Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action Suit Against The Western Union Company

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Feb 22, 2017, 14:50 ET

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller") (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/westernunioncompany/) today announced that a class action has been commenced by an institutional investor on behalf of purchasers of The Western Union Company ("Western Union") (NYSE:WU) publicly traded securities during the period between February 24, 2012 and January 19, 2017 (the "Class Period"). This action was filed in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is captioned UA Local 13 Pension Fund v. The Western Union Company, No. 17-cv-00326.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from January 26, 2017. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at [email protected]. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/westernunioncompany/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Western Union and certain of its current and former officers and/or directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Western Union provides money movement and payment services worldwide.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding the Company's business and compliance polices. Specifically, during the Class Period, Western Union and its senior management represented to investors that the Company maintained a robust compliance program and obeyed federal and international laws. The complaint, however, alleges that, contrary to these representations, Western Union was systematically aiding and abetting a vast network of international criminal activities, including money laundering and consumer fraud schemes, and had willfully failed to implement effective compliance programs and had turned a blind eye to its agents' misconduct in order to boost the Company's short-term business. As a result of defendants' false statements and/or omissions, Western Union shares traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching prices above $22 per share.

Then on January 19, 2017, The Wall Street Journal published an article stating that Western Union had "agreed to pay $586 million to resolve U.S. criminal and civil charges that it failed to effectively police customers who were potentially using its services to engage in fraud." The article stated that in the settlement agreement with the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), the Company "admitted it failed to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program and it aided and abetted wire fraud." The same day, the DOJ and the FTC issued releases detailing the settlement and the Company's unlawful conduct. The DOJ's release stated that "'Western Union's failure to implement proper controls and discipline agents that violated compliance[] policies enabled the proliferation of illegal gambling, money laundering and fraud-related schemes. Western Union's conduct resulted in the processing of hundreds of millions of dollars in prohibited transactions.'" Over the next several days, additional information continued to come out about the Company's settlements with various regulators and the widespread misconduct of its employees and agents. On this news, which was revealed over several days, the price of Western Union shares fell $2.31 per share, or over 10%, to close at $19.54 per share on February 1, 2017.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Western Union publicly traded securities during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud.

Robbins Geller is widely recognized as one of the leading law firms advising U.S. and international institutional investors in securities litigation and portfolio monitoring. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history and was ranked first in both total amount recovered for investors and number of securities class action recoveries in ISS's SCAS Top 50 Report for the last two years. Robbins Geller attorneys have shaped the law in the areas of securities litigation and shareholder rights and have recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of the Firm's clients. Robbins Geller not only secures recoveries for defrauded investors, it also strives to implement corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Please visit rgrdlaw.com/cases/westernunioncompany/ for more information.

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SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP