SEATTLE, July 14, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keller Rohrback L.L.P. (www.krclassaction.com) announces that it has filed a class action Complaint against the Education Trust Board of New Mexico and the Education Plan Trust of New Mexico (collectively, the "State") for breach of contract involving its 529 college savings plans: "Education Plan"; and "Scholar'sEdge Plan." The Complaint was filed in Santa Fe County First Judicial District Court on behalf of a class of all persons that entered into or maintained an Education Plan Participation Agreement from June 25, 2007 through the present and who suffered losses in the 529 Plans related to the Trust's fixed-income assets. Santa Fe attorney John Bienvenu is co-counsel in the case.
The Complaint alleges that the State breached its contract with participants in the New Mexico 529 Plans regarding its management of certain "fixed-income" assets in the Trust. Specifically, the Board invested the vast majority of the fixed-income portion of the Trust's assets in the Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund, the Oppenheimer Limited Term Government Fund and the Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund, all of which in turn were heavily invested in commercial mortgage-backed securities, non-agency prime ("jumbo") mortgages, and financial sector corporate bonds, all of which performed extremely poorly throughout 2008. Additionally, the 529 Plans were significantly over-leveraged in an attempt to off-set the poor performance of the investments once the market began to suffer, thus magnifying the risk in what were supposed to be conservative and/or ultraconservative investment options. The Complaint seeks compensation of losses suffered by Class Members.
If you invested in 529 Plan Portfolios that held fixed-income assets in either the Education Plan or the Scholar'sEdge Plan during the Class Period, you may contact paralegal Natalie Stephenson or attorneys Amy Williams-Derry, David Copley, or Lynn Sarko toll free at 800-776-6044, or via email at investor@kellerrohrback.com.
Keller Rohrback is also investigating similar allegations regarding 529 plans offered in Texas (Texas College Savings Plan and Lonestar 529 Plan), Maine (NextGen College Investing Plan), and Nebraska (State Farm College Savings Plan). Our investigation focuses on investments by these plans in Oppenheimer fixed-income funds, such as those mentioned above. If you invested in these plans and believe you suffered losses as a result of similar investment strategies, you may contact any of the above-mentioned individuals.
Keller Rohrback is one of America's leading class action firms handling cases for over two decades. We are committed to helping investors recover losses due to breaches of fiduciary duty. Keller Rohrback serves as lead and co-lead counsel in numerous class action cases, including cases against some of the biggest and most powerful corporations in the world. Keller Rohrback's trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements on behalf of clients in excess of seven billion dollars.