Maison Solutions Inc. (MSS) Misled Investors Regarding its Related Entities
A shareholder filed a class action on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Maison Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MSS) (a) Class A common stock in connection with the Company’s October 2023 initial public offering (“IPO”) or (b) securities between October 5, 2023 and December 15, 2023. Maison is a specialty grocery retailer offering Asian food and merchandise to U.S. consumers.
According to the complaint, Maison held its IPO on October 5, 2023, selling 2,500,000 shares for $4.00 per share. On December 15, 2023, Hindenburg Research published a report about Maison, alleging a number of “red flags” concerning potentially illegal activities. Hindenburg reported that defendant John Xu, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, is also the President of J&C International Group (“J&C”), a company which “support[s] immigration services for high-net-worth Chinese investors,” and that J&C, John Xu and an alleged related entity, Hong Kong Supermarkets, allegedly used supermarkets as a front to defraud the EB-5 visa program. Hindenburg’s investigation further revealed that the Company may be “being pumped by WhatsApp chat rooms” with screenshots of chatrooms showing “trading plans.”
Accordingly, plaintiffs allege that defendants failed to disclose to investors that (1) the Company’s vendor XHJC Holdings Inc., is a related party and (2) the Company’s CEO and related entities were alleged to have used supermarkets as a front to defraud the EB-5 visa program.
On this news, shares of Maison’s stock fell over 83%, to close at $2.50 per share on December 15, 2023. By the time of the class action filing, the Company’s stock has traded as low as $1.50 per share, a more than 62% decline from the IPO price.
What Now: Similarly situated shareholders may be eligible to participate in the class action against Maison Solutions Inc. Shareholders who want to act as lead plaintiff for the class should contact Robbins LLP. Plaintiffs must file their lead plaintiff papers by March 4, 2024. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. You do not have to participate in the case to be eligible for a recovery. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.
All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses.
