Moonves and Other CBS Executives Sold Stock as Sexual Harassment Claims Approached

Several top executives at CBS Corp., including ex-CEO Leslie Moonves, sold more than $200 million of CBS stock before its price began to plunge as widespread workplace sexual harassment reports approached. The reports included claims against Moonves.

These allegations arose in an amended complaint that alleges violations of the Securities and Exchange Act for the purported misrepresentations CBS and its executives made about their efforts to stop sexual harassment at the broadcaster. According to the amended complaint, Moonves, along with chief operating officer Joseph Ianniello, chief accounting officer Lawrence Liding, and communications head Gil Schwartz — who left the company in September and isn’t named as a defendant in the amended complaint —  “collectively sold over 3.4 million shares of CBS stock during the class period, totaling over $200 million in proceeds, to the unsuspecting investing public, thereby profiting from their failure to disclose the truth to the market,” according to the suit.

The case is Samit v. CBS Corporation et al., case number 1:18-cv-07796, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.


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Steve Larson

An experienced trial lawyer who handles both hourly and contingent fee cases, Steve has expertise in class actions, environmental clean-up litigation, antitrust litigation, securities litigation, corporate disputes, intellectual property disputes, unfair competition claims, and disputes involving family wealth. Steve regularly represents individuals and businesses in federal and state court and has obtained class-wide recovery in multiple class actions. A veteran practitioner, Steve’s clients value his creative approach to resolving complex litigation matters.

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