JWL Whitehall Jewel

Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Whitehall Jewellers, Inc. by the Law Firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP: Notice ishereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Whitehall Jewellers, Inc. (NYSE:JWL) ("Whitehall" or the Company") between November 19, 2001 and December 10, 2003, 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 Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at . The complaint charges Whitehall, Hugh M. Patinkin, Manny A. Brown, Matthew M. Patinkin, Jon H. Browne, and John R. Desjardins with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. More specifically, the complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants issued numerous statements to the market concerning theCompany's financial results, which failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that defendants had improperly and untimely recognized revenue on certain of the Company's customer transactions; (2) that the Company's inventory was materially overstated; (3) that defendants violated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") and the Company's own internal policies regarding the timing of revenue recognition; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's revenues, net income and earnings per share published during the Class Period were materially false and misleading. On November 6, 2003, Whitehall announced had received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a formal investigation into a complaint that Whitehall aided a former supplier in an accounting fraud. On December 11, 2003, Whitehall announced that it had fired its Chief Financial Officer and would delay reporting results for its fiscal third quarter, and later that month that Whitehall would be restating its financial statements for fiscal 2000, 2001 and 2002, including the 2002 quarters then ended, and the first two quarters ended July 31, 2003. On news of this, shares of Whitehall fell 7.6%, or $0.75 per share, to close at $9.04 per share on December 11, 2003. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/. If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than April 12, 2004, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. CONTACT: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP Marc A. Topaz, Esq. Stuart L. Berman, Esq. Three Bala Plaza East,Suite 400, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706 Or by e-mail at DATASOURCE: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP CONTACT: Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq., both of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP, 1-888-299-7706, or +1-1-610-667-7706, Web site: http://www.sbclasslaw.com/

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