According to the law firm press release, Fifth Street Finance Corp. (“FSC”) is a specialty finance company managed by Fifth Street Asset Management, Inc. (“FSAM”) that lends to and invests in small and mid-sized companies, primarily in connection with investments by private equity sponsors.

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants engaged in a fraudulent scheme and course of business designed to artificially inflate FSC’s assets and investment income in order to increase FSAM’s revenue. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that, among other things, Defendants pushed FSC into increasingly risky, speculative investments at unsustainable leverage levels, delayed writing down impaired investments in order to create the appearance of increasing revenues for FSAM, and systematically overstated the income generated by FSC’s investments and the fair value of its portfolio, while simultaneously providing investors and the market with false and misleading portrayals of FSC’s business trends and expected performance.

Plaintiffs filed a consolidated Complaint on April 1, 2016.

On September 23, 2016, the parties filed a Stipulation of Settlement. On November 9, the Court issued an Order provisionally certifying the Settlement Class and approving notice to the Settlement Class. On February 17, 2017, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement and entered Final Judgment. The Court issued an Order authorizing distribution of the Net Settlement on October 22, 2018.