumers they would receive individualized coaching from successful marketers that would provide what they needed to build a successful business, but, in reality, these were merely salespeople selling higher membership levels in the defendants’ program.
The defendants, which were charged with violating the FTC Act, promoted their scheme via webpages and social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, and offered their marketing materials for consumers to use in posting their own ads touting the scheme. The FTC’s complaint states that most of defendants’ customers never earn substantial income, including some people who were charged more than $50,000.
The FTC vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 2-0, and the United States District Court, Central District of California, issued a temporary restraining order against the defendants on February 1, 2018.
Source: FTC.gov
Feb 8, 2018 | Securities Class Action Archive
Credit Suisse Announces VelocityShares™ Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (NASDAQGM:XIV) Trading Will Stop February 20, 2018
CNBC reported (“Credit Suisse says it will end trading in the volatility security that’s become the focus of this sell-off”) that February 20, 2018 will be the last day of trading for VelocityShares™ Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV), a security which fell approximately 85% in after-hours trading on February 5, 2018 and closed 93% down on February 6, 2018.
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According to CNBC, “Credit Suisse said it will end trading in a security that some investors believed was exaggerating movements in volatility futures markets and even the overall stock market.” CNBC reported that Credit Suisse
. . . is triggering this liquidation because the product during these last three volatile days could not keep up with the scenario it was supposed to track: a calm market.
The security is supposed to give the opposite return of the Cboe Volatility index (VIX), the market’s widely followed turbulence gauge. The VIX’s value exploded higher, topping 50 Tuesday, which in theory should have wiped out most of the value of the VelocityShares ETN.
Multiple exchange-traded securities that are also supposed to be bets on calm markets were halted Tuesday after losing the majority of their value overnight.
[Emphasis added]
Yahoo! Finance published an ETF Trends.com article (“Amid Volatility Surge, Credit Suisse Terminates VelocityShares ETN”) which reported that
[o]ne of the hottest trades in recent memory, shorting volatility, evaporated in a heartbeat on Monday. In the aftermath of an unexpected volatility explosion, Credit Suisse is moving to terminate the VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV).
The VIX, or so-called fear index, is a widely observed indicator for investor sentiment in the stock market and measures the expected or implied volatility of large-cap stock options traded on the S&P 500 index. ETPs that track VIX futures allow investors to profit during rising volatility or hedge against short-term turns.
Amid Monday’s plunge in U.S. stocks, the VIX surged, but volatility exchange traded notes, such as XIV have a unique feature: The indexes these products track settle after the close of U.S. markets. In after-hours trading Monday, XIV suffered catastrophic losses. The ETN’s market closing Monday was $99, but its closing indicative price as listed on the VelocityShares website was just $4.22.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating whether the investment strategies utilized by investment firms were appropriate for XIV investors, margin loans collateralized by XIV or other investment advice related to XIV investments. If you invested in VelocityShares™ Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (NASDAQGM:XIV) and have questions or concerns, please contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected], complete the form above on the right or e-mail [email protected].
Feb 7, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Student Loan Debt Relief Operation Allegedly Bilked More Than $28 Million From Thousands of Consumers in the United States by Falsely Promising to Reduce Consumer Debt
On February 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has charged a student loan debt relief operation with bilking more than $28 million from thousands of consumers throughout the United States by falsely promising that consumers’ monthly payments would go towards paying off their student loans.
According to the FTC, the defendants, American Financial Benefits Center, also doing business as AFB and AF Student Services; AmeriTech Financial; Financial Education Benefits Center; and Brandon Demond Frere, sent personalized mailers to consumers falsely claiming they were eligible for federal programs that would permanently reduce their monthly debt payments to a fixed low amount or result in total loan forgiveness.
The FTC’s complaint notes that, although the Department of Education and state government agencies administer loan forgiveness and discharge programs, none of the programs guarantees a fixed, reduced monthly payment for more than one year, and most people do not meet the programs’ strict eligibility requirements.
Allegedly, the defendants charged up to $800 in illegal up-front fees, purportedly to enroll consumers in a federal loan assistance program. The defendants also charged a $100-$1,300 advance fee for enrollment in a “financial education” program and an additional monthly $49-$99 membership fee for the life of the loan, which typically is 10-25 years. Purportedly, this financial education program provided consumers access to various resources unrelated to consumers’ student loans, such as “Key Ring & Luggage Protection,” “Everyday Grocery Savings,” “Auto Buying Service and Maintenance Discounts,” “Financial Calculators,” “medical and wellness discounts,” and “Access to Dozens of Informational & Useful Web links.”
Consumers, according to the FTC, were tricked into believing their monthly payments were going toward paying down their student loans. Although consumers were sending money to the defendants, none of those payments went toward paying off their student loans, and in some instances the consumers’ loan balances instead accrued interest. The defendants often refused to provide refunds or returned substantially less than what people paid.
The defendants are charged with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule.
This is the eighth action the FTC has taken in Operation Game of Loans, the first federal-state law enforcement initiative targeting deceptive student loan debt relief scams.
Source: FTC.gov
Feb 7, 2018 | Securities Class Action Archive
Federal Securities Class Action Filed Against Bellicum Pharmaceuticals
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. continues its investigation of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BLCM) and reports that on February 6, 2018, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, against Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and certain BLCM officers to recover damages for the Bellicum Defendants’ alleged violations of the federal securities laws.
The class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of a class consisting of all persons (other than the Defendants) who purchased, or otherwise acquired, Bellicum’s securities between May 8, 2017 and January 30, 2018, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”).
According to the class action complaint:
[Bellicum’s] lead clinical product candidate, BPX-501, is an adjunct T-cell therapy administered after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (“HSCT”). Bellicum has represented that BPX-501 is currently being evaluated in multiple Phase 1/2 clinical trials.
Throughout the Class Period, [the Bellicum] Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding [Bellicum’s] business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) a substantial undisclosed risk of encephalopathy was associated with [Bellicum’s] lead product candidate BPX-501; and (ii) as a result of the foregoing, Bellicum’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On January 30, 2018, post-market, Bellicum issued a press release entitled “Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Announces Clinical Hold on BPX-501 Clinical Trials in the United States,” announcing that it had “received notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that U.S. studies of BPX-501 have been placed on a clinical hold following three cases of encephalopathy deemed as possibly related to BPX-501.”
On this news, Bellicum’s share price fell $2.12, or 25.85%, to close at $6.08 on January 31, 2018.
[Emphasis added]
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Shareholders and Investors
If you purchased, or otherwise acquired, BLCM securities between May 8, 2017 and January 30, 2018, both dates inclusive, and wish to discuss your potential legal rights or claims, please contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected], complete the form above on the right or e-mail [email protected].
