Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit seeking to represent purchasers of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCFS) common stock between February 1, 2018 and November 12, 2021, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), and charging FirstCash and certain of its top executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The FirstCash class action lawsuit was commenced on January 14, 2022 in the Northern District of Texas and is captioned Genesee County Employees’ Retirement System v. FirstCash Holdings, Inc., No. 22-cv-00033.
The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud. You can view a copy of the complaint by clicking here.
If you suffered significant losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the FirstCash class action lawsuit, please provide your information by clicking here. You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com. Lead plaintiff motions for the FirstCash class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than March 15, 2022.
CASE ALLEGATIONS: FirstCash owns and operates pawn stores in the United States and Latin America. Through its pawn stores, FirstCash provides non-recourse pawn loans and buys merchandise from customers to allow them to meet short-term cash needs. In September 2016, FirstCash finalized its merger with pawnshop provider and payday lender Cash America International, Inc. (“Cash America”). In November 2013, Cash America entered into a Consent Order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) for making loans to covered members of the military or their dependents in violation of the Military Lending Act (“MLA”), violations relating to debt collection, failure to prevent or timely detect problematic conduct due to inadequate internal compliance, and failure to maintain required records (the “Order”). In the Order, Cash America agreed to cease and desist from the violations and to implement a plan designed to ensure its future compliance with the terms of the Order. The CFPB fined Cash America $5 million and ordered it to deposit $8 million into an account in order to provide redress to affected consumers.
The FirstCash class action lawsuit alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (i) FirstCash had made more than 3,600 loans to over 1,000 active-duty members of the military and their families at usurious interest rates above 36% – and often exceeding 200% – in violation of the MLA and the Order; (ii) FirstCash had failed to implement the remedial measures imposed by the Order; (iii) FirstCash’s financial results were, in substantial part, the product of FirstCash’s violations of the MLA and the Order; and (iv) as a result, FirstCash was exposed to a material undisclosed risk of legal, reputational, and financial harm if FirstCash’s violations of the MLA and the Order were ever publicly disclosed.
On November 12, 2021, the CFPB announced that it had filed a complaint against FirstCash for violations of the MLA and the Order. The CFPB complaint alleged that “between June 2017 and May 2021 (the only period for which the Bureau currently has Defendants’ transactional data), [FirstCash and its subsidiary Cash America West, Inc.] together made over 3,600 pawn loans to more than 1,000 covered borrowers in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Washington.” The CFPB found that, in all of the loans at issue, FirstCash imposed interest rates over 36%, with rates frequently exceeding 200%. Additionally, the CFPB found that FirstCash’s usurious loan practices had been ongoing since at least October 2016 in violation of the Order. A CFPB release describing the agency’s action against FirstCash stated that FirstCash had “cheated” and “gouged” military families and “robbed them of their rights to go to court.” On this news, the price of FirstCash common stock declined approximately 28% the following two trading days, damaging investors.
THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased FirstCash common stock during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the FirstCash class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the FirstCash class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the FirstCash class action lawsuit. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery of the FirstCash class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP: With 200 lawyers in 9 offices nationwide, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is the largest U.S. law firm representing investors in securities class actions. Robbins Geller attorneys have obtained many of the largest shareholder recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever – $7.2 billion – in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. The 2020 ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report ranked Robbins Geller first for recovering $1.6 billion for investors that year, more than double the amount recovered by any other securities plaintiffs’ firm. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.
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Contacts
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
655 W. Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
J.C. Sanchez, 800-449-4900
jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com
