NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc. ("SeraCare" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:SRLS) (Nasdaq:SRLSE) (Berlin:SKK) between February 9, 2005 and December 19, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period").
SeraCare engages in the manufacture and provision of biological products and services for the diagnostic, therapeutic, drug discovery, and research organizations worldwide. The complaint charges SeraCare and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants directly participated in accounting fraud which materially overstated the Company's financial results in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP").
Specifically, the complaint charges that throughout the Class Period, defendants orchestrated and actively participated in improper accounting practices in direct violation of GAAP. In doing so, defendants used improper revenue recognition policies and practices; did not properly account for and value inventory; failed to prevent certain Board members from exerting undue influence on the financial reporting process of the audit process; and neglected to maintain adequate internal controls. As a result, defendants were unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company.
Defendants engaged in these improper accounting practices in order to bolster the Company's stock price, which enabled the Company to complete a secondary offering of stock in May 2005, raising $42 million for the Company, and allowed certain of the defendants to take advantage of the artificially inflated prices during the Class Period and sell 606,000 shares of their SeraCare stock for total proceeds of over $7.8 million.
On December 20, 2005, before the market opened, the Company announced that "the chairman of the Company's audit committee has received a letter from Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. (MHM), the Company's independent auditors, in which MHM raised concerns with respect to the Company's financial statements, accounting documentation and the ability of MHM to rely on representations of the Company's management." On this news, SeraCare shares fell as much as 62% before closing down $9.26 per share on volume of 5.8 million shares, 116 times the daily average volume for SeraCare.
Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP and its predecessor firms have devoted its practice to shareholder class actions and complex commercial litigation for more than fifteen years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders in class actions throughout the United States.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired SeraCare securities on any exchange between February 9, 2005 and December 19, 2005, and sustained damages, you may, no later than February 21, 2006, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff. Shareholders outside the United States may also join the action, regardless of which exchange was used to purchase the securities. To serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. You can join this class action as lead plaintiff online at http://www.murrayfrank.com/CM/NewCases/NewCases.asp. If you would like to discuss this action, this announcement, or your rights and interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel Eric J. Belfi or Christopher S. Hinton of Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca