BALA CYNWYD, Pa., July 1, 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 Southern District of New York (02-CV-4088) claims that Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD) misled shareholders about its business and financial condition.
Plaintiff seeks damages for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and/or the Securities Act of 1933) on behalf of all investors who bought Allied Capital Corporation securities between November 14, 2001 and May 16, 2002 (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 Allied Capital Corporation and want to learn more about this lawsuit and about becoming a lead plaintiff, you may visit our website at http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
The complaint alleges that Allied Capital Corporation, throughout the Class Period, as alleged in the Complaint, defendants issued numerous statements and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC which described the Company's investments and their valuations. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company was overstating the value of its investments in companies such as Velocita, Inc. and The Loewen Group, Inc.; (ii) that the Company was improperly delaying the write-down of its impaired investments; and (iii) that as a result, the value of the Company's private finance portfolio and total assets was materially overstated at all relevant times.
On May 16, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, when concerns were raised by a money manager about the Company's long-term prospects and its accounting practices and management, shares of Allied Capital fell $2.79 per share, or approximately 10%, to close at $23.20 per share, after reaching an intra-day low of $20 per share, on volume of more than 14 million shares.
If you purchased Allied Capital Corporation securities between November 14, 2001 and May 16, 2002, you may be a member of the class and have until July 16, 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