Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
(Case No. 2:05-cv-601) on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all
persons who purchased or acquired securities of Amerigroup Corporation
("Amerigroup" or the "Company")(NYSE:AGP) between April 27, 2005 and
September 28, 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 Amerigroup securities. The Complaint names as defendants Amerigroup, Jeffrey L. McWaters, James G. Carlson, Stanley F. Baldwin, E. Paul Dunn, Jr. and Kathleen K. Toth. The Complaint alleges that Amerigroup (a) carried out a scheme to deceive the investing public; (b) made untrue statements of material fact and/or omitted to state material facts necessary to make the statements not misleading; and (c) engaged in acts, practices, and a course of business which operated as a fraud and deceit upon the purchasers of the Company's securities in an effort to maintain artificially high market prices for Amerigroup securities. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Amerigroup had falsely reported its financial results in its press releases and Form 10-Q for its first and second quarters of 2005 by improperly accounting for medical costs. The Company has now admitted to its failure to accrue costs of at least $6 million in the first quarter and $17 million in the second quarter for a total of $23 million.
On September 28, 2005, after the market closed, Amerigroup announced its preliminary estimated third quarter financial results and that the Company "expects to report a third quarter 2005 loss of $0.06 to $0.08 per diluted share, as compared to current consensus earnings estimate of $0.48 per diluted share. As a result the Company will not meet its 2005 annual earnings guidance of $1.73 to $1.78 per diluted share." News of this shocked the market; Amerigroup's stock fell from $33.91 per share to $19.81 per share on volume of 8.4 million shares.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Amerigroup securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Amerigroup 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 Amerigroup securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than December 2, 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 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 over one billion dollars for 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: -0- Susan Lee or Nancy Kaboolian, 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.
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 Amerigroup securities. The Complaint names as defendants Amerigroup, Jeffrey L. McWaters, James G. Carlson, Stanley F. Baldwin, E. Paul Dunn, Jr. and Kathleen K. Toth. The Complaint alleges that Amerigroup (a) carried out a scheme to deceive the investing public; (b) made untrue statements of material fact and/or omitted to state material facts necessary to make the statements not misleading; and (c) engaged in acts, practices, and a course of business which operated as a fraud and deceit upon the purchasers of the Company's securities in an effort to maintain artificially high market prices for Amerigroup securities. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Amerigroup had falsely reported its financial results in its press releases and Form 10-Q for its first and second quarters of 2005 by improperly accounting for medical costs. The Company has now admitted to its failure to accrue costs of at least $6 million in the first quarter and $17 million in the second quarter for a total of $23 million.
On September 28, 2005, after the market closed, Amerigroup announced its preliminary estimated third quarter financial results and that the Company "expects to report a third quarter 2005 loss of $0.06 to $0.08 per diluted share, as compared to current consensus earnings estimate of $0.48 per diluted share. As a result the Company will not meet its 2005 annual earnings guidance of $1.73 to $1.78 per diluted share." News of this shocked the market; Amerigroup's stock fell from $33.91 per share to $19.81 per share on volume of 8.4 million shares.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Amerigroup securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Amerigroup 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 Amerigroup securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than December 2, 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 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 over one billion dollars for 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: -0- Susan Lee or Nancy Kaboolian, 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.
© 2005 Business Wire
