On September 14, 2022, the Court granted final approval of the two Partial Settlements in this matter.
For more information about the settlement, please see the settlement website at: http://www.aegeansecuritieslitigation.com/
Berman Tabacco is Lead Counsel representing Lead Plaintiff, a state public pension fund, in a securities fraud class action lawsuit brought on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. (“Aegean” or the “Company”) stock between February 27, 2014 and November 5, 2018 (both dates inclusive). Aegean was an international marine fuel logistics company based in Greece that supplied and marketed refined marine fuel and lubricants to ships in port and at sea and, until its bankruptcy filing at the end of 2018, Aegean’s common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ANW.
The case is brought against certain officers, directors and outside auditors alleging that they were engaged in a massive fraudulent scheme that took place over at least an eight-year period during which they (i) significantly overstated Aegean’s income and revenue; (ii) overstated Aegean’s assets and the strength of its balance sheet; and (iii) misled investors concerning the adequacy of Aegean’s internal controls over financial reporting.
In May 2018, Aegean’s entire Audit Committee stepped down and a reconstituted Audit Committee was formed with new, independent directors. Then, in June 2018, Aegean reported that “approximately $200 million of accounts receivable owed to the Company at December 31, 2017 will need to be written off” and that “the transactions that gave rise to the accounts receivable … may have been, in full or in part, without economic substance and improperly accounted for in contravention of the Company’s normal policies and procedures.” After retaining counsel and forensic accountants to conduct an internal investigation, in November 2018, the reconstituted Audit Committee revealed that “up to $300 million of Company cash and other assets were misappropriated through fraudulent activities” and that “approximately $200 million in accounts receivable that arose from purported commercial transactions…lacked economic substance” and were uncollectable and would need to be written off. Several days later, Aegean filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.