BALA CYNWYD, Pa., August 25, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of BearingPoint, Inc. ("BearingPoint" or the "Company") (NYSE: BE) from October 30, 2002 through August 13, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
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 numerous positive statements throughout the Class Period regarding the Company's financial performance. As alleged in the complaint, these statements were each materially false and misleading when made as they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were then known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company had materially overstated its net income and earnings per share and undervalued its identifiable intangibles (goodwill) by approximately $20 million; (2) that the Company had inflated its earnings by improperly accounting for restructuring charges relating to acquisitions; (3) that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"); (4) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (5) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On August 14, 2003, prior to the opening of the financial markets, the Company announced in a press release and in a concurrently filed Form 8-K that it would restate its financial results for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2003 due to certain acquisition related and other accounting adjustments. News of this shocked the market. Shares of BearingPoint fell 23 percent, or $2.41 per share, to close at $7.90, on unusually heavy trading volume on August 14, 2003.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than October 20, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca