NEW YORK, March 15, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP filed a class action lawsuit on March 15, 2007 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of Monster Worldwide, Inc. ("Monster" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:MNST) between May 6, 2005 and June 9, 2006, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed against Monster and Andrew T. McKelvey, Myron Olesnyckyj and Charles "Lanny" Baker ("Defendants").
If you are a member of this class you can view a copy of the complaint and join this class action online http://www.labaton.com/en/about/press/Monster.cfm
The complaint alleges that Defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10(b)-5 promulgated thereunder. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Defendants engaged in a fraudulent scheme and or published a series of materially false and misleading statements that Defendants knew, and or were severely reckless in not knowing, were materially false and misleading, and failed to disclose material information necessary to render such statements not false and misleading. During the Class Period, Defendants granted stock options to themselves and to other Monster officers and directors on dates that Monster stock had reached its lowest, or next-lowest price in weeks or months. These grants almost invariably preceded share gains, and or followed significant drops in the Company's stock price. In public disclosures, however, Defendants falsely claimed that the grants were dated and priced as of the date of the actual grants.
On June 12, 2006, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled "Monster Worldwide Gave Officials Options Ahead of Share Run-Ups." The article stated that Monster may have backdated option grants, and reported that there was a one in nine million chance that the grant dates of the options The Wall Street Journal examined were selected at random. That same day, Monster issued a press release announcing the receipt of a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, relating to the Company's stock option granting practices. Shares of Monster reacted negatively to the news, closing at $38.60, down $3.40 from the prior trading day, a one day drop of 8.1%, on unusually heavy volume.
Subsequently, Defendant Olesnyckyj has pleaded guilty to criminal federal securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP. Labaton Sucharow is one of the country's premier national law firms that represent individual and institutional investors in class action, complex securities and corporate governance litigation. The firm has been a champion of investor rights for over 40 years and has been recognized for its reputation for excellence by the courts.
If you bought Monster securities between May 6, 2005 and June 9, 2006, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff motions must be filed with the court no later than sixty days from today. You need not seek appointment as lead plaintiff to share in any class recovery. If you would like to consider serving as lead plaintiff or have any questions about the lawsuit, please contact one of our representatives or Christopher Keller, Esq. at 800-321-0476.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primenewswire.com/ca/