NEW YORK, Jan. 25, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP, filed the first securities class action lawsuit on December 21, 2001 on behalf of all persons who acquired A.C.L.N., Ltd. (NYSE:ASW) ("ACLN" or the "Company") securities between December 21, 1998 and December 20, 2001, inclusive ("Class Period"). A copy of the complaint is available from the Court or from Abbey Gardy, LLP. Please contact us by phone at (800) 889-3701 or by email at nkaboolian@abbeygardy.com.
The Complaint charges defendants with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint alleges, among other things, that beginning with its Public Offering on June 26, 1998, if not before, defendants commenced a continuing scheme, ending no earlier than December 20, 2001, to mislead the investing public and conceal ACLN's true financial state and business prospects. The truth about ACLN was undisclosed until the publication of an investigative report about ACLN by thestreet.com on December 20, 2001. Upon publication of that report, shares of ACLN, which had never traded below $19 per share since the end of 2000, fell from $26.11 per share to a low of $6.20 per share, closing at $9.40 per share. The December 20, 2001 report disclosed among other things, that:
From the time ACLN went public, on June 26, 1998, until it filed an annual report with the SEC on June 29, 2000, as many as 2,265,221 shares held by entities controlled by Chairman Joseph Bisschops -- 29% of his total holdings -- vanished from the "principal and management shareholders" list in the company's SEC filings. The missing shares belong to four of Bisschops' entities, whose names also disappeared from the list: Pearlrose Holdings International, Scott Investments, Gilbert Management and Emerald Sea Marine.
The Complaint also alleges that defendants have been claiming that ACLN has assets that it does not in fact own -- the Sea Atef. Moreover, defendants used the purported purchase of the Sea Atef to conceal their diversion of ACLN funds to entities affiliated with Bisschops in undisclosed related-party transactions. Defendants have been booking revenues as if the Sea Atef was in continuous operation, during a period when it was in fact not. Defendants have been understating their selling, general and administrative expenses. They have been re-characterizing payments to related-parties after the fact to conceal those payments when they were made. Further, they have been overstating the number of cars that they sold and, consequently, their sales revenue. Finally, ACLN's revenue-recognition practices do not comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or their own representations.
The Complaint further alleges that defendants' misrepresentations caused the price of A.C.L.N. securities to be artificially inflated throughout the Class Period.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired A.C.L.N. securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired A.C.L.N. Limited securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transactions or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than February 19, 2002.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Abbey Gardy, LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact Nancy Kaboolian or Jennifer Haas of Abbey Gardy, LLP at (800) 889-3701 or email nkaboolian@abbeygardy.com or jhaas@abbeygardy.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca