Ex-CFO of China's Longtop found liable in rare US investor trial

A US jury will hear testimony today about what damages should be awarded to investors after a former Longtop Financial Technologies chief financial officer was found to have recklessly made untrue statements or omitted facts about the Chinese technology company.

Derek Palaschuk, who served as Longtop's chief financial officer until resigning in 2011 amid questions about its accounting, on Friday was found liable for violating federal securities laws after less than a day of deliberations by a jury in Manhattan.

The ruling marked a rare verdict among securities class actions.

The investors had claimed Longtop's stock was artificially inflated by fraud.

Palaschuk denied wrongdoing. Lawyers for both parties declined to comment.

Only 13 other securities class actions had reached a verdict since 1995, when the laws governing them changed, said Adam Savett, a director of class action services at Kurtzman Carson Consultants.