Live Ventures Incorporated

According to the complaint, 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 allegedly failed to disclose to investors:

(1) that Live’s earnings per share for FY 2016 was actually only $6.33 per share;
(2) that the company used an artificially low share count to boost the earnings per share by 40%;
(3) that Live had overstated pretax income for fiscal 2016 by 20% by including $915,500 of “other income” related to certain amendments that were not negotiated until after the close of the fiscal year;
(4) that Live’s acquisition of ApplianceSmart did not close during first quarter 2017;
(5) that using December 30, 2017 as the “acquisition date” and recognizing income therefrom did not conform to generally accepted accounting principles;
(6) that, by falsely stating that the acquisition closed during the quarter, Live recognized bargain purchase gain, which enabled the company to report positive net income in what would otherwise have been an unprofitable quarter;
(7) that between fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2018, Live’s CEO received approximately 94% more in compensation than was disclosed to investors; and
(8) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about the company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.