NEW YORK, July 2, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of all purchasers of securities of Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. ("Hanger" or the "Company") (NYSE:HGR) between July 29, 2003 and June 14, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period").
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. The Complaint names as defendants Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc., Thomas F. Kirk, George E. McHenry and Ivan R. Sable. The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, the Defendants perpetrated an illegal scheme to artificially inflate Hanger's revenues and earnings by defrauding the Medicaid and Medicare programs, the Veterans Administration and private insurers through illegal billing practices during the Class Period. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that unbeknownst to investors, Hanger improperly booked sales by filling out fake prescriptions and adding items that were not prescribed for existing patients in order to increase their bills to Medicare and Medicaid.
On June 14, 2004, NBC News aired an investigative report in which an employee of Hanger described the Company's fraudulent billing practices. The following day, Hanger issued a news release, which it admitted that the Company had initiated an investigation into "billing irregularities." The market reacted negatively to this news. The Company's shares had opened on June 14, 2004 at $15.75. They closed out the day at $14.41 and fell to a closing price of $12.75 per share on June 15, 2004 on heavy trading volume of 2.4 million shares for a two-day drop of 19%.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Hanger securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Hanger securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased Hanger securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than August 23, 2004 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact:
Susan Lee or Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. Abbey Gardy, LLP 212 East 39th Street New York, New York 10016 (212) 889-3700 (800) 889-3701 (Toll Free) Or e-mail Susan Lee at slee@abbeygardy.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca