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Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP Commences Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Life Partners Holdings, Inc. Investors

^{Published on 2011-02-17 13:10:52 - Market Wire}
 

NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP today filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, on behalf of all persons who purchased the securities of Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (aLPHIa or the aCompanya) (NASDAQ:LPHI) between May 29, 2007 and January 10, 2011, inclusive (the aClass Perioda), against the Company and certain of the Companya™s officers, alleging fraud pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. 78j(b) and 78t(a)] and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the SEC [17 C.F.R. 240.10b-5] (the aClassa).

The case name is styled Dittberner v. Life Partners Holdings, Inc., et al. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at [ www.whafh.com ].

LPHI is one of the few publicly traded companies, through its primary operating subsidiary, Life Partners, Inc., operating in the secondary market for life insurance or as it is generally known alife settlements.a A life settlement transaction involves the sale by the policyholder of the life insurance to another party in exchange for an immediate cash payment. The purchaser buys the policy at a discount and receives the death benefit once the original policyholder passes away. As a financial services company, LPHI, earns fees from providing life settlement purchasing agent services to both individual and institutional clients. In performing these services, LPHI identifies, evaluates and purchases policies for their clients based on the clienta™s criteria. LPHI derives its operating revenues from the fees received for facilitating such life settlement transactions.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants misrepresented or omitted to report the following the material adverse information concerning the Companya™s financial operations: a) that the Company utilized unrealistic life expectancy data in performing its evaluation of life insurance policies resulting in inaccurate and misleading life expectancy reports, which were then used to sell the policies to investors; b) that the Company concealed from investors information regarding the rate at which the underlying policyholder had exceeded the life expectancy estimates produced by the Company and in turn, did not allow the investors to review or assess such information; c) that the Company was able to accumulate a larger amount of fees from investors by misrepresenting the life expectancy data of the underlying policyholder; d) that the Company significantly increased its revenues through use of such improper business practices; e) that, at all relevant times, the Companya™s financial statements and reports were materially false and misleading as result of such practices; f) that the result of such improper business practices being exposed would lead to an SEC investigation of the Company; g) that the Companya™s quality, internal and financial controls were inadequate; and h) that as a result, all statements regarding the Companya™s financial well-being, business prospects and future growth potential had no evidentiary support.

In ignorance of the false and misleading nature of the statements described in the complaint, and the deceptive and manipulative devices and contrivances employed by said defendants, plaintiff and the other members of the Class relied, to their detriment, on the integrity of the market price of LPHI securities. Had plaintiff and the other members of the Class known the truth, they would not have purchased said securities, or would not have purchased them at the inflated prices that were paid.

If you purchased LPHI securities during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by April 4, 2011. 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 membera™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 alead plaintiff.a Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wolf Haldenstein, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 70 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in Chicago, New York City, and San Diego. 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.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP at 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by telephone at (800) 575-0735 (Gregory M. Nespole, Esq. or Derek Behnke), via e-mail at [ classmember@whafh.com ] or visit our website at [ www.whafh.com ]. All e-mail correspondence should make reference to LPHI.