BOULDER, Colo., June 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Shuman Law Firm today announced that a lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or held shares of the Oppenheimer Pennsylvania Municipal Fund (the "Pennsylvania Fund" or the "Fund") offered by OppenheimerFunds, Inc. ("OppenheimerFunds") (Nasdaq:OPATX) (Nasdaq:OPABX) (Nasdaq:OPACX) during the period between November 28, 2005 and November 28, 2008 (the "Class Period"), including in connection with its November 28, 2005, September 27, 2006, March 5, 2007 and November 28, 2007 offerings (the "Offerings").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with respect to this matter, please contact Kip B. Shuman or Rusty E. Glenn toll free at (866) 974-8626 or email Mr. Shuman at kip@shumanlawfirm.com or Mr. Glenn at rusty@shumanlawfirm.com.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, while the Pennsylvania Fund promoted itself as focusing on capital preservation and being safer than a high yield municipal bond fund, unbeknownst to investors, the Fund altered its investment style and began to significantly increase its risk in the hopes of seeking higher returns. Defendants concealed that the Pennsylvania Fund had increased its exposure in these excessively risky bets in the hopes of higher returns, such that investors remained unaware of these additional risk exposures. Then, beginning in late September 2008 and continuing through February 2009, the Fund began to acknowledge the serious deterioration in its portfolio. As a result of the Fund's disclosures, the price of the Fund's shares collapsed. As a result, the Fund lost over 33% of its value in a few months.
According to the complaint, the true facts which were omitted from the Registration Statements/Prospectuses issued in connection with the Offerings were as follows: (a) the Fund was no longer adhering to its objective of preserving capital, but in an effort to achieve greater yields was pursuing riskier instruments; (b) the Fund was no longer adhering to its no-concentration policy; (c) the extent of the Fund's liquidity risk due to the illiquid nature of a large portion of the Fund's portfolios, including the Fund's investment in Tobacco and Dirt Bonds, was concealed; (d) the extent to which the Fund's portfolio contained unrated securities was concealed; (e) the Fund's internal controls were inadequate to prevent defendants from taking on excessive risk or to prevent them from improperly evaluating the credit quality of unrated securities; (f) the extent of the Fund's risk exposure to derivatives and other high-risk instruments such as Inverse Floaters was concealed; and (g) the extent of the Fund's leverage exposure was misstated.
If you are a member of the proposed class, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class no later June 29, 2009. A lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision whether or not to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members.
The Shuman Law Firm represents investors throughout the nation, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and derivative litigation.