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HAGENS BERMAN Files Amended Securities Complaint Against Wirecard (WCAGY; WRCDF) Expanding Class Period & Adding Auditor and Supervisory Board Member

Hagens Berman, who on May 6, 2019 was appointed Lead Counsel in the securities class action brought on behalf of investors in Wirecard American Depository Shares (ADS) and F-shares before Hon. Fernando M. Olguin, DelPoggetto v. Wirecard AG et al., 2:19-cv-00986-FMO-SK (C.D. Cal.), notifies investors in Wirecard ADS purchased in the United States with tickers WCAGY or WRCDF, that it has filed an amended securities fraud complaint expanding the Class Period and adding Wulf Matthias, former Chairman of Wirecard’s Supervisory Board, and auditor Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüefungsgesellschaft (“E&Y”) as additional Defendants.

The amended complaint asserts claims on behalf of investors, other than Defendants, who purchased shares of WCAGY and WRCDF between August 17, 2015 and June 26, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Expanded Class Period”). The amendments include the recent events, including ex-Wirecard CEO Markus Braun’s reported arrest and the widening criminal probes amid the disclosed $2.1 billion missing from the company’s balance sheet.

Hagens Berman urges investors in Wirecard securities traded in the United States to contact the firm:

WCAGY@hbsslaw.com
WRCDF@hbsslaw.com
844-916-0895

The pending securities fraud case concerns Defendants’ deliberate use of improper accounting designed to inflate sales and profits. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly affirmed the effectiveness of Wirecard’s internal controls and processes for financial reporting. In truth, Defendants were fabricating financial results by, among other things, inflating cash balances in trust accounts.

The truth emerged through a series of exposé articles published by the Financial Times beginning on Jan. 30, 2019, revealing an elaborate accounting fraud orchestrated at the highest levels of Wirecard.

On May 6, 2019, the Court appointed an individual Wirecard investor Lead Plaintiff for the Class and Hagens Berman as Lead Counsel.

On June 18, 2020, Wirecard disclosed that its external auditor was unable to confirm the existence of $2.1 billion in cash balances on trust accounts. Moreover, Wirecard warned that a failure to provide certified annual and consolidated financial statements by June 19, 2020 would allow appx. $2 billion worth of loans to be terminated. The scandal intensified when it was reported Markus Braun, the CEO who left the company on June 19, was arrested in Germany, accused of inflating the company's balance sheet, Wirecard filed for insolvency, and German shareholders association SdK filed a criminal complaint against E&Y auditors. Altogether, this news has sent the price of Wirecard securities traded in the United States crashing by over 90%.

On Aug. 14, 2020, Lead Plaintiff filed a second amended class action complaint to include revelations about the full extent of the alleged accounting fraud.

“Hagens Berman kept the pressure on Wirecard to come clean with this lawsuit since early 2019. While the defendants will fight application of the U.S securities laws and the protection they provide investors who trade on the U.S. markets, we expect to prevail,” said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein.

For more information about the case visit: https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/WRCDF

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.

Contacts:

Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895

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