HPY Shareholders Not So HPY afterall...

Editor's Note:  The graphic depicted (below/right) documents a 42% drop in shareholder value on January 22nd.  Heartland stock has dropped as low as $3.57 per share on March 9th vs.  a 52 week high of $33.00.  Although they're HPY shareholders, apparently they're not HPY enough to prevent them from partaking in a class action lawsuit. 

Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Heartland Payment Systems, Inc.

By the Law Firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP


RADNOR, Pa., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP:

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of purchasers of Heartland Payment Systems' ("Heartland" or the "Company") (NYSE: HPY) securities between February 13, 2008 and February 23, 2009, inclusive (the "Class Period").

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or David M. Promisloff, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@btkmc.com.

The Complaint charges Heartland and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Heartland provides bank card payment processing services to merchants in the United States. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company was in imminent danger of having the security of its processing system breached; (2) that the Company had not taken the proper steps to secure its systems; (3) that further, it was likely that the Company would not be aware such a breach occurred until weeks or months later; (4) that the Company had been notified of a potential breach in its security system; (5) that as a result, the Company would face significant costs related to, among other things, liability and the implementation of proper measures; and (6) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls.

On January 20, 2009, the Company shocked investors when it disclosed for the first time that it was the victim of a security breach within its processing system in 2008. The Company stated that it found evidence of an intrusion the previous week and notified federal law enforcement agencies. Heartland stated that it immediately took a number of steps to further secure its systems. Then, on January 22, 2009, Bloomberg published an article about the breach. The article stated that the breach may have involved 100 million accounts, which would be double the size of the largest such theft in history. Upon the release of this news, the Company's shares declined $5.93 per share, or 42.03 percent, to close on January 22, 2009 at $8.18 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume.

On February 24, 2009, the Company announced disappointing quarterly financial results in an earnings press release. Additionally, the Company announced that it was cutting its dividend 72 percent, and further warned that it could face losses due to the security breach. Later that day, during an earnings conference call, defendants disclosed that the Company was under investigation by the SEC, the United States Department of Justice, the United States Federal Trade Commission, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Upon the release of this news, the Company's shares fell an additional $2.31 per share, or 30.20 percent, to close on February 24, 2009 at $5.34 per share, also on unusually heavy trading volume.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world.

For more information about Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit www.btkmc.com

If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than May 5, 2009, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Any member of the purported 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.

CONTACT: Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP
Darren J. Check, Esq.
David M. Promisloff, Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706
Or by e-mail at info@btkmc.com