NEW ORLEANS, May 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC ("KGS") announces that it has initiated an investigation into Sterling Financial Corporation ("Sterling" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:SLFI) to determine whether it has violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements during the period April 27, 2004 through May 25, 2007.
Shares of Sterling fell over 40% today to an intraday low of $9.31, after the bank holding company announced an after-tax charge of $145 to $165 million to the company's 2006 financial results related to a significant loan scheme by employees at its affiliate Equipment Finance LLC ("EFI"). Sterling announced that its own internal investigation revealed "evidence of a sophisticated loan scheme, orchestrated deliberately by certain EFI officers and employees over an extended period of time" to conceal credit delinquencies and falsify financing contracts. As a result, five EFI employees have been terminated, including the chief operating officer and executive vice president. Sterling had previously announced that it expected to be restating financial statements for the years 2004 through 2006.
If you are a Sterling shareholder, and have information that might assist in our investigation, or would like to discuss your legal rights, you may e-mail or call KGS, without obligation or cost to you. You may contact Managing Partner Lewis Kahn of KGS direct, toll free 1-866-467-1400, ext., 100, or by email at lewis.kahn@kgscounsel.com. KGS focuses its practice on securities fraud litigation, and the firm's lawyers have significant experience working on securities fraud cases that have resulted in significant recoveries for shareholders. For more information on KGS, please visit www.kgscounsel.com.