OPKO Health Inc. settles class action suit for $16.5 million
Miami-based OPKO Health Inc. has agreed to settle a class action suit alleging a “pump and dump” stock fraud scheme for $16.5 million.
The company, helmed by local philanthropist and billionaire Phillip Frost, agreed to the settlement to avoid further litigation and did not admit guilt. The suit was brought in September 2018, one week after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Frost and OPKO with civil securities fraud. The class action suit, brought by defendants including an Israeli pension fund, alleged a similar scheme to pump up the price of penny stocks, then selling or dumping the shares.
In December 2018, Frost and OPKO agreed to settle the SEC’s charges for more than $5.5 million without admitting guilt.
The SEC’s lawsuit remains ongoing against other named defendants; OPKO or its subsidiaries have been named in two other ongoing suits.
