Yelp Sued Over Fake Reviews And Shady Shares Tactics
Just in time for Yelp's 10th anniversary, Yelp shareholders are suing the popular reviews website for selling off more than $81 million in falsely-inflated stock shares right before allegations of false reviews posted on the website were made public. Soon thereafter, the value of Yelp stocks plummeted 30 percent, from $98 a share in March, to $67.78 this month. The lawsuit also says that Yelp has required businesses to pay fees in order to suppress negative reviews, thereby skewing the actual content of the reviews.
The class-action lawsuit is being brought on by Joseph Curry. Yelp has told Reuters that the allegations are "without merit" and that the company will "vigorously fight them."
Since these practices have been made public, the Federal Trade Commission has released a letter detailing the 2,046 complaints about the company that have been made over the past six years.
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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter@JoannaFantozzi