The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) Accused of Misleading Shareholders
On April 30, 2020, GEO Group touted the Company’s COVID-19 response stating “from the outset of this global pandemic our corporate, regional and field staff have implemented comprehensive steps to address and mitigate the risks of COVID-19 to all of those in our care and our employees.” On May 6, 2020, GEO Group reaffirmed the competency of its COVID-19 response stating it “issued guidance to all of our facilities, consistent with the guidance issued for correctional and detention facilities by the Centers for Disease Control.” Despite these positive representations, on June 17, 2020, The Intercept published an article detailing a significant COVID-19 outbreak at a halfway house operated by GEO Group. The report characterized GEO Group’s response as “blundering” and went on further to state “the virus spread not in spite of the facility’s efforts to contain it, but because of it” with overcrowding conditions and lack of enforcement of personal protective measures. On this news, GEO Group’s share price fell almost 8% to close at $12.17 per share.