After an
extended period of factual and legal debate and negotiations, it
became clear that it is in the best interests of both parties to
settle this matter rather than pursue costly litigation.
Joe Rotunda, President & CEO, EZCORP
EZCORP disputed and vigorously challenged the Attorney General's
claims. Joe Rotunda, President & CEO of EZCORP, stated, "After
an extended period of factual and legal debate and negotiations,
it became clear that it is in the best interests of both parties
to settle this matter rather than pursue costly litigation. We
mutually agreed to mediate the case and reached a settlement of
$600,000."
Rotunda continued, "Despite the Attorney General's allegations,
we are pleased that no customer was harmed. EZCORP had strong
identity protection policies in place, including a
state-of-the-art 'paperless' document system, written document
retention policies, and regular audits prior to the Attorney
General's lawsuit. We invested additional resources in
technology and information security and continue to do so in an
ongoing manner to enhance identity protection and security for
our customers. We regularly evaluate our operations and look for
new ways to protect our customers against identity theft."
Rotunda concluded, "Our public guidance for the June ending
quarter is 21 cents in diluted earnings per share versus 16
cents last year. Even with this charge as well as the charge
associated with the closing of the eleven EZMONEY stores in
Florida previously announced, we're confident that we will
achieve at least our public guidance for the quarter."
