The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP reminds investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of those who acquired FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (“FirstCash” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FCFS) common stock from February 1, 2018 through November 12, 2021, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Investors have until March 15, 2022 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

FirstCash owns and operates pawn stores in the United States and Latin America. Through its pawn stores, FirstCash provides non-recourse pawn loans and buys merchandise from customers to allow them to meet short-term cash needs.

In September 2016, FirstCash finalized its merger with pawnshop provider and payday lender Cash America International, Inc. (“Cash America”). In November 2013, Cash America entered into a Consent Order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) for making loans to covered members of the military or their dependents in violation of the Military Lending Act (“MLA”) regulations relating to debt collection, failure to prevent or timely detect problematic conduct due to inadequate internal compliance, and failure to maintain required records (the “Order”). In the Order, Cash America agreed to cease and desist from the violations and to implement a plan designed to ensure its future compliance with the terms of the Order. The CFPB fined Cash America $5 million and ordered it to deposit $8 million into an account in order to provide redress to affected consumers.

On November 12, 2021, the CFPB announced that it had filed a complaint against FirstCash for violations of the MLA and the Order. The CFPB complaint alleged that “[b]etween June 2017 and May 2021 (the only period for which the Bureau currently has Defendants’ transactional data), [FirstCash and its subsidiary Cash America West, Inc.] together made over 3,600 pawn loans to more than 1,000 covered borrowers from stores in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Washington.” The CFPB found that, in all of the loans at issue, FirstCash imposed interest rates over 36%, with rates frequently exceeding 200%. Additionally, the CFPB found that FirstCash’s usurious loan practices had been ongoing since at least October 2016 in violation of the Order. A CFPB release describing the agency’s action against FirstCash stated that FirstCash had “cheated” and “gouged” military families and “robbed them of their rights to go to court.” On this news, FirstCash’s share price declined by $7.50 per share, or approximately 8.7%, from $86.14 per share to close at $78.64 per share on November 12, 2021.

The lawsuit alleges throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (i) FirstCash had made more than 3,600 loans to over 1,000 active-duty members of the military and their families at usurious interest rates above 36% – and often exceeding 200% – in violation of the MLA and the Order; (ii) FirstCash had failed to implement the remedial measures imposed by the Order; (iii) FirstCash’s financial results were, in substantial part, the product of FirstCash’s violations of the MLA and the Order; and (iv) as a result, FirstCash was exposed to a material undisclosed risk of legal, reputational, and financial harm if FirstCash’s violations of the MLA and the Order were ever publicly disclosed.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired FirstCash securities, have information, or would like to learn more about these claims, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP by email at investigations@kmllp.com, or by filling out this contact form, to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you.

Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs’ law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, whistleblower, and consumer litigation. The firm’s efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. Additional information about the firm can be found at Kirby McInerney LLP’s website: http://www.kmllp.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220201006194/en/