Yelp Inc and its executives were accused in a lawsuit of selling more than $81 million in stock while deceiving shareholders about the quality of consumer reviews on its website.

The proposed class action, which was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday, said Yelp's share price had reached artificially inflated prices of over $98 earlier this year because the company had misrepresented its true condition.

"Reviews, including anonymous reviews, appearing on the company's website were not all authentic 'firsthand' reviews," the lawsuit said, "but instead included fraudulent reviews by reviewers who did not have first-hand experience with the business."Yelp Faces Shareholder Lawsuit Over Online Reviews [reuters.com]