I used to allow people to send me information for Private Placements to invest in their startup company. In nearly every one of those was an evaluation sheet done by one of those big name companies who are basically hired guns. But the start company up has to have some way of providing information as to the the potential value of their company. So, for example, if WSTI projected that they could sell their units at X units per year with some estimated unit cost, all of which is provided by Dun & Bradstreet, etc. that makes their company actually have a value. Remember, you can buy a house one day for $500,000 and if the stuff hits the fan, it is worth $100,000 when the stuff sticks. Claiming a valuation can legally be a very loose thing! And it almost always is. I'm certain that WSTI could justify that valuation because they could not see a collapse in the Solar/Wind markets at the time it was made. That valuation certainly does NOT apply now after the economy changed. They have never owned much in the way of hard assets that I can see which would have almost no value anyway. I do NOT like what is and has been happening but I don't think there is any avenue for prosecution.
