Sterling Financial (MM) (NASDAQ:SLFI)
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The law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. announced
today that it has filed a class action complaint in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of
purchasers of Sterling Financial Corp. shares (“Sterling
Financial”) (NASDAQ: SLFI) during the period
from April 27, 2004 through May 25, 2007, inclusive (the “Class
Period”).
The Complaint charges Sterling Financial and certain of its officers
with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Throughout the
Class Period, Defendants issued numerous positive statements and filed
quarterly reports with the SEC which described the Company’s
increasing financial performance. These statements were materially false
and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the
following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company was
materially overstating its financial results by artificially inflating
revenues in its Commercial Finance division, which represented
approximately 41% of Sterling Financial’s net
income; (ii) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was
therefore unable to ascertain its true financial condition; and (iii)
that as a result of the foregoing, the values of the Company’s
net income and earnings were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On April 30, 2007, the Company announced that it expected to be
restating its financial statements for the years 2004 through 2006 as a
result of “irregularities in certain financing
contracts” at Equipment Finance, the sole
affiliate within its Commercial Finance division. Moreover, the Company
announced that two senior executives of Equipment Finance had been
placed on leave. Upon this announcement, shares of the Company’s
stock fell $4.07 per share or almost 20% to close at $16.65 per share,
on heavy trading volume. Then, on May 24, 2007, Sterling Financial
announced that the “previously reported
irregularities” at Equipment Finance were a “direct
result of collusion” by certain Equipment
Finance employees and that the Company expected to record a cumulative
after-tax charge to its December 31, 2006 financial statements of at
least $145 million to $165 million. Moreover, five Equipment Finance
employees were terminated, including the Chief Operating Officer and
Executive Vice President. In response to this announcement, on the next
trading day, shares of the Company’s stock
fell $6.19 per share, or almost 40%, to close at $9.97 share, on
extremely heavy trading volume.
If you purchased Sterling Financial shares during the period from April
27, 2004 through May 25, 2007, inclusive, you may, no later than July
24, 2007, move the court to be appointed as Lead Plaintiff. There are
certain legal requirements to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Any member of the
proposed class may move the court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through
counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member.
Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the
decision whether or not to serve as Lead Plaintiff.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in
prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities
fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia,
Chicago, and London, and is active in major litigation pending in
federal and state courts throughout the nation.
The firm’s reputation for excellence has
repeatedly been recognized by courts which have appointed the firm to
lead positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigation.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has taken a lead role in
numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been
responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the
aggregate, total in the billions of dollars.
If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with
regard to your rights, please contact the following:
Steven J. Toll, Esq.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C.
1100 New York Avenue, N.W.
West Tower, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600
E-mail: stoll@cmht.com