Milberg LLP Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Puda Coal

Milberg LLP today announced that on April 21, 2011, the firm filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of investors who purchased the securities of Puda Coal, Inc. PUDA during the period November 13, 2009, to April 11, 2011, inclusive. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements to investors by failing to disclose that the Company's Chairman, Ming Zhao, had transferred ownership of Puda's operating entity, Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co., Ltd. ("Shanxi Coal"), to himself, thereby rendering Puda an empty shell company. On April 8, 2011, Alfred Little, an investor who researches and blogs about Chinese companies, exposed the transfer of Shanxi Coal to Ming Zhao. In reaction to this news, shares of Puda's stock fell $3.10 per share, or over 34 percent, to close at $6.00 per share, on extremely heavy trading volume. On the next trading day, April 11, 2011, the Company issued a press release stating that, "[a]lthough the investigation is in its preliminary stages, evidence supports the allegation that there were transfers by Mr. Zhao in subsidiary ownership that were inconsistent with disclosure made by the Company in its public securities filings. Mr. Zhao has agreed to a voluntarily leave of absence as Chairman of the Board of the Company until the investigation is complete." In response to this announcement, the NYSE halted trading in the Company's stock on April 11, 2011.