NEW YORK, July 23, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (kaplanfox.com) filed a class action against Cree, Inc. ("Cree" or the "Company) (Nasdaq:CREE) and certain of its officers and directors, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. This suit is brought on behalf of all persons or entities, other than defendants, who purchased Cree common stock between August 19, 1998 and June 13, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Perio").
The complaint alleges that Cree and certain of its officers and directors violated the federal securities laws. During the Class Period, defendants issued statements that failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that the Company had materially overstated its net income and earnings per share; (2) that the defendants artificially inflated Cree's operating income by improperly recognizing revenue on purported "sales" of Cree's silicon carbide crystals to C3 Inc., an affiliated company of Cree that was run by the brother of the company's former CEO; (3) that the defendants failed to disclose, in Cree's registration statements and its prospectuses, how proceeds from its secondary offerings would be used; (4) that the defendants artificially inflated Cree's operating income so that they could participate in the Company's "discretionary incentive program" and so that the Company's outside directors would qualify for additional Cree stock options; (5) that the defendants were concealing these facts in order to manipulate the Company's earnings so that defendants could unload material amounts of their Cree holdings for more than $68 million; and (6) that the false and misleading information disseminated by the defendants caused Cree's common stock to trade at artificially inflated prices.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of the proposed Class and is represented by Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP. Our firm, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and New Jersey, has more than 30 years of experience prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving financial fraud. For more information about Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, you may visit our website at www.kaplanfox.com .
If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may move the court no later than August 18, 2003 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the Class. In order to serve as a lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements.
If you have any questions about this Notice, the action, your rights, or your interests, please e-mail us at mail@kaplanfox.com or contact:
Robert N. Kaplan, Esq. Laurence D. King, Esq. Christine M. Fox, Esq. Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP 555 Montgomery Street 805 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 New York, NY 10022 (415) 772-4700 (800) 290-1952 Fax: (415) 772-4707 (212) 687-1980 E-mail address: mail@kaplanfox.com Fax: (212) 687-7714 E-mail address: mail@kaplanfox.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca