A federal lawsuit was filed Monday against CVB Financial Corp. alleging that the Ontario-based lender misled investors in the months leading up to the company's disclosure that it was under a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.
Kahn Swick & Foti, a class-actions law firm with offices in Louisiana and New York, and Braun Law Group in Los Angeles, brought the suit on behalf of a shareholder, Barry R. Lloyd.

The lawsuit offers little information on the basis for the allegations, other than to say that CVB - which owns Citizens Business Bank - is the subject of an investigation into "possible accounting violations."

Lawyers filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

"The SEC has not charged CVB financial with anything," CVB Chief Executive Christopher Myers said Tuesday.

Lewis Kahn, founding partner of Kahn Swick & Foti and a lawyer on the case, did not respond to calls for comment.

More lawsuits against CVB are likely to crop up, said Dana Warren, director of the Business Law Practicum at Loyola Law School, whether or not the SEC discloses more information about the investigation.