To join this class action, please complete the following Investor Certification. [contact-form-7 id=”1576″ title=”FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) Investor Certification”]
Oklahoma City, OK (July 29, 2020) – On July 28, 2020, a securities class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against First Energy Corp. (NYSE: FE). The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material or false misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price during the Class Period, which is February 21, 2017 through July 21, 2020. More specifically, the complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had orchestrated a $60 million campaign to corrupt the political process in order to secure the passage of legislation favoring the Company and its affiliates; (2) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had secretly funneled tens of millions of dollars to Ohio politicians to bribe those politicians in order to secure votes in favor of HB6, a $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout for FirstEnergy’s unprofitable nuclear facilities; (3) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had conducted a massive, misleading advertising campaign in support of HB6 and in opposition to a ballot initiative to repeal HB6 by passing millions of dollars through an intricate web of ‘dark money’ entities and front companies in order to conceal the Company’s involvement; (4) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had subverted a citizens’ ballot initiative to repeal HB6 by, among other unscrupulous tactics, hiring more than 15 signature gathering firms (and thus conflicting them out of supporting the initiative) and bribing ballot initiative insiders and signature collectors; (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ Class Period statements regarding FirstEnergy’s regulatory and legislative efforts were materially false and misleading; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, FirstEnergy was subject to an extreme, undisclosed risk of reputational, legal and financial harm.
On July 21, 2020, media reported, in connection with the arrest of an Ohio lawmaker, that FirstEnergy engaged in an illegal scheme to have taxpayers bail out the Company’s nuclear power plants. The Company also disclosed that it had received subpoenas in connection with an investigation into the passage of Ohio House Bill 6. On this news, the Company’s share price fell $7.01, or 17%, to close at $34.25 per share on July 21, 2020, on unusually heavy trading volume.
On July 22, 2020, Cleveland.com published an article entitled “FirstEnergy was relentless in quest to have Ohio legislature bail out the utility’s nuclear plants,” which provided further details regarding FirstEnergy’s illicit activities. On this news, the Company’s share price fell $7.16, or 21%, to close at $27.09 per share on July 22, 2020, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all First Energy Corp. shareholders who purchased common stock during the Class Period and are therefore a member of the Class as described above. You may move the Court no later than Monday, September 28, 2020 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the entire Class. However, in order to do so, you must meet certain legal requirements pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
If you wish to discuss this action, obtain further information and participate in this or any other securities litigation, or should you have any questions or concerns regarding this notice or preservation of your rights, please contact: Robin Hester at rkh@federmanlaw.com