Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann sued in US court for ‘accounting inconsistencies’

A US investor’s lawsuit against Kraft Heinz, a multinational company in which billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann is a partner, accuses Lemann-owned 3G Capital of a US$15 billion writedown.

The initial lawsuit petition accuses the Brazilian and his partnership of failing in their fiduciary duty to the company and its shareholders.

The petition also accuses the group of allegedly misusing insider information to profit from the multinational’s shares.

The plaintiff in the US seeks compensation for her losses as a shareholder and for Kraft Heinz itself.

The amounts could exceed US$300 million.

Another demand is that 3G returns the gains it would have obtained with the alleged maneuver.

The investor’s lawyers claim that “the defendants were responsible for ensuring that the company maintained effective controls,” including disclosing “accurate and non-misleading information and that the company complied with anti-fraud provisions.”

According to the defendants, “they concealed the truth until 3G Capital misappropriated important non-public information about the company’s true financial state for its benefit by selling large amounts of stock to the ill-informed public for more than US$1.2 billion.”

Lemann, considered one of Brazil’s wealthiest men, is known for his investments in global consumer companies.

He and his partners founded 3G Capital in 2004 and have made significant acquisitions in companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and Burger King.

Kraft Heinz, created from the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz in 2015, is also one of the companies in which 3G has an equity stake.

With information from Brasil Sem Medo