LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Jan. 7, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Law Firm of Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP announced today that a class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of ACLN, Ltd. ("ACLN" or the "Company") (NYSE:ASW) publicly traded securities during the period between June 29, 2000 and December 20, 2001, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the firm's website at http://www.classlawyer.com/pr/acln.pdf.
The complaint charges ACLN, Joseph Bisschops ("Bisschops"), Aldo Labiad ("Labiad") and Alex De Ridder ("Ridder") with issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period, thereby artificially inflating the price of ACLN securities. Beginning on June 29, 2000, and continuing throughout the Class Period, defendants issued multiple press releases and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC, which highlighted the Company's growth and strong financial performance. As alleged in the Complaint, these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to described the true state of financial affairs at the Company. Specifically, the complaint charges that defendants (a) failed to disclose certain self-dealing transactions between defendants Bisschops and certain private entities which he controlled; (b) overstated the Company's assets by listing a shipping vessel, the Sea Atef, as an asset of the Company when, in fact, the Company did not own the Sea Atef; (c) understated the Company's selling, general and administrative expenses, causing the Company's net income to be overstated; and (d) violated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") and the Company's own stated policy with regard to recognition of revenue by reporting revenue for the cars that it sold as soon as the ship carrying the cars left the port and not when the shipment was completed. The truth about these statements finally came to light on December 20, 2001, in an article published by Herb Greenberg on TheStreet.com. In response to the questions raised in Greenberg's article, shares of ACLN plunged 64%, falling $16.71 to close at $9.40 per share.
If you bought ACLN publicly traded securities between June 29, 2000 and December 20, 2001 inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 19, 2002. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at http://www.classlawyer.com/sign_up.html. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. The firm has offices in Florida, Arkansas and California, but represents investors throughout the nation. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm or visit the Firm's website at www.classlawyer.com.
CAULEY GELLER BOWMAN & COATES, LLP Investor Relations Department: Jackie Addison, Sue Null or Shelly Nicholson P.O. Box 25438 Little Rock, AR 72221-5438 Toll Free: 1-888-551-9944 E-mail: info@classlawyer.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.