February 27, 2020 - An investor in shares of Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (NYSE: CCI) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws by Crown Castle International Corp. in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between February 26, 2018 and February 26, 2020.

Houston, TX based Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and more than 75,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. Crown Castle International Corp. reported that its annual Total Revenue rose from over $4.35 billion in 2017 to over $5.42 billion in 2018 and that its Net Income increased from $444.55 million in 2017 to $671 million in 2018.

On February 26, 2020, Crown Castle International Corp announced that its historical accounting practice with respect to recognizing servicing revenues from its tower installation services “was not acceptable under GAAP.” Crown Castle International Corp stated that it would restate its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and for the first three quarters in the year ended December 31, 2019.

Shares of Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (NYSE: CCI) declined from $168.75 per share on February 21, 2020 to $140.71 per share on February 28, 2020.

According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (NYSE: CCI) common shares between February 26, 2018 and February 26, 2020

, that the defendants violated Federal Securities Laws. More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between February 26, 2018 and February 26, 2020, the defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that Crown Castle’s internal control over financial reporting and disclosures controls and procedures were ineffective and materially weak, that Crown Castle's financial accounting and reporting was not in accordance with GAAP, that Crown Castle’s net income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted funds from operations were inflated, that Crown Castle would need to restate its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, and unaudited financial information for the quarterly and year-to-date periods in the year ended December 31, 2018 and for the first three quarters in the year ended December 31, 2019, and that as a result, defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.