Investors are suing UnitedHealth Group, alleging the company misled them by failing to disclose information on how the company was being affected by the backlash over its response to the December killing of CEO Brian Thompson.
Investor Roberto Faller filed a proposed class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, alleging that UnitedHealth inflated its stock price by projecting earnings per share of $29.50 to $30 in December. The suit claims the company reaffirmed this forecast in January, despite internal struggles and growing public backlash over its high rate of claim denials and Thompson’s death.
Faller argues that UnitedHealth failed to disclose necessary strategic adjustments, leading to a significant stock price drop of about $130 on April 17, 2025 – the company's worst single-day performance in over 25 years.
The lawsuit seeks class action certification and unspecified damages for investors who purchased shares between December 3, 2024, and April 16, 2025.
UnitedHealth Group Chief Executive Andrew Witty and Chief Financial Officer John Rex are also named as co-defendants in the complaint.
The Independent has contacted UnitedHealth Group for comment.
Suspected gunman Luigi Mangione, who turned 27 on May 6, has pleaded not guilty to federal murder charges, which could carry the death penalty, for allegedly killing Thompson, 50, outside of a Manhattan hotel on December 4.
The now-infamous Ivy League graduate also faces separate state charges in New York and Pennsylvania. Mangione was found in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s six days after Thompson’s death. He has yet to make a plea in the state.
Mangione's lawyers are seeking to dismiss his state murder charges, arguing that the New York case and parallel federal death penalty prosecution amount to double jeopardy.
A GiveSendGo fundraiser created to help Mangione with his legal fees topped $1 million on Tuesday, just in time for this birthday. The fundraiser now has a goal of $1.5 million.
Mangione is due back in state court on June 26 while his next federal court date is set for December 5.
