NEW YORK, April 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Attorney Christopher Gray of the Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. ((212) 838-3221 or newcases@cjgraylaw.com) filed a class action lawsuit on April 26, 2005 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the publicly traded securities of BearingPoint, Inc. ("BearingPoint" or the "Company") (NYSE:BE) between August 14, 2003 and April 21, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit asserts claims against BearingPoint, Randolph C. Blazer, Robert S. Falcone and PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP ("defendants"). The lawsuit asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated by the SEC thereunder and seeks to recover damages. Any member of the class may move the Court to be named lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 24, 2005.
The complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws and defrauded investors by issuing materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period regarding the Company's financial performance. The complaint alleges that defendants failed to disclose that (i) BearingPoint's reported financial results were inaccurate and could not be relied upon; (ii) BearingPoint's internal controls were inadequate to ensure the reliability of its publicly reported financial results; (iii) BearingPoint had materially overstated (and failed to write down) the value of the goodwill associated with certain of its foreign acquisitions in its publicly reported financial statements long after it had become apparent that the value of such assets was impaired; and (iv) as a result of failing to timely write down the value of BearingPoint's goodwill, BearingPoint had reported artificially high earnings in its publicly reported financial results.
On April 20, 2005, BearingPoint announced that it had determined that it would have to take a mammoth write down of an estimated $250 million to $400 million worth of the goodwill listed on its balance sheet. BearingPoint also stated that its previously-issued 10-Q quarterly reports for each of the first three quarters of fiscal year 2004, its Form 10-K report for the six-month transition period ended December 31, 2003, and its Form 10-K annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003 should not be relied upon and would have to be restated. Additionally, the Company announced that it would miss the deadline for filing its 2004 annual report. On this news, shares of BearingPoint plummeted from a close of $7.77 per share on April 20 to close at $5.28 on April 21, constituting a drop of over 32% in a single day.
The class action lawsuit seeks to recover investors' losses resulting from defendants' alleged misrepresentations concerning BearingPoint's financial results and the value of its assets.
The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C.'s practice is concentrated in complex litigation, class action litigation, securities arbitration, and trials and appeals in all state and federal courts. Attorney Christopher Gray has represented plaintiffs in several significant securities class actions, including representing shareholders of Excite@Home, American Express Co., and Electronic Data Systems Corp. In 2002, Mr. Gray investigated and filed the first class action complaint alleging accounting fraud against WorldCom. (In re Worldcom, Inc. Securities Litig., S.D.N.Y. Docket No. 02-CV-3288 (DLC)) (alleging accounting fraud in April 2002, some six weeks before news of massive accounting fraud broke).
Investors who acquired the securities of BearingPoint between August 14, 2003 and April 21, 2005 may contact attorney Christopher Gray at the telephone number, address or e-mail address below with any questions about their investment losses or for more information concerning the BearingPoint class action lawsuit.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.