NEW YORK, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolf Popper LLP has filed a lawsuit
in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf
of participants and beneficiaries of the Bear Stearns Companies, Inc.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the "Plan"), for violations of the federal
pension law (ERISA) in connection with the loss in value of The Bear
Stearns Companies, Inc. common stock (NYSE: BSC) acquired and held by
present and former employees of Bear Stearns through the Plan. The goal of
this litigation is to recover damages sustained by the participants and
beneficiaries of the Plan. The complaint can be viewed on Wolf Popper's
website or obtained from the Court.
According to Marian Rosner, who represents the Plaintiff, "Bear Stearns
has acted with gross disregard to its fiduciary duties under ERISA and once
again employee retirement savings are left to disintegrate while company
insiders reaped tens of millions of dollars from their sales of company
stock."
The complaint alleges, among other things, that Bear Stearns, and
certain of its officers and directors, allowed the imprudent investment of
the Plan's assets in Bear Stearns common stock despite the fact that they
knew or should have known that such investment was unduly risky and
imprudent due to the Company's serious mismanagement and improper business
practices including, among other practices: (a) causing Bear Stearns to
spend billions of dollars purchasing subprime loans despite increasing
delinquency rates among subprime borrowers; (b) failing to adequately
disclose Bear Stearns's subprime loan loss exposure to investors, including
the Plan's participants; (c) operating without the requisite internal
controls to determine appropriate loan loss provisions; (d) understating
loan loss provisions that did not properly reflect the risk facing Bear
Stearns; and (e) subjecting the company to billions of dollars in
liabilities from civil and criminal lawsuits, all of which caused Bear
Stearns's financial statements to be misleading and which artificially
inflated the value of shares of Bear Stearns stock. In short, the company
was seriously mismanaged and faced dire financial crisis due to such
mismanagement, which rendered Bear Stearns stock an imprudent investment.
Bear Stearn's actions have caused the Plan to suffer hundreds of millions
of dollars.
Wolf Popper LLP has extensive experience representing shareholders,
including retirement plan investors, in class actions, and has successfully
recovered billions of dollars in securities actions. The firm currently
serves as co-lead counsel in a class action ERISA lawsuit against Citigroup
Inc., alleging similar claims to those alleged here against Bear Stearns.
If you are a current or former employee of Bear Stearns, or a subsidiary of
Bear Stearns, who held Bear Stearns stock through the Plan from December
14, 2006 to the present, and you wish to discuss this action or have any
questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please
contact attorneys James Kelly- Kowlowitz, Andrew Lencyk, or Marian Rosner
toll free at 877/370-7703, or via email at irrep@wolfpopper.com.
CONTACT: Wolf Popper LLP * James Kelly-Kowlowitz *
845 Third Avenue * New York * NY 10022
Tel.: 212.451-4635 * Toll Free: 877.370.7703
Fax: 212.486.2093 * Toll Free Fax: 877.370.7704
Email: irrep@wolfpopper.com * website: http://www.wolfpopper.com
Attorney Advertising - Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
SOURCE Wolf Popper LLP
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.wolfpopper.com
CONTACT:
James Kelly-Kowlowitz of Wolf Popper LLP,
+1-212-451-4635, Fax: +1-212-486-2093, irrep@wolfpopper.com
|
