Paris Soir - JOSIP HEIT AND GSB GERMANY REACH SETTLEMENT WITH STATE SECURITIES REGULATORS

As part of the settlement, the settling states will withdraw all prior allegations of fraud or dishonest practices, said Avi Perry and Alex Spiro, partners at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP who served as counsel for Mr. Heit and GSB Germany.

No monetary penalties will be imposed. Instead, Mr. Heit and the GSB companies have agreed to refund all eligible U.S. customers in the settling states. An independent claims administrator, AlixPartners, LLP, will accept claims from customers to determine eligibility for compensation. More information about the claims process will be publicized soon.

"We welcome this settlement," said Josip Heit, Chairman of GSB Germany. "We are committed to refunding all eligible customers through the claims process. Our customers always come first. Protecting the brand, our reputation, and our customers is our top priority."

"Since the start of this matter, our goal has been to reach a settlement that serves our customers," Mr. Heit added. "As Chairman, I am proud of this outcome. We cooperated fully with the U.S. state investigations, and we are working with our attorneys to ensure that any future U.S. business complies with all applicable legal requirements."

"This settlement—which includes no monetary penalty and withdraws all allegations of fraud—is an important milestone for Mr. Heit and his companies," said Perry and Spiro of Quinn Emanuel. "We are pleased to bring this matter to a successful close with a multistate resolution."
The settlement will become final upon conclusion of the claims process. In addition to Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas, other states will be given the opportunity to join the settlement on the same terms.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is a 1000+ lawyer business litigation firm—the largest in the world devoted solely to business litigation and arbitration with 34 global office locations. Surveys of major companies around the world have named it the "most feared" law firm in the world three times. Firm lawyers have tried over 2,500 cases, winning 86% of them. When representing defendants, Quinn Emanuel's trial experience gets better settlements or defence verdicts. When representing plaintiffs, Quinn Emanuel lawyers have won nearly $80 billion in judgments and settlements. Quinn Emanuel has also obtained seven nine-figure jury verdicts, four 10-figure jury verdicts, 51 nine-figure settlements, and 20 10-figure settlements.

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M.Marie--PS