SAN DIEGO & PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP announces that a class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. The complaint alleges that officers and directors of GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GNC) violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between May 2, 2013 and October 22, 2015, by making materially false and misleading statements about GNC's business prospects. GNC operates as a specialty retailer of health and wellness products.
View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: www.robbinsarroyo.com/shareholders-rights-blog/gnc-holdings-inc
GNC Allegedly Sells Supplements Containing Illegal Ingredients
According to the complaint, between 2013 and 2015, GNC filed several Form 10-Qs and 10-Ks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, attesting to the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures. The complaint alleges that these documents were misleading because they failed to disclose that GNC unlawfully sold thousands of units of products in Oregon that contained picamilon, a drug that has not been approved as a prescription or over-the-counter drug in the United States. Further, GNC unlawfully sold thousands of units of products that contained BMPEA, a chemical similar to amphetamine that may not be lawfully sold in the United States.
On October 22, 2015, the Oregon Attorney General issued a press release announcing a lawsuit against GNC arising from its sale of nutritional and dietary supplements containing the illegal ingredients picamilon and BMPEA. The lawsuit alleges that GNC violated the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act by misrepresenting that certain products GNC sold were lawful dietary supplements, when in fact they were adulterated and unlawful. The lawsuit further alleges that GNC sold products in Oregon labeled as containing botanical acacia rigidula that had been spiked with unlabeled BMPEA, and that GNC sold products containing picamilon or BMPEA that were falsely labeled as a dietary supplement. On this news, GNC stock fell $5.73 per share, or over 14%, to close at $34.50 on October 22, 2015.
GNC Shareholders Have Legal Options
Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, DDonahue@robbinsarroyo.com, or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website.
Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested.
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