NEW YORK, July 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shareholders of American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. ("AOBI" or the "Company") (OTC:AOBI) are reminded of the federal securities class action filed against AOBI and certain of its officers. The securities class action (12-cv-05789), filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, is on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired securities between November 9, 2009 and June 15, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This securities class action seeks to recover damages caused by the Company's violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
If you are a shareholder who purchased AOBI securities during the Class Period, you have until Wednesday, August 22, 2012 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff for the class. A copy of the complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Rachelle R. Boyle at rrboyle@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number.
AOBI is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of pharmaceutical and healthcare products. The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose that: (1) certain of the Company's capsule products maintained chrome levels far exceeding humanly tolerable limits; (2) the Company's financial statements contained material inconsistencies; (3) the Company's internal controls over financial reporting were deficient; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On March 16, 2012, the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young Hua Ming ("E&Y") informed the Company's Audit Committee of certain inconsistencies in the Company's financial statements during its audit for the fiscal year 2011.
On April 19, 2012, the Company disclosed that four of its five manufacturing subsidiaries were undergoing "onsite short notice inspections" by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration after discovering thirteen types of capsule products with chrome levels far exceeding humanly tolerable limits.
After being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange on May 25, 2012, the Company's common stock plummeted $0.94 or nearly 62%, to close at $0.58 when it resumed trading over the counter on May 29, 2012.
On June 15, 2012, the Company disclosed that it had dismissed E&Y as its independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, the Company announced that E&Y had withdrawn its audit reports for the Company's financial statements for the years ended 2009 and 2010, after E&Y concluded that it could no longer rely on management's representations in connection with (a) its audits of the financial statements for years ended December 2009 and 2010; (b) its audit of the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009 and 2010; and (c) its review of the Company's unaudited interim financial statements for the quarters from September 30, 2009 through September 30, 2011.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York and Chicago, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 75 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of defrauded investors. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.