NEW YORK, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on behalf of a class (the “Class”) of all persons who purchased or acquired securities of World Health Alternatives, Inc. (“World Health” or the “Company”) between June 26, 2003 and August 19, 2005, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period thereby artificially inflating the price of Symbol securities. The complaint alleges that the Company’s publicly filed financial statements during the Class Period were materially false and misleading in that, among other things, the Company underpaid more than $4 million in taxes during the Class period, and net income was consequently overstated by a comparable amount; that the Company was in breach of its lending agreements as a result of having misrepresented its financial condition to its lenders, resulting in the Company having fraudulently obtained more than $6.5 million from its lenders; and that the Company misstated the amount of debenture and warrants associated with the Company’s preferred stock. In addition, the Company misstated the academic credentials of defendant McDonald in various SEC filings during the Class Period, misleading investors as to the training and integrity of the Company’s senior management.
On August 19, 2005, the Company announced that it had commenced an investigation into a series of manipulations of the Company’s published financial statements and operating results. The Company has terminated its outside auditor, Daszkal Bolton LLP, Defendant McDonald has resigned as CEO, it has retained outside counsel and the Board of Directors has retained special counsel to assist it with its investigation. In addition, the Company announced that it will be restating its prior financial statements due to the material misstatements outlined above and has warned investors not to rely on the information contained therein.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired World Health securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired World Health securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased World Health securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than October 24, 2005 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as “lead plaintiffs.” Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of billions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact:
Susan Lee or Charles H. Dufresne, Jr., Esq. Abbey Gardy, LLP 212 East 39th Street New York, New York 10016 (212) 889-3700 (800) 889-3701 (Toll Free) Or e-mail Susan Lee at slee@abbeygardy.com.
Abbey Gardy, LLP
CONTACT: Susan Lee or Charles H. Dufresne, Jr., Esq., both of Abbey Gardy,LLP, +1-212-889-3700, or +1-800-889-3701 (Toll Free), or e-mail Susan Leeat slee@abbeygardy.com
Web site: http://www.abbeygardy.com/
