BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Feb. 13, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
A securities class action lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey claims that Suprema Specialties, Inc. (Nasdaq:CHEZ) mislead investors about its business and financial condition.
Named as defendants in the case are Suprema, Mark Cocchiola, the Company's Chairman and CEO, Steven Venechanos, the Company's CFO and Secretary and Marco Cocchiola, Rudolph Acosta, Paul Desocia and Barry Rutcofsky, all of whom are directors of the Company.
Plaintiff seeks damages for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 193 on behalf of all investors who bought Suprema Specialties, Inc. securities between August 8, 2001 through December 21, 2001 (the "Class Period").
Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP has prosecuted shareholder class actions for over fourteen years and has recovered more than $1 billion for investors. If you are a shareholder of Suprema Specialties, Inc. and want to learn more about this lawsuit and about becoming a lead plaintiff, you may visit our Website at www.sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint alleges that Suprema Specialities, Inc. throughout the Class Period knowingly or recklessly disseminated materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's financial condition. The following statements, among others, are alleged to have been materially false and misleading: August 8, 2001 and August 15, 2001 press releases announcing Suprema's 2001 year end financial results; 2001 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on September 28, 2001; Suprema's registration statement filed with the SEC on November 6, 2001 for the public offering of over 4 million shares of stock at $12.75 of which 500,000 shares were sold by, among others, defendants Cocchiola and Venechanos; November 15, 2001 press release announcing Suprema's results for the first quarter of 2002, ended September 30, 2001; and Suprema's Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2002. In each of its SEC filings, the Company assured the public that its financials were in conformity with GAAP. The complaint alleged that Suprema's financial statements were, in fact, not in conformity with GAAP. On December 21, 2001 the Company announced the resignation of defendant Venechanos, the Company's CFO, and disclosed that it had launched an investigation into the Company's prior reported financial results. In response to this report the NASDAQ halted trading of Suprema stock.
If you purchased Suprema Specialities, Inc. securities between August 8, 2001 and December 21, 2001, you may be a member of the class and have until March 18, 2002 to move the court to become a lead plaintiff. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class, however, you do not need to take any action at this time. Should you decide to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, you may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or retain counsel of your choice.
To learn more about your rights and interests in this case and your ability to potentially recoup your losses, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) directly at 888-299-7706 (toll free) or 610-822-2221, fax number 610-822-0002, e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com or visit our Website at www.sbclasslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca