Adelphia Securities Fraud Lawyers
The lawyers and attorneys at our firm are offering free consultations to victims of Adelphia securities fraud. Adelphia Communications Corp. was once the sixth largest cable company in the U.S. But in March of 2002, the company was forced to admit that it had failed to report several billion dollars in debt. Once that announcement was made, Adelphia shares began to plummet, and did not stop until the company declared bankruptcy in June 2002.
It has since been learned that much of Adelphia's debt resulted from undisclosed insider deals on the part of members of the Rigas family, many of whom held high executive positions in the company. If you suffered a financial loss as a result of fraud at Adelphia, you may be entitled to compensation. We urge you to contact one of our Adelphia fraud attorney as soon as possible to discuss your legal rights.
A month after the Adelphia bankruptcy, the SEC filed charges against Adelphia Communications Corp.; its founder John J. Rigas; his three sons, Timothy J. Rigas, Michael J. Rigas, and James P. Rigas; and two senior executives at Adelphia, James R. Brown, and Michael C. Mulcahey, in one of the most extensive financial frauds ever to take place at a public company.
The SEC charged that that Adelphia, at the direction of the individual defendants: (1) fraudulently excluded billions of dollars in liabilities from its consolidated financial statements by hiding them on the books of off-balance sheet affiliates; (2) falsified operations statistics and inflated earnings to meet Wall Street's expectations; and (3) concealed rampant self-dealing by the Rigas Family, including the undisclosed use of corporate funds for Rigas Family stock purchases and the acquisition of luxury condominiums in New York and elsewhere. On the same day, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed related criminal charges against several of the same defendants.
In June 2004, a federal jury found John Rigas and his son Timothy, the former chief financial officer, guilty of conspiring to loot the cable television company of millions of dollar. Both were also found guilty of two bank fraud counts and 15 counts of securities fraud.
During the Adelphia securities fraud trial, U.S. prosecutors charged that that the Rigas family siphoned $100 million from Adelphia to pay for personal extravagances, hid $2.3 billion in debt and systematically deceived investors about Adelphia's subscriber growth and its bottom line. According to "The Washington Post", jurors saw more than a dozen allegedly false SEC documents signed by various family members and receipts for personal expenses large and small, including those for 100 pairs of slippers ordered by Timothy Rigas and condominium fees for John Rigas's property in Colorado.
Legal Help for Victims of Adelphia Securities Fraud
If you or someone you know owned stock in Adelphia and suffered financial losses because of the securities fraud committed by members of the Rigas family and other executives, you have valuable legal rights. Please contact one of the Adelphia securities fraud lawyers at our firm by filling out our online form or calling 1-800-LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636).