Notice of Filing of Securities Class Action Against Friedman's, Inc., Victor M. Suglia, Bradley J. Stinn, Sterling Brinkley and

Notice of Filing of Securities Class Action Against Friedman's, Inc., Victor M.
Suglia, Bradley J. Stinn, Sterling Brinkley and Douglas Anderson 


HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 26  /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah,
LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/; e-mail:
[e-mail]), announces that it has filed a class action
lawsuit against Friedman's, Inc., Victor M. Suglia, Bradley J. Stinn, Sterling
Brinkley and Douglas Anderson.  The class action lawsuit is pending in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.  The lawsuit
was filed on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the
securities of Friedman's, Inc. ("Friedman's" or the "Company"), , between
January 26, 2000 and November 17, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").  A copy
of the complaint is available if you telephone us toll-free at [phone] or
e-mail us at [e-mail].

If you purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Friedman's between
January 26, 2000 and November 17, 2003 and have been damaged thereby, you may
request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff no later than January 13,
2004.  Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead
plaintiff in this action through counsel of his or her choice, or may remain an
absent class member.  There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead
plaintiff, which we would be pleased to discuss with you.  If you would like to
discuss this action or have any question regarding this notice or your rights,
please telephone or e-mail James E. Miller, Esquire (866/540-5505; ) or James C.
Shah, Esquire (877/891-9880; ).

The Complaint filed in this case asserts violations of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and charges Defendants with issuing false and misleading statements
regarding Friedman's financial results and business model, resulting in the
Company materially overstating its earnings for the fiscal years 2000 through
2002, and the first three quarters of 2003. The Complaint claims that the
earnings Friedman reported throughout the Class Period and representations
concerning those results were false and misleading when made as Friedman's
financial statements during the Class Period were in violation of GAAP and SEC
rules. These improper practices are now the subject of an investigation by the
Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as an investigation by the
Department of Justice.

The Complaint filed in this case also alleges that Defendants knew and failed to
disclose material adverse information and misrepresented the truth about the
Company, its financial performance, earnings momentum, and future business
prospects, including that: (i) the Company's allowance for doubtful accounts was
woefully inadequate; (ii) the Company's credit losses during the Class Period
were significantly higher than its reserves and higher than defendants publicly
represented; and (iii) Defendants had failed to properly write-off uncollectible
receivables, and materially overstated Friedman's financial results by
maintaining known uncollectible accounts as assets during the Class Period.  As
a result, Friedman's stock traded at inflated prices during the Class Period,
increasing to as high as $17.50 on September 3, 2003.

On November 11, 2003, Friedman's shocked the market by warning about its future
performance, and the material adverse impact of the "increase in allowance for
doubtful accounts."  The Company also revealed that its Chief Financial Officer,
Victoria Suglia, had been placed on "leave" as a result of government
investigations. In addition, the Company admitted that it had to dramatically
boost its allowance for doubtful accounts, resulting in a sizable charge of as
much as $0.43 per share for 2003.  In response to the Company's devastating
news, Friedman's stock price plummeted by approximately 40% on unusually heavy
trading volume.

On November 17, 2003, the Company then admitted that it would be restating its
historical financial statements for at least the fiscal years 2000, 2001 and
2002 and for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2003 and that Ernst & Young
had informed the Company that it was withdrawing its audit opinions on the
previously-issued financial statements due to, among other things, the concern
over the accounting for the allowance of doubtful accounts.  As a result of the
foregoing, the Company cautioned investors that they should not rely upon the
previously issued financial statements and related SEC filings for 2000, 2001,
2002 and the first three quarters of 2003.   Upon this news, the stock price
dropped to as low as $5.38 on November 18 and closed at $6.07 per share, down an
additional 18% from the prior day's close.

The Complaint charges that the individual Defendants engaged in this scheme to
inflate the price of Friedman's securities in order to: (i) protect and enhance
their executive positions and the substantial compensation and prestige they
obtained thereby; (ii) enhance the value of their personal holdings of
Friedman's securities; (iii) complete public offerings; (iv) prevent violation
of the covenants in the Company's credit facility agreement and maximize the
amount allowed to be borrowed by the Company under this agreement; and (v) avoid
repaying millions of dollars in personal loans from the Company.

If you wish to discuss this action, or have any questions concerning this
notice, or your rights with respect to this matter, please contact James E.
Miller, Esquire (866/540-5505; ) or James C. Shah, Esquire (877/891-9880; ). 

DATASOURCE: Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC



CONTACT:  James E. Miller, Esquire, [phone],

, or James C. Shah, Esquire, [phone],

), both of Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah,

LLC

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