NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 11, 2024 / Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP ("BFA") announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit for violations of the federal securities laws against The Toronto-Dominion Bank ("TD" or the "Company") and certain of the Company's senior executives. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and is captioned Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, No. 24-cv-09445 ("Gonzalez").
Gonzalez is related to the class action an investor previously filed against TD: Tiessen v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, No. 24-cv-08032 (S.D.N.Y.) ("Tiessen"), which is the first-filed securities class action in this matter. As stated in the notice published on October 22, 2024 in connection with the filing of Tiessen, and pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which sets the deadline to seek Lead Plaintiff status 60 days after the notice is published, investors wishing to serve as Lead Plaintiff must file a motion for appointment as Lead Plaintiff by no later than Monday, December 23, 2024. The filing of Gonzalez does not alter that deadline.
Gonzalez asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or acquired TD securities, between March 7, 2022 and October 9, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This is a broader Class Period than asserted in Tiessen. Like Tiessen, Gonzalez alleges that defendants made material misrepresentations concerning TD's anti-money laundering ("AML") controls.
If you suffered a loss on your TD investments and would like to discuss this matter, please submit your information at https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/the-toronto-dominion-bank.
Why was TD Sued for Securities Fraud?
TD is the sixth largest bank in North America and tenth largest bank in the U.S. Gonzalez alleges that during the Class Period, defendants misrepresented TD's Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering controls, processes, and procedures. And in 2023, when investors started to learn that TD's regulators were investigating the adequacy of the Company's AML controls, Defendants repeatedly minimized and downplayed the extent of the problems.
In truth, from January 2014 to October 2023, "pervasive" and "systemic deficiencies" plagued TD's AML controls. Despite these "known" and "glaring deficiencies," TD "chose profits over compliance" and "failed to appropriately fund and staff its AML program, opting to postpone and cancel necessary AML projects" to keep its costs down because "senior executives" required that TD's annual budget not increase. As a result, from January 2018 to April 2024, TD failed to monitor the vast majority of its total transactions which allowed criminals to launder hundreds of millions of dollars using the Company's banking products and services.
The Stock Declines as the Truth is Revealed
On May 2, 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that a U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") investigation into the Company's AML controls focused on "how Chinese crime groups and drug traffickers" used TD to launder money from the sale of fentanyl in the United States and that "[t]he investigation was launched after agents uncovered an operation. . . that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds . . . through TD." This news caused the price of TD stock to decline $3.42 per share, or 5.9%, from $58.08 per share on May 2, 2024, to $54.66 per share on May 3, 2024.
Then, on October 10, 2024, TD disclosed that it entered into consent orders with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), the Federal Reserve Board, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement network, as well as plea agreements with DOJ related to its inadequate AML controls. TD revealed that under the terms of the consent orders and plea agreements the Company would, among other requirements, pay $3.09 billion in fines and penalties, and that the OCC had imposed an asset cap on TD that would stifle the Company's growth.
The same day, DOJ and the OCC published press releases announcing their respective actions against TD. According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, "TD Bank chose profits over compliance with the law" and that "[b]y making its services convenient for criminals, TD Bank became one." DOJ explained that from January 2014 to October 2023, TD "had long-term, pervasive, and systemic deficiencies in its AML policies but failed to take appropriate remedial action" because "senior executives at TD Bank enforced a budget mandate, referred to internally as a ‘flat cost paradigm,' requiring that TD Bank's budget not increase year-over-year."
In the OCC's press release, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu said, "TD Bank's persistent prioritization of growth over controls allowed its employees to break the law and facilitate the laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars." This news caused the price of TD stock to decline $4.07 per share, or 6.4%, from $63.51 per share on October 9, 2024, to $59.44 per share on October 10, 2024.
What are my Rights?
If you purchased or otherwise acquired TD Bank securities between March 7, 2022 and October 9, 2024, you may ask the Court no later than December 23, 2024, which is the first business day after 60 days from the date of the publication of the notice in connection with the filing of Tiessen to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of your choice. To be a member of the Class, you need not take any action at this time. The ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent on serving as Lead Plaintiff.
If you incurred losses on your investments in TD Bank, you are encouraged to submit your information here: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/the-toronto-dominion-bank.
You can also contact:
Ross Shikowitz
ross@bfalaw.com
212-789-3619
Why BFA Law?
Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.
SOURCE: Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP
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