NEW YORK, June 6, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all persons who purchased securities of Allou Healthcare, Inc., formerly Allou Health & Beauty Care, Inc. (AMEX:ALU) ("Allou" or the "Company") publicly traded securities during the period between July 3, 2002 and April 9, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint names as defendants certain officers and directors of Allou and its auditors, KPMG LLP. The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period thereby artificially inflating the price of Allou securities. Those materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's financial results include allegations: (a) that Allou was materially overstating its accounts receivables by approximately $80 million and its inventory by approximately $35 million, thereby overstating Allou's revenue and earnings; and (b) as a result of the foregoing, Allou's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with GAAP and were therefore materially false and misleading. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Allou securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Allou securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased Allou securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than June 30, 2003 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs.'' Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact Damon Williams dwilliam@abbeygardy.com or Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. of Abbey Gardy, LLP nkaboolian@abbeygardy.com or at (800) 889-3701 or (212) 889-3700.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca