CLEVELAND, Sept. 2, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Landskroner - Grieco - Madden, Ltd. announces that it has filed a securities fraud class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Immucor, Inc. ("Immucor", "BLUD" or the "Company"), Dr. Gioacchino De Chirico, Steven C. Ramsey, and Edward L. Gallup on behalf of persons who purchased BLUD common stock (Nasdaq:BLUDE) between January 7, 2005 through and including August 29, 2005 (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint is available from the court and will be posted on Landskroner - Grieco - Madden, Ltd.'s Web site, www.landskronerlaw.com (click on "recent class action cases") for the next two months.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired BLUD common stock between January 7, 2005 and August 29, 2005, and have been damaged thereby, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff no later than October 31, 2005. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff in this action through counsel of his or her choice, or may remain an absent class member. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which Landskroner - Grieco - Madden, Ltd. would be happy to discuss with you. You may contact the firm by contacting Jack Landskroner, Esq. at jack@landskronerlaw.com at the address or phone numbers provided below. You are also welcome to submit questions or transaction information to Landskroner - Grieco - Madden, Ltd. online at www.landskronerlaw.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. During the Class Period, the complaint claims that Defendants misrepresented that Immucor's financial statements and disclosures fairly and accurately reflected the Company's results of operations as required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") and the Exchange Act. The Complaint also charges that Defendants' Sarbanes-Oxley certifications during the Class Period were also false and misleading, as the Company, knowingly or with severe recklessness, lacked adequate internal controls and failed to keep proper books and records in violation of their well publicized Code of Corporate Conduct.
The nature of Defendants' fraud began to come to light on August 26, 2005 when the Company was forced to announce that the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") had launched a formal investigation into payments made by its Italian unit and its president, Defendant De Chirico, in October 2003 to a physician connected with a hospital with which the Company was doing business. After the market closed on August 29, 2005, the Company revealed further that its Chief Financial Officer had resigned, that it would be revising its previously issued results for at least two quarters in order to account for a previously unrecorded accrued bonus, and that its Form 10-K for fiscal year 2005 would be further delayed due to additional accounting and auditing procedures the Company claimed was necessary to properly reflect the accrued bonus and to render the internal controls report required by Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.
In response to this news, the price of BLUD common stock dropped from a closing price of $28.61 on August 25, 2005, before the market learned of the SEC's formal investigation to close at $24.00 per share on August 30, 2005. A staggering 6 million shares of BLUD common stock was traded on August 30, 2005 alone. This volume is nearly ten times the average daily volume.
During the first six months of 2005, Immucor insiders sold approximately 186,000 shares for proceeds of about $4,970,000. During this time, Defendants led the market to believe that the internal control issue involving the Italian subsidiary were "an isolated event" that was not expected to lead to more than a $350,000 fine and increased investigation expenses that had already been factored into the Company's bottom line. In fact, however, the opposite was true. Immucor's internal control problems, as the market later learned, were not confined to its Italian subsidiary and did not center solely around this alleged "isolated event."
If you would like to discuss this case or have questions, please feel free to contact:
Landskroner - Grieco - Madden, Ltd. Jack Landskroner (866) 522-9500, ext. 109 jack@landskronerlaw.com Debra Spaller (866) 522-9500, ext. 118 debra@landskronerlaw.com 1360 West Ninth Street, Suite 200 Cleveland, Ohio 44113
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.
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