SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagens Berman Sobol
Shapiro LLP today announced that a class-action lawsuit has been
filed against RINO International Corporation (Nasdaq: RINO) in the
U.S. District Court of the Central District of California alleging that RINO artificially
inflated its stock price by misleading investors about the
Company's financial results. The deadline to move to be a lead
plaintiff is January 11, 2011.
Contact Reed R. Kathrein at
510-725-3030 or at rino@hbsslaw.com for a consultation about
whether moving to be lead plaintiff would be right for you.
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RINO International is a Chinese-based manufacturer, installer,
and servicer of environmental protection equipment, including
wastewater treatment and gas desulphurization equipment used in the
iron and steel industry.
On Nov. 12, 2010, trading in RINO
International stock halted just days after a small research firm
posted a report alleging that RINO had engaged in a variety of
fraudulent activities, including inflating revenues and fabricating
customer relationships. During trading on Nov. 10, 2010 RINO's common stock fell
$2.34 per share, closing at
$13.18 per share.
On Nov. 17, RINO filed a report
with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that Frazer
Frost, LLP, the independent auditors of RINO International
Corporation (the "Registrant"), delivered a letter (the "Auditor's
Letter") to the Registrant and each of its directors. The Auditor's
Letter states in part: "In a telephone conversation on Nov. 16, 2010, Mr. Zou Dejun, the Chief Executive
Officer of the Company, informed Ms. Susan
Woo of our firm, in substance, that as to the six RINO
customer contracts discussed in the recent report of Muddy Waters
LLC, the Company did not in fact enter into two of the six
purported contracts, and a third contract among the six was
explainable. When Ms. Woo inquired about the Company's other
contracts, Mr. Zou said he was not sure, but there might be
problems with 20 - 40% of them." Mr. Zou later claimed that only
two of the contracts were "problematic."
On Nov. 18, RINO filed a report
with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that the Board
concluded that previously issued interim unaudited financial
statements which were included in the Registrant's Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods March
31, 2010, June 30, 2010 and
September 30, 2010 should no longer
be relied on inasmuch as such financial statements incorporate
results from 2008 and 2009.
The filed complaint alleges that RINO artificially inflated its
stock price by grossly inflating the Company's financial results.
In addition, these financial results were inconsistent with amounts
reported to Chinese tax authorities. According to the
complaint, RINO and certain company executives made materially
false and misleading statements regarding the company's business
and operations in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.
Investors with losses greater than $100,000 who purchased RINO common stock between
Feb. 17, 2009 and Nov. 12, 2010 are encouraged to contact
Hagens Berman attorneys to discuss
this matter. Hagens Berman's
partner, Reed R. Kathrein, can be
reached by phone at (510) 725-3030 or on the web at
www.hbsslaw.com
About Hagens Berman
Seattle-based Hagens Berman
Sobol Shapiro LLP represents whistleblowers, investors and
consumers in complex litigation. The firm has offices in
San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Founded in 1993, HBSS
continues to successfully fight for investor rights in large,
complex litigation. More about the law firm and its successes can
be found at www.hbsslaw.com.
Contact: Mark Firmani, Firmani +
Associates Inc., 206.443.9357 or mark@firmani.com.
SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP