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CORRECTING AND REPLACING Chitwood & Harley Files Initial Class Action Complaint Charging EchoStar With Securities Fraud On Behalf of Investors Who Purchased EchoStarATLANTA --(Business Wire)-- March 11, 2005 -- Headline of release should read: Chitwood & Harley Files Initial Class Action Complaint Charging EchoStar With Securities Fraud On Behalf of Investors Who Purchased EchoStar Securities from 8/10/04 thru 3/9/05 (sted Chitwood & Harley Files Initial Class Action Complaint Charging EchoStar With Securities Fraud On Behalf of Investors Who Purchased EchoStar Securities from 4/10/04 thru 3/9/05). The corrected release reads: CHITWOOD & HARLEY FILES INITIAL CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT CHARGING ECHOSTAR WITH SECURITIES FRAUD ON BEHALF OF INVESTORS WHO PURCHASED ECHOSTAR SECURITIES FROM 8/10/04 THRU 3/9/05 Chitwood & Harley LLP, a national class action law firm, announces that it has filed the first securities fraud class action complaint in the United States District Court of Colorado against EchoStar Communications Corporation ("EchoStar" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: DISH), Charles W. Ergen, David Rayner, Michael R. McConnell, Paul W. Orban and David Moskowitz on behalf of purchasers of DISH securities during the period between August 10, 2004 and March 9, 2005 (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint is available from the court and will be posted on our website, www.classlaw.com for the next two months. If you have questions about this case or wish to submit your transaction information to our firm for evaluation, you may contact us through our website, www.classlaw.com by clicking on EchoStar, or by emailing or calling Lauren S. Antonino, Esq. at [email protected] or 1-888-873-3999 ext. 6888. Any member of the class who desires to be appointed lead plaintiff in the class action must file a motion with the Court no later than 60 days from today on their own or through counsel of their own choice. Class members must meet certain legal requirements to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may also choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. The complaint charges 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 materially false and misleading statements to the market concerning EchoStar's results of operation. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company's Class Period financial statements and disclosures were materially false and misleading and in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") because, among other things: (1) the Company lacked internal controls adequate to ensure that the information contained in the Company's financial reports fairly presented in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company; and (2) the Company improperly booked certain transactions with vendors and engaged in improper accounting. The truth began to emerge on March 10, 2005 when the market learned that EchoStar's audit committee had launched an internal accounting probe and that the Company and Defendant Ergen were the subjects of an SEC inquiry. According to a March 10, 2005 Reuters article, the probe relates to the booking of transactions with suppliers and consulting payments to a friend of Defendant Ergen, the Company's Chief Executive Officer. Bloomberg reported that the probe by EchoStar's audit committee was prompted by KPMG's audit of the Company and that the SEC inquiry concerns Defendant Ergen's role in to the Company's accounting. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources familiar with the internal investigation who claimed that the investigation had uncovered "evidence," including "company records that showed Ergen may have directed or authorized vendor transactions and consulting payments to an unidentified friend." The Bloomberg article also noted that since July 2004, the SEC has been examining the way EchoStar and other companies in the telecommunications industry account for subscribers. During the Class Period, several of the Individual Defendants and other officers and/or directors of EchoStar engaged in massive insider trading, which Ft.com reported last night regulators are probing. Following the March 10, 2005 disclosure, the market price of EchoStar's common stock dropped from a high of $34.38 per share during the Class Period to as low as $28.20 per share on March 10, 2005, the lowest price at which EchoStar has traded since August 2004. Trading in EchoStar common stock on March 10, 2005 exceeded 15 million shares, which is nearly eight times the average daily trading volume for DISH common stock for the previous three months of 1.876 million shares. Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its nationwide practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in one of the highest recoveries ever in a private securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented." |
