SAN DIEGO, April 23, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Law Offices Of Anatoly Weiser today announced that a securities lawsuit has been commenced on behalf of shareholders who purchased the common stock of Spear & Jackson, Inc. ("SJCK" or the "Company") (OTCBB:SJCK) between July 14, 2003 and April 15, 2004, inclusive. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the relevant time period thereby artificially inflating the price of SJCK securities. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that: (i) the defendants orchestrated a "pump-and dump" scheme to manipulate the share price of SJCK stock by issuing false information to tout SJCK stock to registered representatives and broker-dealers around the country; (ii) the defendants used nominee companies based in the British Virgin Islands illegally to obtain over 1.2 million shares of SJCK stock during 2002, some of which was obtained through the filing of a fraudulent Form S-8 registration statement; (iii) the Company's repurchase of shares was not in compliance with applicable rules; (iv) the Company never had any intention of making open market purchases as suggested in its January 16, 2004 release; and (v) the Company was not on track to achieve earnings of $0.50 to $0.55 per share for 2004. As a result of the defendants' false statements, SJCK's stock price traded at inflated levels during the Class Period, increasing to as high as $9.55 on July 15, 2003, whereby the Company's top officers and directors sold more than $3 million worth of their own shares. On April 16, 2004, it was announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order against Spear & Jackson alleging that Chief Executive Dennis Crowley has been selling company stock in secret through brokerage accounts in the British Virgin Islands over the last two years.
If you purchased SJCK stock between July 14, 2003 and April 15, 2004, you may move the court no later than June 20, 2004 to serve as a lead plaintiff. The lead plaintiff acts as a representative party on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. To be a member of the class, you need not take any action at this time. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by whether or not you serve as a lead plaintiff.
If you want to discuss your legal rights, you may call or e-mail the Law Offices of Anatoly Weiser who will attempt to answer your questions at no cost or obligation to you. You may contact the Law Offices Of Anatoly Weiser toll-free at (877) 736-5411, by fax at (858) 225-0838 or by email at info@classlawsuit.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca