March 06, 2008 15:18 ET

Johnson & Perkinson Announces Commencement of Class Action Litigation Naming Sallie Mae Corp.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT--(Marketwire - March 6, 2008) - Johnson & Perkinson hereby announces the commencement of a class action lawsuit naming SLM Corporation ("Sallie Mae" or the "Company") (NYSE: SLM). The action, docket numbered 08-CV-01029, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Individuals, families, trusts or other entities that purchased Sallie Mae common stock between January 18, 2007 and January 3, 2008, inclusive, have the opportunity to participate as Lead Plaintiffs in the currently pending class action litigation against the Company. To do so, you must apply to serve in that capacity by March 31, 2008.

Johnson & Perkinson, a litigation boutique law firm based in South Burlington, Vermont, has extensive experience prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving financial fraud. Attorneys Johnson and Perkinson are both former employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dedicated to maximizing shareholder return, members of Johnson & Perkinson have prosecuted complex class actions alleging securities or consumer fraud/deception on behalf of investors/consumers against numerous public companies since 1985, resulting in the recovery of many hundreds of millions of dollars, and have been singled out for excellence by various courts. The firm is litigating, or has recently resolved litigation, as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in securities class actions against Xerox, Priceline, Wireless Facilities, i2 and Xchange, and serves on the Executive Committee in the Global Crossing case.

The Complaint alleges that Sallie Mae and certain of its officers and directors violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements. Specifically, Defendants concealed the following: (i) the Company failed to engage in proper due diligence in originating student loans to subprime borrowers, particularly those attending non-traditional institutions; (ii) the Company was not adequately reserving for uncollectible loans in its non-traditional portfolio; (iii) the Company had far greater exposure to anticipated losses and defaults related to its non-traditional loan portfolio than previously disclosed; and (iv) given the deterioration of the subprime market and reductions in federal subsidies, the Company would be forced to tighten lending standards on both federal loans and private education loans which would have a direct material negative impact on its loan originations going forward. On January 3, 2008, the Company disclosed that it would be cutting back on its core business of lending to students by being "more selective" in making students loans due to turmoil in the credit markets and a new federal law that slashed subsidies to the private companies that make government-backed student loans. On this news, Sallie Mae's stock dropped $2.49 per share to close at $16.67 per share. Sallie Mae traded as high as $57.98 per share in July 2007.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Johnson & Perkinson attorneys James F. Conway, III or Eben F. Duval toll free at 1-888-459-7855; via email at email@jpclasslaw.com; through our website at www.jpclasslaw.com; or by mail at Johnson & Perkinson, 1690 Williston Road, P.O. Box 2305, South Burlington, Vermont 05403. Attorneys at Johnson & Perkinson can investigate your potential claims and help you decide if seeking appointment as a Lead Plaintiff is right for you. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by your decision to not seek appointment as a Lead Plaintiff.