According to the law firm press release, the complaint charges Diana, certain of the Company’s officers and/or directors and Kalani Investments Limited and certain of its affiliates (“Kalani”) with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Diana is a global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of containerships.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendant, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, caused Diana to engage in a series of manipulative share issuance/sales transactions with Kalani and related entities. The manipulative scheme worked as follows: Through his control of Diana, defendant caused Diana to sell its common shares and securities convertible into common shares to Kalani at a significant discount to market price and to file registration statements so that Kalani could resell these shares into the market. When Kalani’s sales of Diana stock caused the price of Diana stock to decline, the Company would reverse split the stock, causing a certain number of outstanding shares to be merged into a single share, thereby raising the price of Diana stock. Then Diana would again sell securities to Kalani and the same pattern of transactions would ensue. According to the complaint, defendants failed to disclose the true purpose of these transactions and the related stock issuances and reverses – to provide Diana with financing that benefited defendant and his related companies and family members and otherwise funnel money to Company insiders. As a result of defendants’ stock manipulation scheme, the complaint alleges that by October 3, 2017, Diana common stock, which traded at a price of more than $2,500 per share on an adjusted basis during the early part of the Class Period, was worth only $0.47 per share.

On April 30, 2018, the Court issued an Order appointing Lead Plaintiffs and Counsel and consolidating cases. Lead Plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended Complaint on July 13.