| Company: | Parmalat Finanziaria, SpA |
| Ticker Symbol: | OTC: PARAF:PK |
| Class Period: | January 5, 1999 to December 29, 2003 |
| Court: | Southern District, NY |
| Date Filed: | Jan-06-04 |
| Lead Plaintiff Deadline: | Mar-05-04 |
| Allegations: |
A securities class action has been commenced on behalf of those who purchased securities (including stock, bonds and notes (debt)) of Parmalat Finanziaria, SpA (Other OTC:PARAF) between January 5, 1999 and December 29, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action charges that defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market throughout the Class Period which statements had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of the Company's securities.
The complaint alleges that Parmalat's senior insiders, together with Parmalat's legal, accounting and financial advisors, concocted a massive scheme whereby they overstated Parmalat's reported profits and assets for more than a decade. The alleged scheme involved the creation of bogus bank accounts, the use of forged financial records and the manipulation of Parmalat's balance sheet and income statement via fictitious investment assets and sham transactions, and was designed to and did allow defendants to divert approximately $1 billion to themselves and/or to companies controlled by them via professional fees and clandestine asset transfers and enabled Parmalat to raise more than $5 billion from unsuspecting investors from the sale of newly issued securities.
The fraudulent scheme began to unravel in the fourth quarter of 2003, when, contrary to defendants' Class Period representations that Parmalat was experiencing strong growth in net operating profit and had a healthy balance sheet, it was disclosed that: (i) almost 40% of Parmalat's entire asset base, purportedly held in a bank account at Bank of America, did not exist; (ii) Parmalat had been declared insolvent; (iii) the $625 million of Parmalat's cash purportedly invested in a liquid investment fund in the Cayman Islands could not be retrieved; (iv) defendants had manipulated the Company's income statements and balance sheet for more than a decade by using off-shore shell companies, special purpose entities, forged documents and sham transactions; and (v) at least eight Parmalat senior insiders, auditors and lawyers, including certain of the defendants, had been taken into custody for the perpetration of this multi-billion dollar fraud.
As the magnitude of the fraud began to reach the market, the complaint alleges that defendants attempted to destroy evidence and/or ordered their subordinates to destroy evidence of the fraudulent scheme in an effort to evade liability for their participation in one of the most shocking corporate scandals ever to afflict the public financial markets. The revelations of defendants' misconduct caused the price of Parmalat stock to plunge 95% before trading was suspended on December 29, 2003.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than Mar-05-04, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action charges that defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market throughout the Class Period which statements had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of the Company's securities.
The complaint alleges that Parmalat's senior insiders, together with Parmalat's legal, accounting and financial advisors, concocted a massive scheme whereby they overstated Parmalat's reported profits and assets for more than a decade. The alleged scheme involved the creation of bogus bank accounts, the use of forged financial records and the manipulation of Parmalat's balance sheet and income statement via fictitious investment assets and sham transactions, and was designed to and did allow defendants to divert approximately $1 billion to themselves and/or to companies controlled by them via professional fees and clandestine asset transfers and enabled Parmalat to raise more than $5 billion from unsuspecting investors from the sale of newly issued securities.
The fraudulent scheme began to unravel in the fourth quarter of 2003, when, contrary to defendants' Class Period representations that Parmalat was experiencing strong growth in net operating profit and had a healthy balance sheet, it was disclosed that: (i) almost 40% of Parmalat's entire asset base, purportedly held in a bank account at Bank of America, did not exist; (ii) Parmalat had been declared insolvent; (iii) the $625 million of Parmalat's cash purportedly invested in a liquid investment fund in the Cayman Islands could not be retrieved; (iv) defendants had manipulated the Company's income statements and balance sheet for more than a decade by using off-shore shell companies, special purpose entities, forged documents and sham transactions; and (v) at least eight Parmalat senior insiders, auditors and lawyers, including certain of the defendants, had been taken into custody for the perpetration of this multi-billion dollar fraud.
As the magnitude of the fraud began to reach the market, the complaint alleges that defendants attempted to destroy evidence and/or ordered their subordinates to destroy evidence of the fraudulent scheme in an effort to evade liability for their participation in one of the most shocking corporate scandals ever to afflict the public financial markets. The revelations of defendants' misconduct caused the price of Parmalat stock to plunge 95% before trading was suspended on December 29, 2003.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than Mar-05-04, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
If you feel you qualify for damages or remedies that might be awarded in this class action please fill in our form on the right to submit your complaint.
If your injustice does not match the complaint described above, please use this form to register your complaint. Thank you.
