Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed a motion for lead plaintiff status for the state’s two largest retirement systems in a securities class-action lawsuit against ZoomInfo Technologies related to recent stock losses.
Yost is seeking lead plaintiff status for the $115.5 billion Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and $97.2 billion Ohio State Teachers Retirement System, both based in Columbus, alleging the software and data company deliberately misled investors, which led to a combined loss of $76 million for the two retirement systems.
“ZoomInfo’s leadership willfully blinded investors to the reality that interest in the company’s product was waning," Yost said in a Nov. 13 news release. "Their reckless deception inflicted serious losses for Ohio’s pension systems and other investors, and we’re demanding accountability.”
The lawsuit was originally filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Wash., by the $199 million Pontiac (Mich.) Police and Fire Retirement System on Sept. 4, alleging the company’s executives committed securities fraud between November 2020 and August 2024 by hiding a slowing demand for its business contact information software product after a spike in revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his Nov. 4 motion, Yost requested lead plaintiff status because the two retirement systems have the “largest financial interest” in the litigation.
