*

Shares sank 22.4% after UnitedHealth ( UNH ) cut profit forecast

*

Insurer said to conceal changes after Brian Thompson death

*

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to murdering Thompson

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group ( UNH )

was sued on Wednesday for allegedly concealing how backlash from

the killing of a top executive was damaging its business,

causing its stock to nosedive after the insurer lowered its 2025

outlook.

In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court,

shareholders said the insurer defrauded them after the December

4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson by

shifting away from strategies that led to higher-than-average

claims denials, without revealing the impact on profitability.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) shares fell 22.4% on April 17, wiping out about

$119 billion of market value, after the insurer cut its 2025

forecast for adjusted profit per share to between $26 and $26.50

from between $29.50 and $30.

The insurer cited higher costs in its Medicare business. It

had issued the old forecast one day before Thompson's death.

Shareholders said UnitedHealth ( UNH ) had previously inflated its

stock price by recklessly sticking with its old forecast, even

as mounting public anger and an October 17 U.S. Senate report on

claims denials caused it to become more patient-friendly.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) had no immediate comment. The insurer has

offices in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Washington, D.C.

Wednesday's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) shareholders from between December 3, 2024 and

April 16, 2025. Chief Executive Andrew Witty and Chief Financial

Officer John Rex are also defendants.

Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murdering Thompson

in midtown Manhattan, and could face the death penalty.

Mangione has become a hero to some Americans who are unhappy

with for-profit health insurers that deny coverage for

treatments.

The case is Faller v UnitedHealth Group Inc ( UNH ) et al, U.S.

District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-03799.