In an opinion issued today, Judge Ramos dismissed securities fraud and related claims brought against Deloitte & Touche for its part in allegedly fraudulent financial statements and other SEC filings by ChinaCast Education, a Chinese company that traded on the NASDAQ from 2006 to 2012.  Deloitte was ChinaCast’s auditor, and the plaintiffs were investors in the company, including current management, who claimed to have uncovered misdeeds by ChinaCast’s prior management. Judge Ramos described the plaintiffs’ claims:

At bottom, Plaintiffs contend that, had the Deloitte Defendants performed any audit at all, they would have discovered the rampant fraud at ChinaCast much earlier. The FAC describes a number of failures to comply with PCAOB and GAAP standards, as well as “red flags” that should have placed the Deloitte Defendants on notice of the fraud. Consequently, Plaintiffs assert that DTTC’s statements for the years 2007 through 2010, that it conducted its audits in accordance with PCAOB standards and that ChinaCast’s audited financial statements were GAAP compliant, and for the years 2008 and 2009, that the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting were effective, were materially false.

Continue Reading Judge Ramos: Securities Fraud Suit Against Deloitte Dismissed, but Plaintiffs May Replead