Société Générale On March 12, 2008, Cohen Milstein filed the first lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers of American Depository Receipts ("ADRs") of Société Générale (SocGen), traded on the over the counter market, and all U.S. purchasers of SocGen's shares on overseas exchanges, between August 1, 2005 and January 23, 2008, inclusive (the "class period"). The complaint, filed in federal court in New York, charges that SocGen and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Bouton misled investors regarding its activities and exposure in the subprime mortgage markets, and its lack of sufficient controls and failure to act on information it had regarding the highly irregular and unauthorized trades by its Delta One derivative trading desk, handled by junior trader Jerome Kerviel. The case also involves alleged insider trading by SocGen's top U.S. executive and board member, Robert A. Day. Société Générale is the second largest bank in France and the third largest non-U.S. bank in the United States. As such, its shares are actively traded in both the U.S., as ADRs, and on the French and other international exchanges, and are widely purchased by U.S. and European investors, who, as result of the actions of SocGen, have suffered significant losses.
The Cohen Milstein suit claims that during the class period, SocGen: - made false and misleading statements and concealed material adverse information regarding SocGen's exposure to subprime loans, collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs") and SocGen's internal controls
- touted SocGen's conservative management, risk control, and expertise in risk analysis and structured finance, including CDO vehicles
- misled investors by announcing that it had "very little exposure" to the subprime segment
- ignored or failed to act upon numerous alerts which should have led to the uncovering of Jerome Kerviel's massive irregular trading activity from 2005 through early 2008
The result of this fraudulent activity was that SocGen had to take write downs of close to $4 billion relating to the subprime market, and $7 billion in losses due to the highly risky and irregular trading by Kerviel, which caused a dramatic drop in share price and significant losses to investors. "It is apparent that SocGen did in fact authorize a culture of risk to flourish, with the resulting detrimental impact to its shareholders. The enormous loss in the subprime market and the dramatic loss of $7 billion in the trading department were completely unexpected to those investing in SocGen securities," says Steven J. Toll, Head of the Securities Group and Managing Partner at Cohen Milstein.
Two weeks before the billions of dollars of SocGen's trading and subprime-related losses were revealed to the public, the top SocGen U.S. executive and a board member, defendant Robert A. Day, and foundations related to Mr. Day, sold off millions of shares of their SocGen stock at artificially inflated prices, for proceeds of more than $140 million (€95 million). These sales are now the subject of investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and French market regulators. Cohen Milstein is also investigating potential claims for European shareholders of SocGen who purchased shares on the European exchanges, with the possibility of seeking relief for those shareholders in Europe. Cohen Milstein has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actins and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and London, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to lead positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigation. Cohen Milstein has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total in the billions of dollars. If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact: Steven J. Toll, Esq.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C.
1100 New York Avenue, N.W.
West Tower, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600
E-mail: stoll@cmht.com |
