SAN FRANCISCO, June 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman, who on May 6, 2019 was appointed Lead Counsel in a 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.
The amended complaint will expand the alleged fraudulent period to recover losses suffered by investors who purchased Wirecard ADS in the U.S. due to 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.
Hagens Berman urges 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
Wirecard (WCAGY; WRCDF) Securities Fraud Class Action:
The 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 approximately $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 ADS 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 18 disclosure and the recent arrest of former CEO Markus Braun.
“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
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Wirecard should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 510-725-3000 or email WRCDF@hbsslaw.com.
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Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 510-725-3000