Investor Alert: Kaplan Fox Announces Investigation Of BRF S.A.

NEW YORK, March 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (www.kaplanfox.com) is investigating claims on behalf of investors of BRF S.A. ("BRF" or the "Company") (NYSE: BRFS). 

A class action complaint has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of BRF's securities, including its American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), between April 4, 2013 and March 2, 2018, inclusive (the "Class") alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

According to the complaint, BRF represented in its public filings throughout the Class Period that BRF focuses on quality and food safety in all of its operations in order to meet customers' specifications, prevent contamination and minimize the risk of outbreaks of animal diseases.  BRF also emphasized that the Company conducts its business in strict compliance with both national and international anti-bribery and anticorruption legislation.

On March 17, 2017, the complaint alleges that media outlets reported that Brazilian federal police raided BRF offices, along with other meatpackers, following a two-year investigation into alleged bribery of regulators to subvert inspections of their plants.  The probe, known as "Operation Weak Flesh," had uncovered about 40 cases of meatpackers who had bribed inspectors and politicians to overlook unsanitary practices such as processing rotten meat and running plants with traces of salmonella.

Following this news, BRF's ADR price fell $0.99, or 7.73%, to close at $11.81 per ADR on March 17, 2017.

On March 5, 2018, Reuters reported that Brazilian federal police arrested BRF's former Chief Executive Officer, Pedro de Andrade Faria, on charges that he was aware that BRF committed fraud by trying to avoid food safety checks.  Reportedly, the "police cited evidence that five laboratories accredited by the Agriculture Ministry colluded with the analysis department of BRF to 'falsify' test results related to the safety of its industrial process."

Following this news, BRF's ADR price fell $1.83, or 19.43%, to close at $7.59 per ADR on March 5, 2018.

If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may move the court no later than May 11, 2018 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the purported class.  You need not seek to become a lead plaintiff in order to share in any possible recovery.  If you would like to discuss the complaint or our investigation, please contact us by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-290-1952.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New Jersey, has many years of experience in prosecuting investor class actions. For more information about Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, you may visit our website at www.kaplanfox.com.  If you have any questions about this Notice, the action, your rights, or your interests, please contact:

Donald R. Hall
KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP
850 Third Avenue, 14th Floor
New York, New York 10022
(800) 290-1952
(212) 687-1980
Fax: (212) 687-7714
E-mail: [email protected]

Laurence D. King
KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP
350 Sansome Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, California  94104
(415) 772-4700
Fax:  (415) 772-4707
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP

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