Mattel Investors Allege 2017 Financial Statement ‘Conspiracy’

Mattel Inc. allegedly deceived investors about a misleading 2017 financial statement that understated the company’s net loss by at least $109 million, a complaint filed in California federal district court says.

The toymaker filed a false financial statement in the third quarter of 2017, then “conspired” to cover up the understatement “through an accounting sleight of hand in the next quarter,” a pension fund says in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Dec. 24.

The “conspiracy” came to light in August after a whistleblower letter revealed accounting details and questioned the independence of Mattel’s outside auditor, ...