Dec 11, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Liberty Tax, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAX) – KPMG LLP Resigns as Independent Accounting Firm
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating whether Liberty Tax and certain of its officers or directors engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
On December 11, 2017, Liberty Tax, Inc. issued a press release disclosing that KPMG LLP resigned as the independent registered public accounting firm of Liberty Tax and that Liberty Tax will delay the filing of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2017.
According to Liberty Tax’s Form 8-K, dated December 11, 2017 (Liberty Tax_Form 8-K):
KPMG expressed to the Audit Committee and [Liberty Tax] management its concern that the actions of former Chief Executive Officer John T. Hewitt . . . have created an inappropriate tone at the top which leads to ineffective entity level controls over the organization. Prior to the termination of Mr. Hewitt’s employment as Chief Executive Officer of the Company on September 5, 2017, the Audit Committee oversaw an investigation of allegations of misconduct by Mr. Hewitt. In particular, KPMG noted that Mr. Hewitt took actions to replace two independent members of the Board around the time information relating to this investigation appeared in media reports. KPMG also noted that following the replacement by Mr. Hewitt of two Class B directors, the chair of the Audit Committee retired from the Board, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer announced her intention to resign from the Company, and another independent member of the Board announced that he would not stand for reelection at the Company’s next annual meeting. Further, KPMG was made aware that following his termination as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Hewitt may have continued to interact with franchisees and area developers of the Company. Although Mr. Hewitt stated to KPMG during a meeting on November 9, 2017 that he would not reinsert himself into the management of the Company, in light of Mr. Hewitt’s actions and his ability to control the Board as the sole holder of the Class B common stock, KPMG informed the Audit Committee and management that it has concerns regarding the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as related to integrity and tone at the top and such matters should be evaluated as potential material weaknesses. [Emphasis Added]
Specifically, KPMG informed the Audit Committee and management that Mr. Hewitt’s past and continued involvement in the Company’s business and operations, including his continued interactions with franchisees and area developers of the Company, has led it to no longer be able to rely on management’s representations, and therefore has caused KPMG to be unwilling to be associated with the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In notifying the Company of its resignation, KPMG advised the Audit Committee and management that it is not aware of any information that cause it to question the integrity of current management, but rather that the structural arrangement by which Mr. Hewitt controls the Company is the cause of KPMG’s concerns. KPMG also noted that because certain information known to the Board regarding the reasons that the Board terminated Mr. Hewitt as Chief Executive Officer had not been disclosed to the current Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, KPMG was uncertain as to whether it could continue to rely on management’s representations. [Emphasis Added]
On this news, the share price of Liberty Tax fell sharply during intraday trading on December 11, 2017.
Have You Purchased or Acquired Liberty Tax Shares?
If you purchased or otherwise acquired Liberty Tax (NASDAQ:TAX) shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to learn whether you may have legal claims, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Dec 11, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Hilton Resorts Corporation, d/b/a Hilton Grand Vacations – Class Action Filed
On December 5, 2017, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, seeking damages and other available legal or equitable remedies resulting from alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by Hilton Resorts Corporation, d/b/a Hilton Grand Vacations.
According to the class action complaint, Defendant Hilton Resorts Corporation, d/b/a Hilton Grand Vacations, “a business engaged in the sale of vacation timeshares and other hospitality services,” began in or around September 2016 contacting the Plaintiff’s cellular telephone in an effort to solicit the Plaintiff to purchase the services of Hilton Grand Vacations. Allegedly, the Plaintiff, who received multiple solicitation calls from Hilton Grand Vacations, revoked consent to call her cellular telephone in or about January 2017 “by expressly requesting Defendant to cease soliciting their services through calling Plaintiff on her cellular telephone.”
Defendant Hilton Resorts Corporation, d/b/a Hilton Grand Vacations, according to the complaint, used an automatic telephone dialing system to contact the Plaintiff to solicit its services from, among others, telephone numbers (407) 404-7353, (407) 404-7361, (403) 745-3152, (407) 745-3249, (407) 745-3219, and (407) 745-3208. Further, Hilton Grand Vacations did not have the Plaintiff’s prior express consent to receive telephone calls utilizing an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. Additionally, the Plaintiff’s cellular telephone number was added to the National Do-Not-Call Registry on or about August 9, 2003.
The proposed TCPA class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of all persons in the United States who received any solicitation/telemarketing telephone calls from Hilton Resorts Corporation, d/b/a Hilton Grand Vacations, to such person’s cellular telephone made through the use of any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice and such person had not previously consented, or had revoked any prior express consent, to receive such calls within the four years prior to the filing of the class action complaint.
The proposed TCPA class action lawsuit also was brought on behalf all persons in the United States registered on the National Do-Not-Call Registry for at least 30 days, who did not grant Defendant Hilton Resorts Corporation, d/b/a Hilton Grand Vacations, prior express consent, did not have a prior established business relationship, or who revoked consent and any prior established business relationship, and received more than one call made by or on behalf of the Defendant that promoted Defendant Hilton Grand Vacations’ products or services, within any 12-month period, within four years prior to the filing of the class action complaint.
Have You Received Unsolicited or Harassing Telephone, Telemarketing, Autodial or Robocalls or Text Messages?
If you have received unwanted, unsolicited or harassing telephone, telemarketing, autodial or robocalls and/or text messages and would like to speak privately with an attorney to learn more about your potential legal rights, please complete the form to the right or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Dec 11, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating claims on behalf of investors to determine whether Banc of California and certain of its officers or directors engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
On December 8, 2017, Bloomberg reported:
Banc of California Inc., the lender under investigation by U.S. regulators after a short seller linked it to an imprisoned con man, inflated profits and ignored a top executive using company funds to pay for strippers, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit.
A management decision to reverse accrued employee bonuses caused the company to improperly carry over revenues generated in 2016 to make it look more profitable this year, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday by Heather Endresen, who was most recently a managing director for the bank’s Small Business Administration’s loan program. Endresen said she was wrongfully terminated after complaining about the shifting pool of bonuses as well as the behavior of the company’s then-chief financial officer Francisco Turner.
Turner used company funds to pay for strippers and had sex with employees in his office, according to the complaint. He also used drugs and pressured junior employees to join him, Endresen alleged.
On this news, Banc of California’s share price fell $0.60, or 2.76%, to close at $21.15 on December 8, 2017.
Have You Purchased or Acquired Banc of California Shares?
If you purchased or otherwise acquired Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to learn whether you may have legal claims, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Dec 11, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, d/b/a Marriott Vacation Club – Class Action Filed
On December 7, 2017, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, seeking damages and other available legal or equitable remedies resulting from alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, d/b/a Marriott Vacation Club.
According to the class action complaint, Defendant Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, d/b/a Marriott Vacation Club, “a business engaged in the sale of vacation timeshares and other hospitality services,” began in or around October 2017 contacting the Plaintiff’s cellular telephone in effort to solicit the Plaintiff to purchase the services of Marriott Vacations. Allegedly, the Plaintiff, who received numerous solicitation calls from Marriott Vacations in a 12-month period, revoked consent to call her cellular telephone on or about October 25, 2017 “by expressly requesting Defendant to cease soliciting [Marriott Vacations’] services through calling Plaintiff on her cellular telephone.”
Marriott Vacations, according to the complaint, used an automatic telephone dialing system to contact the Plaintiff to solicit Marriott Vacations’ services from, among others, telephone number (407) 903-6130. Further, Marriott Vacations did not have the Plaintiff’s prior express consent to receive telephone calls utilizing an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. Additionally, the Plaintiff’s cellular telephone number was added to the National Do-Not-Call Registry on or about August 9, 2003.
The proposed TCPA class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of all persons in the United States who received any solicitation/telemarketing telephone calls from Marriott Vacations to such person’s cellular telephone made through the use of any automatic telephone dialing system, or an artificial or prerecorded voice, and such person had not previously consented, or had revoked any prior express consent, to receive such calls within the four years prior to the filing of the class action complaint.
The proposed TCPA class action lawsuit also was brought on behalf all persons in the United States registered on the National Do-Not-Call Registry for at least 30 days who did not grant Defendant Marriott Vacations prior express consent, did not have a prior established business relationship, or who revoked consent and any prior established business relationship, and received more than one call made by or on behalf of the Defendant that promoted Defendant Marriott Vacations’ products or services, within any 12-month period, within four years prior to the filing of the class action complaint.
Have You Received Unsolicited or Unwanted Telemarketing Telephone Calls, Autodial Calls (“Robocalls”) or Text Messages?
If you have received unwanted, unsolicited or harassing telemarketing telephone calls, autodial calls (“robocalls”) or text messages and would like to speak privately with an attorney to learn more about your potential legal rights, please complete the form to the right or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Dec 8, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
A class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, on behalf OSI Systems (“OSI Systems” or “OSI”) securities investors, asserting claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired OSI Systems securities between August 21, 2013 and December 6, 2017, inclusive (the “Class Period”), are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. to discuss their potential legal rights.
The class action complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, OSI Systems Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about OSI Systems’ business, operations, and prospects.
Specifically, OSI Systems Defendants allegedly failed to disclose that: (1) OSI Systems acquired the Albania concession through bribery or other illicit means; (2) OSI transferred 49% of its project company associated with the Albania concession, S2 Albania SHPK, an entity purportedly worth millions, for consideration of less than $5.00; (3) OSI engaged in other illegal acts, including improper sales and cash payments to government officials; (4) these practices caused OSI Systems to be vulnerable to potential civil and criminal liability, and adverse regulatory action; and (5) as a result, OSI Systems Defendants’ statements about OSI’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and/or misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
On December 6, 2017, Muddy Waters Research published a report on OSI entitled “OSIS: Rotten to the Core.” In the report, Muddy Waters Research alleges that there was corruption in the 2013 award of OSI’s Albania concession. Muddy Waters Research claims that while the concession “has an estimated top line lifetime value of $150 million to $250 million,” OSI “likely bribed somebody by giving half of it away for $4.50.” Further, Muddy Waters Research reported that “[t]here was an unannounced transfer of 49% of OSIS’s project company, S2 Albania SHPK, to a holding company owned by an Albanian doctor, for consideration of less than $5.00.”
Additionally, Muddy Waters Research reported that “[t]o be clear, this company (S2 Albania SHPK) is the company to which all rights and obligations under the turnkey contract award belong, so 49% of the company is presumably worth many millions of dollars. It appears to [Muddy Waters Research] that [OSI’s] accounts do not reflect the transfer – there are no deductions for non-controlling interests in the income statement, and February 2017 bond offering documents appear to show the subsidiary as 100% owned by [OSI].”
Muddy Waters Research also reported that “[b]eyond the turnkey contracts, investigators’ interviews with former employees yielded numerous anecdotes indicating [OSI] is rotten to the core. Former employees alleged a list of rot they experienced at Rapiscan, including their concern about possibly going to prison, knowledge of improper sales, cash payments to government officials, fraud in a significant contract, and that [OSI] had narrowly avoided being debarred from doing business with the U.S. government.”
On this news, OSI’s stock price fell $24.55 per share, or 29.2%, to close at $59.52 per share on December 6, 2017, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Have You Purchased or Acquired OSI Systems Shares?
If you purchased or otherwise acquired OSI Systems shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to learn whether you may have legal claims, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Dec 8, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Bumble Bee Premium Select Medium Red Smoked Salmon Subject of Class Action Lawsuit
Medium Red Smoked Salmon – Not High-Quality, Not Wild-Caught – Complaint Alleges
On December 6, 2017, a class action complaint was filed in United States District Court, Southern District of California, against Bumble Bee Foods, LLC accusing the “well-known purveyor of canned fish,” including the Bumble Bee product “Premium Select Medium Red Smoked Salmon Filets in Oil,” of misleading practices concerning the nature and quality of its canned Medium Red Smoked Salmon food product.
According to the class action complaint, brought to enjoin Bumble Bee’s misleading practices and to recover restitution and damages for the class:
Through various labeling statements and design elements, Bumble Bee falsely suggests that [Bumble Bee] Medium Red Smoked Salmon is high-quality, wild-caught salmon, when it is actually low-quality, farm-raised Chilean salmon that has been colored. Bumble Bee also falsely and unlawfully represents that the product is smoked salmon, when it is actually unsmoked salmon to which smoke flavor has been added.
By making these false, misleading, and unlawful representations, Bumble Bee is able to charge a significant price premium compared to what it could charge for low-quality, colored, smoke-flavored, farm-raised salmon.
The complaint alleges that the “Plaintiff purchased the [Bumble Bee] Medium Red Smoked Salmon believing he was purchasing high-quality, smoked wild-caught Alaskan salmon, and was injured as a result of Bumble Bee’s misrepresentations because he received a product worth less than he paid.”
Consumers Have False Impression About Medium Red Smoked Salmon
The impression, according to the class action complaint, with which consumers are left regarding the Medium Red Smoked Salmon “. . . is false, because the [Bumble Bee] Medium Red Smoked Salmon is not high-quality, wild-caught salmon, but low-quality, farm-raised salmon, which has been colored via feed to look like wild salmon.”
According to the complaint, “[i]n reality, the fish in the [Bumble Bee] Medium Red Smoked Salmon is not wild Alaskan Coho salmon, but farm-raised Chilean Coho salmon (which is later canned in Thailand), also sometimes referred to as ‘Silverfish.’”
Consumers of Bumble Bee Premium Select Medium Red Smoked Salmon
If you purchased Bumble Bee Premium Select Medium Red Smoked Salmon and would like to speak privately with an attorney to learn more about your potential legal rights, please complete the form to the right or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
