Investors are accusing UnitedHealthcare's parent group of conning the public to boost profits — and, ultimately, contributing to the murder of CEO Brian Thompson.
In a proposed class action lawsuit filed earlier this week in New York, UnitedHealth Group investor Roberto Faller claims that the insurer profited from a series of "aggressive, anti-consumer tactics" that harmed clients and investors alike.
"UnitedHealth had, for years, engaged in a corporate strategy of denying health coverage in order to boost its profits, and ultimately, its share price," the lawsuit claims. "This anti-consumer and, at times, unlawful strategy resulted in regulatory scrutiny (as well as public angst) against UnitedHealth, which ultimately resulted in the murder of Brian Thompson."
Yes, you read that right: these investors are claiming that UHC's craven policies contributed to the murder of its CEO — a wild admission, and one that we've reached out to Faller's attorneys to get more information about.
"Animus towards UnitedHealth was such that, subsequent to the murder of Mr. Thompson, many Americans openly celebrated his death, expressed admiration for his accused killer, and/or otherwise demanded that UnitedHealth change its strategy even if they condemned Mr. Thompson’s killing," the filing continues.
Though those assertions are indeed bold, they're not, unfortunately, the heart of the suit.
The suit further alleges that in the wake of Thompson's murder, the company continued to prop up share projections of between $29.50 and $30 — projections that were, ironically enough, announced just a day before the CEO was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan.
Along with being allegedly misled about the company's finances after the assassination, the motion also suggests that Thompson's murder resulted in a massive strategy change: that it wasn't willing to pursue its widespread claims-denying "as a result of heightened scrutiny...as well as open hostility."
Though most people would consider that shift a good thing, the proposed investor class is calling bull on the entire scheme because, ultimately, it led to them losing money.
After reaffirming its inflated share projections just over a month after Thompson was killed, UHC "shocked the market" in April when it issued revised numbers several dollars less than the $29-30 range it had proposed just ahead of the assassination. The news led to such a steep stock drop-off that the entire Dow Jones industrial average fell.
Around the same time the revised stock guidance was issued, the suit claims, UHC also announced that it would begin "allowing increased coverage and care for beneficiaries of Medicare Advantage" — a reversal of previous policies that had been investigated by media and government alike.
Instead of acknowledging what was really going on, the company stuck with its context-free changes, the investors claim. Ultimately, it seems to have opened shareholders' eyes to the true nature of the company they bought into — the same one that they're now fighting to get damages from.
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