A high-tech indoor farming company in Appalachia promoted by JD Vance and financed in part by his venture capital firm is facing five lawsuits alleging it misled regulators and duped investors.
The shareholder suits against Morehead, Kentucky-based AppHarvest were filed between November 2021 and August 2022 by individual investors and a county retirement association. They allege the agricultural startup, where Vance also briefly sat on the board, repeatedly overstated its hiring and retention figures, including in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings that investors use to evaluate companies. The suits also argue that investors were misled by press releases, analyst presentations and other public statements, including an interview the company's chief executive gave to The Associated Press touting a hiring spree.
