NEW YORK, March 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Aaron’s, Inc. (“Aaron’s” or the “Company”) (NYSE: AAN) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and indexed under 20-cv-01796, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Aaron’s securities between March 2, 2018, and February 19, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Aaron’s securities during the class period, you have until April 28, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
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Aaron’s was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company operates as an omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions to underserved and credit-challenged customers, and also engages in the sale, lease ownership, and specialty retailing of various products.
Aaron’s operates in three reportable segments—Progressive Leasing (“Progressive”), Aaron’s Business (“AB”), and Vive Financial, LLC (“Vive”). The Progressive and AB segments are subject to federal regulatory agency oversight and scrutiny, including the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”).
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (i) that Aaron’s had inadequate disclosure controls, procedures, and compliance measures; (ii) that, consequently, the operations of Aaron’s Progressive and AB segments were in violation of the FTC Act and/or relevant FTC regulations; (iii) that, consequently, Aaron’s earnings from those segments were partially derived from unlawful business practices and were thus unsustainable; (iv) the full extent of Aaron’s liability regarding the FTC’s investigation into its Progressive and AB segments, Aaron’s noncompliance with the FTC Act, and the likely negative consequences of all the foregoing on the Company’s financial results; and (v) that, as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On July 26, 2018, during after-market hours, Aaron’s filed a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reporting the Company’s financial and operating results for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2018. That Quarterly Report disclosed that, in July 2018, Aaron’s received civil investigative demands (“CIDs”) from the FTC requesting the production of documents and answers to written questions to determine whether disclosures related to financial products offered by the Company through its AB and Progressive segments were in violation of the FTC Act.
On this news, Aaron’s stock price fell $5.38 per share, or 11.01%, to close at $43.47 per share on July 27, 2018.
On April 25, 2019, during pre-market hours, Aaron’s filed another Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q with the SEC, reporting the Company’s financial and operating results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019. That Quarterly Report disclosed that, in April 2019, Aaron’s AB segment “received an unrelated CID from the FTC focused on certain transactions involving the purchase and sale of customer lease agreements, and whether such transactions violated the FTC Act.”
Then, on February 20, 2020, Aaron’s issued a press release announcing the Company’s financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019. Among other results, Aaron’s reported that the Company’s Progressive segment had reached an agreement in principle with FTC staff regarding the CID from the FTC that Progressive received in July 2018. Aaron’s advised investors that “[u]nder the proposed agreement, which requires final approval by FTC Commissioners and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Progressive will make a payment of $175 million and enhance certain compliance-related activities, including monitoring, disclosure and reporting requirements.”
On this news, Aaron’s stock price fell $10.70 per share, or 19.06%, to close at $45.45 per share on February 20, 2020.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
