NEW YORK, June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Atlas Lithium Corporation (“Atlas Lithium” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ATLX), and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and docketed under 23-cv-04355, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Atlas Lithium securities between March 25, 2022 and May 3, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise Atlas Lithium securities during the Class Period, you have until August 1, 2023 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 Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Atlas Lithium is a mineral exploration and development company with lithium projects and exploration properties in other critical and battery minerals, including nickel, rare earths, graphite, and titanium. The Company, formerly known as Brazil Minerals, Inc. (“Brazil Minerals”), was founded by its Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Marc Fogassa (“Fogassa”) and initially operated as a diamond and gold miner. In 2013, Brazil Minerals went public via a reverse merger (the “Reverse Merger”) that was underwritten by, among others, Hunter Wise Securities, LLC, of which Fogassa was a Managing Director at the time.
Shortly after the Reverse Merger, Brazil Minerals conducted a stock promotion budgeted at $1.6 million in which the Company issued hard mailer promotion materials, entitled “Diamonds are an investor’s best friend,” to investors. In addition to touting the profitability of the diamond mining industry, the promotional materials projected that Brazil Minerals' stock price would reach $18.90 per share over the long term. However, in May 2013, Company insiders began dumping a significant number of shares into the market. Thereafter, contrary to the Company’s positive representations, Brazil Minerals’ stock fell approximately 90% over the course of the year following the promotion.
After generating just $1.4 million in revenue from 2013 to 2021, the Company pivoted its purported focus from diamonds to lithium and officially changed its name to Atlas Lithium in October 2022. In connection with this transition, Atlas Lithium issued press releases to highlight, inter alia, the Company’s purported success in lithium drilling and the nature of its mineral rights in Brazil. Hoping to capitalize on its new business model, Atlas Lithium conducted a second stock promotion in January 2023, engaging the bank EF Hutton to raise money for the Company leading up to a public offering of 675,000 shares priced at $6.00 per share.
This Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company overstated the success of its lithium mining and misrepresented the nature of its Brazilian mineral rights; (ii) in connection with these misrepresentations, Atlas Lithium conducted deceptive promotions to artificially inflate the value of the Company’s stock; (iii) the foregoing conduct was designed to allow CEO Fogassa and other Company insiders to sell shares back into the market for a profit before the true nature of Atlas Lithium’s business was revealed; and (iv) as a result, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times.
On May 4, 2023, Bleecker Street Research (“Bleecker Street”) published a report entitled “Atlas Lithium (ATLX): First Comes The Pump… Now Here Comes the Dump” (the “Bleecker Street Report”). The Bleecker Street Report described Atlas Lithium as a “pretender” and stated that “it resembles many of the characteristics of a pump and dump.” The report alleged that Atlas Lithium’s “predecessor company did a similar promotion before bagging retail investors”; that “Atlas Lithium’s CEO was previously associated with Hunter Wise Securities, a broker fined $105 million for claiming to sell physical gold that it didn’t have”; and that “[EF Hutton, a] similarly disastrous bank[,] handled ATLX’s most recent offering and uplisting in early January.”
On this news, Atlas Lithium’s stock price fell $12.95 per share, or 43.34%, to close at $16.93 per share on May 4, 2023.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, 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, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz 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 billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
