NYSE Delists Friedman’s

The New York Stock Exchange has suspended trading in shares of US jewelry chain Friedman's Inc, after its CFO and a number of directors quit, rescinding the amendments to the company’s bylaws.

The NYSE said Friedman's may appeal against the decision. Trading in the Savannah, Georgia-based company has been halted since May 6 and last traded at $4.97.

The company said earlier this week that two of five recently elected directors had resigned after just two days.

That announcement followed the resignation last week of Richard Cartoon as chief financial officer after just five months.

The NYSE also noted that the company failed to submit its Form 10-K filing for the fiscal year ended September 2003.

The decision comes on top of a string of events that have been plaguing embattled Friedman’s, which is under investigation for its accounting practices.

Friedman's is facing investigation resulting from a fraud lawsuit filed by Capital Factors Inc against a company that supplied jewelry to Friedman's and others.
 
The company is under investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission and is in the process of restating its financial results for at least the last three years because of accounting for bad debts.
 
Only last month it received official notice that the SEC is considering civil action against the firm over accusations of securities law violations.