Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, P.C. Commences Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Income-Plus Investment Fund Investors
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WHITE PLAINS, NY - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, P.C. filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, against defendants J.P. Jeanneret Associates, Inc. (“Jeanneret Associates”), John P. Jeanneret (“Dr. Jeanneret”), Paul L. Perry (“Perry”) (collectively, “Jeanneret”), Ivy Asset Management Corporation (“Ivy”), Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (“Bank of New York”), and Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP ( “Margolin”, collectively, the “Defendants”), on behalf of all persons, other than Defendants, who invested in Income-Plus Investment Fund (“Income-Plus”), from January 1, 1999 to the present (the “Class Period”), to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and common law claims, including breach of fiduciary duties. The case name is styled Local 73 Annuity Fund, et al. v. J.P. Jeanneret Associates, Inc., et al. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, P.C. website at www.lowey.com. This Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, unbeknownst to Income-Plus Investors, Defendants failed to perform the necessary due diligence that they were being compensated to perform as investment advisors, managers and fiduciaries, and proximately caused millions of dollars in losses by placing the Plaintiffs’ investment assets of Income-Plus in entities managed by Bernard Madoff (“Madoff”). Defendants either knew or were reckless in not realizing that the Income-Plus Investment Fund’s assets that were placed with Madoff were at risk because his enterprise was a massive Ponzi scheme. Defendants ignored numerous red flags, including the abnormally high and stable positive investment results reportedly achieved by Madoff regardless of market conditions; inconsistencies between Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC’s (“BMIS”) publicly available financial information concerning its assets and the purported amounts that Madoff managed for clients; and the fact that BMIS was audited by a small, obscure accounting firm. Jeanneret issued an Offering Memorandum for Income-Plus Investment Fund that was false and misleading because it falsely stated that Jeanneret would conduct thorough due diligence with respect to Income-Plus’ investments. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants Jeanneret, Ivy, and Ivy’s parent company, Bank of New York, failed to perform the represented due diligence and oversight, and abdicated their fiduciary duties to the investors by entrusting the Plaintiffs’ assets with Madoff. Plaintiffs further allege that Defendant Margolin negligently failed to conduct a proper audit of Income-Plus’ financial statements. Plaintiffs have alleged claims on behalf of the Class for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, Rule 10b-5, as well as breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and breach of contract. If you invested in Income-Plus Investment Fund during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by June 19, 2009. 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, however, is not affected by your decision on whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action. Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has accomplished attorneys in various practice areas with offices in New York and Pennsylvania. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation. Please visit the Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart website (www.lowey.com) for more information about the firm. If you wish to discuss this matter with us, or have any questions concerning your rights and interests with regard to this matter, please contact: Barbara Hart (BH - 3231) Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, P.C. Phone Number: (914) 997-0500 Bhart@lowey.com Website: www.lowey.com
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