MINNEAPOLIS, May 29, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Charles H. Johnson & Associates announces that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of American International Group, Inc. ("AIG" or the "Company") (NYSE:AIG) publicly traded securities during the period May 11, 2007 through May 9, 2008 (the "Class Period").
If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff for the Class on or before July 21, 2008. You do not need to be a lead plaintiff in order to share in any recovery that may be obtained.
The Complaint alleges that Defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing false and misleading press releases, financial statements, filings with the SEC and statements during investor conference calls. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly reassured investors that AIG had successfully insulated itself from the recent turmoil in the housing and credit markets due to its superior risk management. Defendants touted the security of AIGFP's "super senior" credit default swap ("CDS") portfolio, making numerous statements that this portfolio was secure and that AIG's method for accounting for the valuations of this portfolio accurately reflected its value.
Investors began to learn the truth regarding AIG's financial condition and the Company's exposure to the mortgage market when, on February 11, 2008, the Company disclosed that its outside auditor had determined that there was "material weakness in its internal control" over the financial reporting and oversight relating specifically to its accounting for the CDS portfolio, and that the Company was revising the loss valuations it previously reported. Under the new valuations, losses on the CDS portfolio more than quadrupled, from the $1.4 billion reported on the CDS portfolio just weeks before to over $4.5 billion. Two weeks later, on February 28, 2008, AIG disclosed that the market valuations on the CDS portfolio would increase to $11.5 billion and revealed for the first time that the Company had estimated exposure of $6.5 billion in liquidity puts written on collateralized debt obligations linked to the sup-prime mortgage market. Finally, on May 8, 2008, the Company disclosed that market valuation losses on the CDS portfolio for the quarter climbed an additional $9.1 billion, for a cumulative loss of $20.6 billion, and that the Company was expecting actual losses on the portfolio to be about $2.4 billion. As a result of these disclosures, the price of AIG stock plunged from a Class Period high of $75.24 per share on June 5, 2008, to $38.37 per share on May 12, 2008.
If you purchased American International Group, Inc. securities during the Class Period, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, please contact:
Neal Eisenbraun, Esq. (cjohnsonlaw@gmail.com)
Charles H. Johnson & Associates
2599 Mississippi Street
New Brighton, MN 55112
(651) 633-5685