Securities Fraud Developments

WellCare (WCG) Securities Fraud Suits Begin After Raid

WellCare Healthplans Inc. shares closed Friday ,October 26, 2007, at $31.36, down nearly 73%, since Wednesday when trading was halted on news that state and federal law-enforcement agents (the FBI) armed with a federal search warrant raided WellCare's headquarters in Tampa, Fla. The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported huge insider trading, the hallmark of securities fraud:

Since July, Chief Executive Todd S. Farha has sold $8.8 million of shares, while General Counsel Thaddeus Bereday has sold $4.2 million, according to Thomson Financial. Chief Financial Officer Paul Behrens has sold $2.1 million of stock. Regina Herzlinger, a director of the Tampa, Fla., company, sold $2.3 million worth in August. ....Andrew Agwunobi, who now heads Florida's Medicaid agency, served on WellCare's board from June to December 2006 and sold $1 million of shares in December, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing....All told, company employees and directors have sold about $47.6 million of stock this year, up from $34.6 million last year, as the company's shares have outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index by 428% since WellCare went public in mid-2004....

On Friday the SEC and the Conneticut Attorney General joined the probes. Also on Friday, the  law firm Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC ("KGS") filed a class action lawsuit against WellCare in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, Case No. 8:07 CV 1940-T24, on behalf of shareholders who purchased the common stock of the Company between May 8, 2006 and October 24, 2007, inclusive (the "Class Period").If an investor wishes to serve as the lead plaintiff in this class action lawsuit, the investor must move the Court no later than December 26, 2007.If you have further information concerning these facts or are a shareholder and want to be kept apprised of the investigation or of possible legal action, you can e-mail the me at info@hbsslaw.com or call 206-623-7292 or go to http://www.hbsslaw.com/wcg.htm. 

Investigation of WSB Financial Group, Inc. (WSFG)

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP has begun an investigation of a possible securities fraud legal action on behalf of investors who purchased the shares of WSB Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:WSFG) of Bremerton. On Wednesday October 24, 2007 the Company announced that State and Federal regulators are looking into possible fraud and misconduct in its real-estate lending practices causing the company’s shares to plummet 42.9 percent.

In an 8-K filing with the SEC on on October 23,2007 WSB Financial has revealed that examiners from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Washington Department of Financial Institutions recently told management they believed the bank "violated certain banking laws and regulations which are primarily related to the origination, administration and monitoring of construction and mortgage loans." The company filing states that:

"The examiners advised that they intend to recommend that the FDIC and DFI take regulatory action against the Bank with respect to such lending practices and activities, which may include a cease and desist order, monetary penalties, further increases in allowances for loan losses, reserves and/or charge-offs.

Additionally, the company has been cooperating in an investigation by the regulators pertaining to certain past activities involving former employees and third parties, including possible fraud, misconduct and other violations with respect to the application, processing and approval of certain loans previously made. The company is also conducting its own internal investigation into the issues surrounding the past activities of mortgage and construction loan origination, and plans to retain an independent auditor to analyze these loans, particularly construction loans and assist the company and its management in determining the appropriate level of loan loss allowances, reserves or charge-offs with respect to such loans."

At the same time the Company has announced that its chief financial officer, Mark Freeman, had asked for and received a leave of absence to deal with unspecified "health reasons."

If you have further information concerning these facts or are a shareholder and want to be kept apprised of the investigation or of possible legal action, you can contact wsfg@hbsslaw.com or call the firm at 206-623-7292. For more information go to http://www.hagens-berman.com/wsb.htm.