SAN FRANCISCO, July 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman, who on May 6, 2019 was appointed Lead Counsel in the securities class action brought on behalf of investors in Wirecard American Depository Shares (ADS) before Hon. Fernando M. Olguin, DelPoggetto v. Wirecard AG et al., 2:19-cv-00986-FMO-SK (C.D. Cal.), notifies investors in Wirecard ADS purchased in the United States with tickers WCAGY or WRCDF, that it will be filing an amended complaint on Aug. 14, 2020, as directed by the court, to include additional disclosures related to the original and amended complaints.
The amended complaint will expand the alleged fraudulent period to end June 24, 2020 or shortly thereafter and name the company’s auditor, Ernst & Young, as an additional defendant. The amendments will include the recent events, including ex-Wirecard CEO Markus Braun’s reported arrest and the widening criminal probes amid the disclosed $2.1 billion missing from the company’s balance sheet. Lead counsel may add further parties and amendments.
Hagens Berman urges investors in Wirecard securities traded in the United States, and persons with knowledge of the alleged fraud or who could otherwise further assist with the investigation to contact the firm:
WRCDF@hbsslaw.com
844-916-0895
Lead Counsel’s & Lead Plaintiff’s Pending Wirecard (WCAGY; WRCDF) Securities Fraud Class Action:
The pending securities fraud case concerns Defendants’ deliberate use of improper accounting designed to inflate sales and profits. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly affirmed the effectiveness of Wirecard’s internal controls and processes for financial reporting. In truth, Defendants were fabricating financial results by, among other things, inflating receivables.
The truth emerged through a series of exposé articles published by the Financial Times beginning on Jan. 30, 2019, revealing an elaborate accounting fraud orchestrated at the highest levels of Wirecard.
On May 6, 2019, the Court appointed an individual Wirecard investor Lead Plaintiff for the Class and Hagens Berman as Lead Counsel.
On Feb. 14, 2020, Lead Plaintiff filed a first amended class action complaint.
Since this time, revelations about the full extent of the alleged accounting fraud continued and became worse. On June 18, 2020, Wirecard disclosed that its external auditor was unable to confirm the existence of $2.1 billion in cash balances on trust accounts. Moreover, Wirecard warned that a failure to provide certified annual and consolidated financial statements by June 19, 2020 would allow appx. $2 billion worth of loans to be terminated. The scandal intensified when it was reported Markus Braun, the CEO who left the company on June 19, was arrested in Germany, accused of inflating the company's balance sheet. Altogether, this news has sent the price of Wirecard securities traded in the United States crashing by over 80%.
The court has granted Lead Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint on Aug. 14, 2020, which will expand the alleged fraudulent period to cover recent stock drops caused by the revelation of Wirecard’s financial fraud, including the company’s June disclosures, the recent arrest of former CEO Markus Braun and the apparent reckless audit failures of Ernst & Young (Germany).
“Wirecard has long lied about its finances and almost fooled investors that information to the contrary was false. We are focusing our investigation on who knew what and when, including their accountants,” said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein.
For more information about the case visit: https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/WRCDF
About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.
Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 510-725-3000
