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MIMI & DAVID Walters .... ownership filing, nothing like having the inside scoop huh?
Cardiff Partners
http://www.cardiffpartners.com/ David Walters
Monarch staffing
http://www.monarchstaffinginc.com/
http://drugconsultantsinc.com/ David Walters Ownership Interest
Mimi Walters Community Property Interest
Threshold for Disclosure
40.10%
20.1%
Customers that Provided Gross Revenue of $49,875.31 or greater
Below are customeI'S of Druc Consultants, Inc. la subsidiary of Monardl Stafflnr. Inc)
Avenal State Prison
Calipatra State Prison
CCI Tehachapi
Cen CA Women's Facility / Chowchilla
Centlnela State Prison
Chuckawalla State Prison
CMF Vacaville
Coalinga
Corcoran
Correctional Training Facility / Soledad
CSAT
CSP Sacramento
CSPSolano
Deuel Vocational Institution
High Desert State Prison
Ironwood
Kern Valley State Prison
Lancaster
Mule Creek State Prison
North Kern
Northern California Youth Center
Pleasant ValleyState Prison.
R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility
Salinas Vallev Prison
San Quentin Stite Prison
Valley State Prison For Women
Wasco State Prison
Below are custDmers of AmeriCan Healthcare ~1tI1I£ Inc. la subsidiary of Monarch Stafflnr, Inc)
California Department of COrrections
Sonora Regional Medical Center
Anesthesiologists Associates, Inc
Lending Institutions that Provided Loans of $49,875.31 or greater
None
This board got some props in this article.
Thursday, 20 January 2011 Print Article Bookmark page Email Article
Long Island hedge fund, NIR Group, probed in plot to inflate asset value
The criminal investigation into NIR Group looks like a Madoff copycat scheme to defraud investors by overstating the value of assets. Investigators are also probing allegations of kickbacks
By Alan Fein
(AXcess News) New York - After a two-year long probe by federal and state authorities, the WSJ revealed earlier today that Long Island-based hedge fund NIR Group is being criminally investigated over its alleged misrepresentation of asset valuation to its investors. At the heart of the probe is Mr. Corby Ribotski who heads up the fund.
Bernie Madoff Junior?Ribotski has come under fire over his handling of investor assets which in 2008 where held up to investors as being worth $780 million. The Journal story said that the hedge fund operator portrayed his fund "as having eight straight years of profits, beginning in 2001," though authorities are now questioning the fund manager's figures ever since NIR Group has been unable to find anyone who would provide a third-party valuation, let alone audit NIR Group's 2008 yearend results.
Breaking News - Two Years Ago
In December, 2008, AXcess News broke a story in which Ribotski's NIR Group took center stage following the downfall of Bernie Madoff in what was the lulu of all Ponzi schemes to hit Wall Street. Only in NIR's case the investigation isn't about assets that didn't exist, though their value is questioned as being so low authorities are dumbfounded as to how Ribotski could have kept it up for eight years.
In the 2008 story, "Madoff Scandal Tip of Iceberg in World of Seedy Hedge Funds", AXcess News reported that investors in Ribotski's NIR Group where growing more and more discontent to the extent that a chat board had been set up on Investorhub.com about Mr. Ribotski and his company.While Ribotski's lawyers placed AXcess News on notice, the story was not recanted. In fact, Forbes picked up on the Ribotski story even earlier saying he had "a history of questionable business dealings and unpaid bills," though that hardly qualifies as "guilt by media" but looking back at my 2008 story I am grateful to see the WSJ finally giving NIR Group the once over, even if it is two years later.
In that Story I wrote: "Men like Mr. Ribotsky never make the press when compared to the Bernie Madoff's of Wall Street perhaps because the investors aren't big enough to matter to the New York Times, WSJ or others."
While the Wall Street Journal said Ribotski's NIR Group was being probed over $780 million in questionable asset value, an October, 2008 story by FINalternatives said NIR Group had $7 billion under management. Seems the Feds are off a bit, which may mean the investigation by regulators will broaden.
So far Ribotski has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Kickback Scheme
Reuters echoed another aspect of the probe as reported by the Journal claiming individuals where under investigation for their role in a kickback scheme meant to inflate the value of NIR Group's assets. The FBI, SEC and the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, NY are involved in the investigation, Reuters noted.
Rehashing the News
FINAlternatives basically rehashed the crux of the WSJ story as well, never mentioning its October, 2008 $6 billion difference in funds under management - funny they missed that - though sidebar links did list other stories NIR Group was mentioned in.
Forbes, which has covered Ribotski on more than one occassion, missed today's window of mediatunity and didn't cover the probe at all, though a story could be in the works.
I can only say, that these major publications everone turns to for 'breaking news' on Wall Street might do better to follow those reporters who live in the trenches (hint, hint). As to the outcome of the NIR Group's criminal investigation, I say, wait...as stones turned by the Journal have a tendency to show themselves for what they are, given time. Its a shame AXcess News was never mentioned for having broke the story in the first place, perhaps the next round of news will note that. Stay tuned!
THIS WAS MY PLAY OF THE CENTURY!!!
.
...{"so they appeared legit"....
Who is legit?
thx for the heads up...NIR approached some friends last year...had an impressive due diligence list..so they appeared legit
hmmmmm.. good question.
looks like it may be soon!... lol
“Corey S. Ribotsky”
Filings as: Signatory
201 Filings · Click on a Filing-Type¹ to view it · List the Documents within these Filings
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in the p.1 filings only.these 201 filings.an "object" Search. Show Filings with "hits"Docs searched and the 1st "hit".every "hit".
Help... Wildcards: ? (any letter), * (many). Logic: for Docs: & (and), | (or); for Text: | (anywhere), "(&)" (near).
As Of Filer Filing¹ As/For/On Docs:Pgs Issuer Agent
9/29/08 Ingen Technologies/Inc 10KSB 5/31/08 12:211 Publicease Inc/FA
7/23/08 IGIA/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,5 7/15/08 12:201 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
7/18/08 Ingen Technologies/Inc 8-K{3,9} 6/20/08 11:194 Publicease Inc/FA
6/11/08 Pediatric Prosthetics Inc 8-K{1,3,9} 6/02/08 9:128 Vasquez Alyssa/FA
4/10/08 Conectisys Corp 8-K{1,3,9} 4/09/08 8:113 Vote Power Corp
2/29/08 Golden Patriot Corp 8-K{1,3,9} 1/28/08 7:70 Filing Svcs Canada/FA
2/11/08 Golden Patriot Corp 8-K{1,3,5,812/19/07 8:72 Filing Svcs Canada/FA
1/07/08 Paradigm Medical Industries Inc 8-K{8,9} 12/24/07 7:114 Southridge Svcs LLC/FA
11/13/07 Aquatic Cellulose Int'l Corp 10KSB 5/31/07 11:120 Publicease Inc/FA
10/09/07 Juniper Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,910/02/07 12:145
9/04/07 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 8/29/07 12:175 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
8/29/07 Ingen Technologies/Inc 10KSB 5/31/07 13:160 Publicease Inc/FA
8/17/07 Paradigm Medical Industries Inc 10QSB 6/30/07 11:141 Southridge Svcs LLC/FA
8/17/07 Tradequest International Inc 10QSB 6/30/07 9:126 Edgarbiz Inc/FA
8/14/07 Admiralty Holding Co 8-K{1,2,3,5 5/31/07 14:220 Adamson Sharon R/FA
8/06/07 Dynamic Leisure Corp 8-K{1,9} 7/31/07 2:11 Edgarbiz Inc/FA
6/22/07 Grant Life Sciences/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 6/15/07 7:113 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/06/07 Protocall Technologies Inc 8-K{1,9} 5/31/07 2:3 My EDGAR/INC/FA
4/24/07 Reclamation Consulting & App..Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 4/24/07 2:10 Publicease Inc/FA
4/16/07 Paradigm Medical Industries Inc SB-2/A 5:134 Southridge Svcs LLC/FA
4/11/07 Modern Technology Corp 8-K{1,2,3,9 3/12/07 13:100 Parsons James B/FA
3/28/07 Greens Worldwide Inc 8-K{1,2,9} 3/22/07 6:37 RR Donnelley/FA
3/19/07 Reclamation Consulting & App..Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 3/12/07 2:9 Publicease Inc/FA
3/13/07 Grant Life Sciences/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 3/07/07 7:115 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
2/20/07 Conectisys Corp 8-K{1,3,9} 2/16/07 7:109 Vote Power Corp
2/16/07 Aquatic Cellulose Int'l Corp 10QSB/A 8/31/04 20:329 Tri State Fina..Press/FA
2/14/07 Grant Life Sciences/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 2/07/07 7:114 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
2/13/07 Grant Life Sciences/Inc 8-K/A{1,2,3 2/07/07 7:114 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
2/08/07 Greens Worldwide Inc 8-K{1,2,8,911/20/06 10:54 RR Donnelley/FA
1/11/07 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc SB-2/A 7:268 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
1/05/07 Cross Atlantic Commodities/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,912/29/06 7:115 Walker Jody M/FA
1/03/07 Grant Life Sciences/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,912/27/06 7:115 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
11/17/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 10KSB 12/31/05 22:387 Command Financial...Corp
11/15/06 Dynamic Leisure Corp 8-K{1,9} 11/09/06 7:84 Edgarbiz Inc/FA
11/13/06 Protocall Technologies Inc 8-K{1,3,9} 11/07/06 3:11 Greenberg Traurig/FA
11/03/06 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc 8-K{1,2,3,910/31/06 11:186 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
10/27/06 Pediatric Prosthetics Inc 10KSB 6/30/06 6:84 Bartley Amber/FA
10/24/06 Paradigm Medical Industries Inc SB-2/A 10/23/06 9:148 Southridge Svcs LLC/FA
10/18/06 Astrata Group Inc 8-K{1,3,9} 10/13/06 11:229 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
10/11/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,910/04/06 7:121 Command Financial...Corp
9/20/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 9/15/06 7:121 Command Financial...Corp
9/15/06 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 9/12/06 14:260 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
9/15/06 Cyber Defense Systems Inc 8-K{1,9} 9/15/06 3:7 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
9/13/06 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc SB-2 6:349 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
8/25/06 Med Gen Inc SB-2 28:534 Kennedy Eugene Mi..Pa/FA
8/21/06 Edulink Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 8/16/06 7:117 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
8/21/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,8 8/15/06 7:124 Command Financial...Corp
8/15/06 Healthcare Business S..Groups/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 6/29/06 7:85 Abs Industries Inc/DE
8/08/06 Greens Worldwide Inc 8-K{1,9} 8/08/06 3:28 Action Edgar Fil..Svc/FA
8/08/06 Ingen Technologies/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 7/26/06 7:122 Publicease Inc/FA
8/07/06 Univec Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 7/31/06 7:71 RR Donnelley/FA
8/02/06 Healthcare Business S..Groups/Inc SB-2 8:194 Westmark Group Hold..Inc
6/26/06 Cape Systems Group/Inc SB-2/A 4:149 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/15/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 8-K{1,2,9} 6/12/06 9:27 Command Financial...Corp
6/07/06 Avitar Inc/DE SB-2/A 3:126 Dolgenos Newman...LLP/FA
6/02/06 Pediatric Prosthetics Inc 8-K{1,3,9} 5/30/06 13:228 Bartley Amber/FA
5/26/06 Golden Patriot Corp 8-K/A{3,8,9 4/12/06 3:26 Filing Svcs Canada/FA
5/22/06 Valcom/Inc 10QSB 3/31/06 9:68 De Joya Griff..Co/LLC/FA
5/17/06 eDOORWAYS CORP 10QSB 3/31/06 20:279 Data Electronic...Inc/FA
5/16/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3} 5/08/06 7:119 Command Financial...Corp
4/21/06 Cape Systems Group/Inc SB-2/A 4:155 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
4/13/06 Luna Technologies Int'l Inc 8-K{1,9} 4/07/06 2:5 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
4/12/06 Skylynx Communications Inc 8-K{1} 3/13/06 2:2 Neuman Clifford L Pc/FA
4/10/06 Millenia Hope Inc SB-2 9:191 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
4/04/06 Wellstar International/Inc SB-2/A 4:100 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
3/29/06 Angel Acquisition Corp 8-K{1,9} 3/23/06 7:113 Dickson Rita S/FA
3/17/06 Avitar Inc/DE SB-2/A 4:122 Dolgenos Newman...LLP/FA
3/15/06 Conectisys Corp 8-K{1} 3/14/06 7:111
3/09/06 Midnight Holdings Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 3/06/06 7:118 Command Financial...Corp
3/01/06 Paradigm Medical Industries Inc 8-K{7,9} 2/28/06 7:121 Tanner & Co/FA
2/24/06 Monarch Staffing/Inc 8-K{1,9} 2/21/06 2:5 Data Electronic...Inc/FA
2/13/06 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc SB-2/A 12:277 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
2/10/06 DealerAdvance/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,5 2/08/06 8:117 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
2/01/06 Wellstar International/Inc SB-2/A 5:149 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
1/30/06 Collectible Concepts Group Inc 10QSB 11/30/05 16:246 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
1/05/06 Juniper Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,512/28/05 8:103 Starkey & Henricks/FA
1/03/06 Encompass Holdings/Inc SB-2 7:164 Kupel & Co/FA/Fil..Agent
12/30/05 Skylynx Communications Inc SB-2 6:104 Neuman Clifford L Pc/FA
12/22/05 Luna Technologies Int'l Inc 8-K{1,2,3,912/16/05 13:257 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
12/15/05 MotivNation/Inc SB-2 16:265 Securities..Institute/FA
12/14/05 Epicus Communications Group Inc 8-K{1,3,5} 12/07/05 13:228 Business Wire/FA
12/13/05 Wellstar International/Inc SB-2 20:255 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
12/09/05 Furia Organization Inc/DE 8-K{1} 12/05/05 14:118 Integrity S..Transfer/FA
11/28/05 Safetek International Inc 8-K{1,2,3,911/18/05 7:115 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
11/23/05 Nayna Networks/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,911/17/05 8:138 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
11/16/05 Advanced BioPhotonics Inc 8-K{1,2,3,911/14/05 15:241 Business Wire/FA
11/16/05 Cyberlux Corp 10QSB 9/30/05 17:241 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
11/14/05 Monarch Staffing/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,511/04/05 24:365 Data Electronic...Inc/FA
11/01/05 Reclamation Consulting & App..Inc SB-2/A 12:238 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
10/27/05 Innofone Com Inc SB-2 6:143 Publicease Inc/FA
8/31/05 Msgi Security Solutions/Inc 8-K/A{1,3} 7/19/05 2:26
8/24/05 Roo Group Inc 8-K{1,9} 8/18/05 2:7 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
8/19/05 Cape Systems Group/Inc 10QSB 6/30/05 17:251 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
8/08/05 Skylynx Communications Inc 8-K{3,9} 6/27/05 15:125 Neuman Clifford L Pc/FA
7/22/05 Roo Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 7/18/05 13:252 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
7/20/05 Itronics Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 7/15/05 15:150
7/01/05 Grant Life Sciences/Inc SB-2/A 5:244 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/28/05 Reclamation Consulting & App..Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 6/28/05 14:225 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
6/22/05 Veridicom International Inc SB-2/A 4:103 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/20/05 Grant Life Sciences/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 6/14/05 8:115 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/02/05 Egpi Firecreek/Inc 8-K/A{3,8,9 5/19/05 2:7 More Wilma/FA
5/20/05 Collectible Concepts Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 5/18/05 13:213 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
5/18/05 Paradigm Medical Industries Inc 8-K{8,9} 4/27/05 7:124 Tanner & Co/FA
5/06/05 Whos Your Daddy Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 4/29/05 14:134 Automated Filing..Inc/FA
4/28/05 Cyberlux Corp 8-K{1,2,3,9 4/22/05 14:242 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
4/15/05 Insynq Inc 10QSB 2/28/05 36:277
4/06/05 Cyber Defense Systems Inc 8-K{1,9} 4/01/05 8:108 Cvpospisil/FA
3/29/05 IGIA/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 3/23/05 13:231 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
3/21/05 Conectisys Corp 8-K{1} 3/17/05 7:111
3/08/05 Insynq Inc 8-K{1} 2/28/05 8:134
3/02/05 Allied Security Innovations/Inc 8-K{1,2,5,9 2/24/05 8:106 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
2/07/05 US Wireless Online Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 2/04/05 8:88 Action Edgar Fil..Svc/FA
1/31/05 Modern Technology Corp 8-K{1,2} 1/25/05 17:139 Parsons James B/FA
1/18/05 Cape Systems Group/Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 1/11/05 18:269 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
12/23/04 Pacificap Entertainment Hold..Inc 8-K{1,2,3,912/23/04 15:221 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
12/06/04 Allied Security Innovations/Inc 8-K{1,3,9} 11/30/04 16:253 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
12/03/04 Sharp Holding Corp 8-K{1,2,3,911/30/04 14:238 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
11/01/04 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13D 1:8 Financial Systems Group Inc Bryan Cave LLP 01/FA
Ajw Offshore/LTD²
Ajw Partners/LLC²
Ajw Qualified Partners/LLC²
Corey Ribotsky²
New Millenium Capital Partners II/LLC²
10/29/04 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13D 1:8 New Rock Technologies Inc Bryan Cave LLP 01/FA
10/05/04 Monarch Staffing/Inc SB-2 17:275 Loev Corporate F..Inc/FA
9/29/04 Cyberlux Corp 8-K{1,2,3,9 9/23/04 14:222 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
9/16/04 Roo Group Inc 8-K{1,2,3,9 9/11/04 14:240 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
9/09/04 Actis Global Ventures Inc SB-2 25:363 Publicease Inc/FA
7/08/04 Pacificap Entertainment Hold..Inc SB-2 19:339 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/25/04 Conectisys Corp SB-2 12:305
6/22/04 Cape Systems Group/Inc S-1 29:499 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
6/04/04 Midnight Holdings Group Inc SB-2 18:285 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
5/17/04 Central Wireless Inc 10QSB 3/31/04 9:139 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
5/14/04 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G/A 1:12 Aventura Holdings Inc Bryan Cave LLP 01/FA
Ajw Manager LLC²
Ajw Offshore/LTD²
Ajw Partners/LLC²
Ajw Qualified Partners/LLC²
Corey Ribotsky²
First Street Manager II, LLC²
New Millenium Capital Partners II/LLC²
SMS Group, LLC²
5/10/04 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G 1:13 Aventura Holdings Inc Bryan Cave LLP 01/FA
Ajw Manager LLC²
Ajw Offshore/LTD²
Ajw Partners/LLC²
Ajw Qualified Partners/LLC²
Corey Ribotsky²
First Street Manager II, LLC²
New Millenium Capital Partners II/LLC²
SMS Group, LLC²
2/23/04 Sitestar Corp 8-K{5,7} 1/31/04 2:8 More Wilma/FA
2/12/04 Conectisys Corp 10KSB 9/30/03 14:289
2/02/04 Peak Entertainment Holdings Inc SB-2 34:761 Vintage Filings LLC/FA
1/09/04 Clickable Enterprises Inc SB-2 9:176 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
11/19/03 Roanoke Technology Corp SB-2 21:381 TP Electronic F..Corp/FA
10/15/03 Aventura Holdings Inc SB-2/A 7:86 Edgarbiz Inc/FA
6/17/03 Peak Entertainment Holdings Inc SB-2 15:320 MDM Corporate El..Inc/FA
5/23/03 Insynq Inc SB-2/A 5/22/03 5:130
5/22/03 Wi-Fi TV Inc 10QSB 3/31/03 1:105 Business Wire/FA
5/07/03 Ibiz Technology Corp SB-2/A 7:104 Publicease Inc/FA
3/18/03 Insynq Inc SB-2 21:403
3/14/03 Ibiz Technology Corp SB-2/A 12:287 Publicease Inc/FA
1/24/03 Aventura Holdings Inc SB-2 6:87 Edgarbiz Inc/FA
1/21/03 Conectisys Corp 10KSB 9/30/02 9:212 RPM Technologies Inc
1/14/03 Wi-Fi TV Inc 10KSB 9/30/02 7:203 Publicease Inc/FA
11/13/02 Central Wireless Inc SB-2/A 4:81 Publicease Inc/FA
10/30/02 Trezac International Corp SB-2/A 16:279 Publicease Inc/FA
10/18/02 Insynq Inc 10QSB 8/31/02 7:109
9/30/02 Wi-Fi TV Inc SB-2/A 9/27/02 10:321 Publicease Inc/FA
9/23/02 Insynq Inc 10KSB 5/31/02 14:545
8/09/02 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G 1:9 Uncommon Media Group Inc Bryan Cave LLP 01/FA
Ajw Offshore/LTD²
Ajw Partners/LLC²
Ajw Qualified Partners/LLC²
New Millenium Capital Partners II/LLC²
7/17/02 Antares Pharma Inc 8-K{5,7} 7/12/02 6:95 Donnelley Rr Fi..Svcs/FA
7/03/02 Roanoke Technology Corp SB-2 17:259 Anslow Richard..Assoc/FA
7/02/02 Universe2u Inc 8-K{5,7} 6/25/02 8:114 CT Edgar123/FA
6/21/02 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G 1:3 Uncommon Media Group Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners/LLC²
Ajw/New Millennium Offshore/LTD²
New Millenium Capital Partners II/LLC²
Pegasus Capital Partners/LLC²
6/17/02 Peak Entertainment Holdings Inc SB-2 4:71 Data Electronic...Inc/FA
6/12/02 Insynq Inc SB-2/A 8:150
5/30/02 Netstaff Inc/IN 8-K{1,2,5,7 5/17/02 10:163 Publicease Inc/FA
5/15/02 Peak Entertainment Holdings Inc 10QSB 3/31/02 2:37 Data Electronic...Inc/FA
5/09/02 Allied Security Innovations/Inc SB-2/A 7:91 St Ives Financial/FA
4/26/02 Conectisys Corp SB-2 30:323
4/22/02 Wi-Fi TV Inc 8-K{2,5,7} 4/08/02 14:222 Publicease Inc/FA
4/11/02 Insynq Inc SB-2/A 5:171
4/05/02 Ajw Partners LLC SC 13G 1:9 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners/LLC²
Corey S. Ribotsky²
New Millenium Capital Partners II/LLC²
The N/I/R/Group/LLC²
4/05/02 Ribotsky Corey 4 Owner 1:1 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
4/03/02 Energy Vision International/Inc 8-K{5,7} 3/26/02 10:163 Barker Darrell/FA
2/25/02 Insynq Inc 10QSB/A 11/30/01 12:169
2/12/02 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G/A 2/13/02 1:2 Allied Security Innovations/Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners/LLC²
New Millenium Capital²
The Nir Group/LLC²
2/12/02 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G/A 2/13/02 1:2 Sitestar Corp Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners²
The Nir Group²
1/22/02 Epicus Communications Group Inc SB-2/A 21:434 Dodrill Meredith/FA
1/16/02 Insynq Inc 10QSB 11/30/01 5:26
12/05/01 Allied Security Innovations/Inc S-8 12/05/01 21:107 St Ives Financial/FA
11/01/01 Aquatic Cellulose Int'l Corp SB-2/A 4:63 Donnell..Financial/NY/FA
10/09/01 Aquatic Cellulose Int'l Corp SB-2/A 18:288 Donnell..Financial/NY/FA
10/01/01 Insynq Inc 10KSB/A 5/31/01 37:401 Huebotter Martha S/FA
8/21/01 Allied Security Innovations/Inc SB-2/A 14:216 St Ives Financial/FA
8/16/01 Wi-Fi TV Inc 10QSB 6/30/01 8:143 Publicease Inc/FA
8/13/01 Ajw Partners LLC SC 13G/A 1:3 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Corey S. Ribotsky²
Glenn A. Arbeitman²
New Millenium Capital Partners²
The N/I/R/Group/LLC²
8/13/01 Ribotsky Corey 4 Owner 1:1 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
7/31/01 Insynq Inc 10KSB 5/31/01 37:400 Huebotter Martha S/FA
7/09/01 Airtech International Group Inc SB-2/A 5:88 Donnelley Rr & So..Co/FA
6/14/01 Ajw Partners LLC SC 13G 1:3 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners LLC²
Corey S. Ribotsky²
Glenn A. Arbeitman²
New Millenium Capital Partners²
6/14/01 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G 1:3 Allied Security Innovations/Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners/LLC²
New Millenium Capital²
New Millennium Capital Partners II LLC²
The Nir Group/LLC²
6/14/01 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G 1:3 Collectible Concepts Group Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
6/14/01 New Millennium Capital Pa..II LLC SC 13G 1:3 Sitestar Corp Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
Ajw Partners²
New Millennium Capital Partners II LLC²
The Nir Group²
6/07/01 Ribotsky Corey 3 Owner 1:1 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
6/07/01 Ribotsky Corey 5 Owner 1:1 Clickable Enterprises Inc Robinson Silv..Berman/FA
5/24/01 Central Utilities Production Corp 10KSB 12/31/00 10:231 Imperial Financ..Corp/FA
5/11/01 Vital Living Products Inc 8-K/A{5,7} 2/23/01 2:101 Bowne of Atlanta Inc/FA
5/07/01 Wi-Fi TV Inc POS AM 6:168 Publicease Inc/FA
4/30/01 Netstaff Inc/IN 10KSB 12/31/00 11:196 Publicease Inc/FA
3/27/01 Vital Living Products Inc 10KSB40 12/31/00 6:57 Bowne of Atlanta Inc/FA
3/01/01 Vital Living Products Inc 8-K{5} 2/23/01 5:82 Bowne of Atlanta Inc/FA
1/26/01 Wi-Fi TV Inc 10KSB/A 9/30/00 11:204 Publicease Inc/FA
1/16/01 Wi-Fi TV Inc 10KSB 9/30/00 11:188 Publicease Inc/FA
1/10/01 Sutura/Inc 8-K{5} 12/28/00 10:145 Merrill Corp/FA
9/15/00 Central Utilities Production Corp 10QSB 6/30/00 14:225 Imperial Financ..Corp/FA
6/20/00 Sitestar Corp SB-2 6/19/00 9:237 More Wilma/FA
6/12/00 Wi-Fi TV Inc SB-2 21:361 Publicease Inc/FA
3/03/00 Wi-Fi TV Inc SB-2 18:293 Publicease Inc/FA
11/19/99 Wi-Fi TV Inc SB-2/A 39:306 Publicease Inc/FA
¹ Filing-Type descriptions:
This filing was Deleted by the SEC. (See our Deletion Policy.)
10KSB Annual Report -- Small Business – Form 10-KSB.
10KSB40 Annual Report -- Small Business -- [X] Reg. S-B Item 405 – Form 10-KSB.
10QSB Quarterly Report -- Small Business – Form 10-QSB.
3 Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership of Securities – Form 3.
4 Statement of Change in Beneficial Ownership of Securities – Form 4.
5 Annual Statement of Change in Beneficial Ownership of Securities – Form 5.
8-K Current Report – Form 8-K { Post-8/23/04... Section 1: Business & Operations; 2: Financial Info.; 3: Securities & Trading; 4: Accountants & Accounting; 5: Governance & Management; 6: Asset-Backed Securities; 7: Reg. FD; 8: Events; 9: Financials – Pre-8/23/04... Item 1: Control; 2: Assets; 3: Bankruptcy; 4: Accountants; 5: Events; 6: Resignations; 7: Financials; 8: Year; 9: Reg. FD; 10: Ethics; 11: Suspension; 12: Results }.
POS AM Post-Effective Amendment.
S-1 Registration Statement (General Form) – Form S-1.
S-8 Registration of Securities to be Offered to Employees Pursuant to an Employee Benefit Plan – Form S-8.
SB-2 Registration of Securities by a Small-Business Issuer – Form SB-2.
SC 13D General Statement of Beneficial Ownership – Schedule 13D.
SC 13G Statement of Beneficial Ownership – Schedule 13G.
/A Amendment to or Amended version of a previous filing of this type.
² Group Member: Registrant or non-Registrant party to a filing made by a group.
Don't forget about Corey's exploits.
More people are keeping track on the NIR board, which is free and open.
Another one I own is Valor Energy, VLRN. From their latest SEC filing.
"Specifically, we must increase the authorized shares in order to fulfill our
obligations under various convertible debentures. On September 30, 2000, we
issued two convertible debentures of $240,400 in cash each for an aggregate of
$480,800. On March 14, 2001 we issued two convertible debentures of $50,000 in
cash each for an aggregate of $100,000. On December 31, 2001 we issued two
convertible debentures of $100,000 in cash each for an aggregate of $200,000. On
March 19, 2004, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with AJW
QUALIFIED PARTNERS, LLC, AJW OFFSHORE, LTD., and AJW PARTNERS, LLC,
("Investors"). Under this agreement, Investors agreed to purchase (i) 10%
convertible debentures of the Company, in the aggregate principal amount of Nine
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($900,000), convertible into shares of common stock,
par value $.001 per share, of the Company; and ii) warrants to purchase Nine
Hundred Thousand (900,000) shares of Common Stock. On March 22th, 2004, we
issued three convertible debentures of $433,333, $433,334 and $33,333
respectively, in cash each for an aggregate of $900,000. On August 6, 2004 we
entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with AJW QUALIFIED PARTNERS, LLC,
AJW OFFSHORE, LTD., AJW PARTNERS, LLC and NEW MILLENIUM CAPITAL PARTNERS II,
LLC, ("Investors"). Under this agreement, Investors agreed to purchase (i) 10%
convertible debentures of the Company in the aggregate principal amount of Two
Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) convertible into shares of common
stock, par value $.001 per share, of the Company, upon the terms and subject to
the limitations and conditions set forth in such Debentures and (ii) warrants to
purchase Two Hundred Fifty Thousand (250,000) shares of Common Stock (the
"WARRANTS"). On January 31, 2008, we replaced certain accrued and unpaid
interest due under the terms of our convertible notes with the issuance of three
additional convertible debentures of $55,657, $48,302 and $123,109 respectively,
for an aggregate of $227,068. Both of these agreements provide if at any time
the number of shares of Common Stock authorized and reserved for issuance is
below the amount to be reserved for the Investors under the terms of the
Agreements, the Company will promptly take all corporate action necessary to
authorize and reserve a sufficient number of shares."
EPGL.... here is another...."In the first quarter of 2008, the Company entered into discussion with the NIR Group, LLC with the intent of restructuring all of the Company's outstanding debt obligations to AJW Capital Partners, LLC, AJW Offshore, Ltd., AJW Qualified Partners, LLC and New Millenium Capital Partners II, LLC. The intended restructuring is to, among other things, extend the current maturity date of all principal amounts due during 2008 for an additional two years. It is expected that the Company and the NIR Group will formalize the restructuring through a revised financing agreement or an addendum to the current agreement prior to September 1, 2008"
"For the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 the Company did not issue any of its common stock, except in connection with conversion if its debt".
Did I read that right??>>//!! Did you become NIR's,Robitsky's & Sicenzia interpreter? A foolish stance IMO but no surprise that you couldn't stop yourself// ;)
Putting this in context Corey is actually talking about Pipe dealers. What he is saying is that a company should want to do business with a pipe dealer "...who's going to be a financial partner as opposed to someone who's just looking for a trading play." Seems to be admitting that these deals can be a big problem. (So Rufus found out. Lol) Then Sichenzia seems to suggest that these deals are always dilutive but that in the long run the company can recover. I'd like to see few examples of that.
Both the previous posts when read in order as they appear in the article begs the questions; i) PIPE investments are almost always a variation of (hybrid) convertible debt.ii)PIPE's rarely include any form of freetrading shares. Mr Sicenzia states that at first,after a PIPE dilution will occur.
___Where does this 'at first' POST PIPE dilution come from?
Even the best PIPE deals see their share of stock price upheaval in the months that follow, given the dilution. But good companies that carry out their business plans can rebound, says Gregory Sichenzia of securities law firm Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference. "At the end of the day, it comes down to management," he says."At first there'll be dilution, the stock will get beat up a little bit. But if management can take that money and build value, eventually the stock will respond."
From the same article:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/july/194416.html
Corey has a quote in the July 2008 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.
"The company has to know who they're getting into bed with," says Corey Ribotsky, managing member of N.I.R. Group, a PIPE hedge fund that looks at more than 1,500 companies seeking PIPE financing each year. "You want someone who's going to be a financial partner as opposed to someone who's just looking for a trading play."
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/july/194416.html
Kind of ironic, considering the way Corey treats businesses and their shareholders
June 13 2008 PIPE FLOW
JBLU: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
WLVT: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
PWER: Prices $75M 144A PIPE; 8% Convertible Notes
WIFM: Filed New Form RW, Registration Withdrawal Request
COIN: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
CHLN: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
ARRY: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
LYV: Filed New Form 424B7, Rule 424-b7 Prospectus
STEI: Filed New Form 424B7, Rule 424-b7 Prospectus
WPZ: Filed New Form POS AM, Post-Effective Registration Amend
ROYL: Closes $4M PIPE; Common @ $7.30/Shr + Warrants
AMAR: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
PRU: Filed New Form 424B2, Rule 424-b2 Prospectus
PWER: $75M Private Placement of Conv Senior Notes Due 2013
PRU: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
CTIC: Institutional Investor to Purchase $23M of 15% Conv Sr Notes
TOO: Public Offering of 7M Common Units; $65M Private Placement
GMTN: PIPE-Related Registration Statement Declared Effective
The sooner the better for Corey, maybe once bush is gone.
Hey, $1500 a month sounds good to me!! ...and the new girl daily would work too!!
keep on livin the life MD! ...more power to ya!
I'm gonna have to find me a place like that! lol
Bring him down, I've got a place where for $1,500 a month he can live like a king and have a new girl daily. I wonder when Corey Ribotsky will be joining these guys?
He's probably hiding out down there with you! ...LOL!!!
I think he fled.
Another Hedge Fund Suicide?
'Suicide Note' Written in Dust on Car Abandoned on New York Bridge
Tuesday , June 10, 2008
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. —
A car abandoned on a bridge with the phrase "Suicide is Painless" scrawled in the dust on its hood is registered to a hedge-fund swindler who was supposed to report to federal prison, state police said Tuesday.
Investigator Bruce Cuccia said suicide has not been established, no body has been found and no one saw anyone jump. The FBI has joined the investigation and a search is under way, he said.
The car, a 2006 GMC Envoy, was registered to Samuel Israel III of Armonk, Cuccia said. It was found on Monday on the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River, near West Point and about 40 miles north of New York City.
On its hood, etched into the dust and pollen, were the words "Suicide is Painless," the name of the theme of the classic "MASH" television show. The song was sung during the original movie.
No other note was found, Cuccia said.
Investigator Tim Miller said police have not been able to reach Israel. No home telephone number was listed for him.
The U.S. attorney's office, which prosecuted Israel, had no comment, said spokesman Herb Hadad. A call to the FBI was not immediately returned.
Israel, 48, was sentenced in April to 20 years in federal prison for illegally inducing investors to put more than $450 million into the now-collapsed Bayou hedge funds. He was also ordered to pay back $300 million to his victims.
Judge Colleen McMahon called him the mastermind of the scheme and said the prison term was meant to show that "people who commit crimes while wearing a tie do not get a break."
She set Monday as the deadline for Israel to surrender. Cuccia said he had been expected at 2 p.m. at the federal prison in Ayer, Mass.
State police aircraft and boats from the Westchester and Rockland county police searched the Hudson on Monday and the boats resumed the search Tuesday morning, Cuccia said.
He said of all the suicides from the bridge since 1980 — "at least 25 to 30" — all but one body has been found.
I recommend you post your post on the NIR board, which is more open:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=11792
please take a look/ i was recommended 2 come here 4 an expert opinion regarding ajw funds:
imen.pk/weru.pk
http://knobias.10kwizard.com/filing.php?repo=tenk&ipage=5397089&doc=1&total=&back=2&g=&attach=on
heres my dd/ nobodys answering my q's on the imen board-
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=29316458
THANX A BUNCH!
May 14, 2008 PIPE FLOW
OBAS: Announces $5M PIPE; Common Stock @ $1.99
SMTX: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
TC: Announces $215M PIPE; Common Stock @ $21.50/Share
NCOC: Announces $10.8M PIPE; Common Stock @ $4.65/Share
IDSM: Engages Agent for $10M Special Warrant Offering
RGBI: Filed New Form POS AM, Post-Effective Registration Amend
GEYI: Filed New Form 424B4, Rule 424-b4 Prospectus
MZYH: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
SBAC: Prices $500M PIPE; Convertible Senior Notes Due 2013
CUR: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
OBAS: Approves Private Issuance of $5M in Shares to CEO
CHM: Enters Joint Financing Venture w/Labec President
CPCL: $2.01M Private Placement of Common Stock
MZYH: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
CGFI: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
SHO: Filed New Form 424B7, Rule 424-b7 Prospectus
STHK: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
CUR: PIPE-Related Registration Statement Declared Effective
Remember to check out the NIR board often since this one remains premium.
April 7, 2008 PIPE FLOW
KRBF: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
DRGG: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
SPKL: Filed New Form POS AM, Post-Effective Registration Amend
BSGC: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
QPCI: Filed New Form POS AM, Post-Effective Registration Amend
BABY: Filed New Form 424B5, Rule 424-b5 Prospectus
ECNI: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
HSWI: Filed New Form S-1/A, Basic Registration Statement
ICO: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
GLBL: Filed New Form 424B7, Rule 424-b7 Prospectus
AMG: Filed New Form 424B7, Rule 424-b7 Prospectus
CEUA: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
QTXB: Filed New Form 424B3, Rule 424-b3 Prospectus
TORO: Closes $500K Private Placement
USHP: Announces $2.5M Equity Financing
KFN: Filed New Form 424B2, Rule 424-b2 Prospectus
TINY: Filed New Form AW, Registration Amendment Withdrawal
HOKU: PIPE-Related Registration Statement Declared Effective
DNDN: Filed New Form 424B5, Rule 424-b5 Prospectus
Grant Life Sciences (''Grant'') Receives a Waiver from N.I.R. Group That Allows Grant to Pursue Alternate Financing
Mar 31, 2008 1:45:00 PM
Copyright Business Wire 2008
View Additional ProfilesLOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Grant Life Sciences (OTC Bulletin Board: GLIF) announced today it has received a waiver from The N.I.R. Group, LLC ("N.I.R. Group"), a Roslyn, N.Y.-based hedge fund that allows Grant to pursue alternate financing to pay down, in whole or in part, an existing financing debt to N.I.R.
"The Company has greatly appreciated NIR's support over the last two years and these important developments related to N.I.R. Group will allow Grant to further advance its serum-based test for cervical cancer in the largest market in the world, China," said Hun-Chi Lin, Ph.D., Grant's President and Chief Scientist.
About Grant Life Sciences Inc.
Grant Life Sciences Inc., a development stage company, engages in the research, development, marketing, and sale of diagnostic kits for the screening, monitoring, and diagnosis of diseases with emphasis on women's health, infectious diseases, and cancers.
Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement
With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The actual future results of Grant Life Sciences could differ significantly from those statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as the inability to finance the company's operations or expansion, inability to hire and retain qualified personnel, changes in the general economic climate, including rising interest rates and unanticipated events such as terrorist activities, results of clinical trials, and market acceptance of the Company's products. In some cases, "forward-looking statements" can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue," or other comparable terminology. Although Grant Life Sciences believes that the expectations reflected in the "forward-looking" statements are reasonable, such statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other person, that such "forward-looking statements" will be achieved. Grant Life Sciences undertakes no duty to update any of the "forward-looking statements," whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of the foregoing, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such "forward-looking statements." For further risk factors associated with our Company, review our SEC filings.
Source: Grant Life Sciences Inc.
----------------------------------------------
Grant Life Sciences Inc.
Dr. Hun-Chi Lin
801-733-0878
We need to find out where Sabra Dabbs / (The newly formed)Proxity Financial Group is going to get $500,000,000.
"(PGFI) Proxity Financial Group Inc. has entered into Letters of Intent to fund a variety of capital projects. Such projects represent over $3,900,000,000 in collateralized assets and the potential for over $500,000,000 in eventual revenue to PGFI over the next five (5) year period".
http://www.proxityfinancial.com/index.htm
Please note,
Sabra was involved with CSHD...
CSHD was involved with AJW...
Now Sabra is involved with PRXT...
PRXT is involved with ...guess who??????? ...AJW...
coincidence?
could it be possible NIR is going to be the backer of the money?
thanks for those links...great way to spot stocks to avoid completely
NOTE THE IBOX CHANGE:
ATTN: Due to the fact that this board is a PAID BOARD, I invite followers of the Corey Ribotsky NIR Group AJW Funds to bookmark the new FREE NIR Board:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=11792
Also, for those interested there is the Cornell Yorkville Clients board:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=9964
Gentlemen (and ladies):
Our board has been stifled by the inability of free people to post here. As such, I'd like everyone to boardmark the following and to discuss things there about NIR Group.
I'm not eliminating this board as some of you have specific matters you follow that should remain. If you have hot info, post it both places.
But the new board, which I did not create, should be marked and used.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=11792
here you go, from the article..."Norma was nurtured in a small office building on a busy road in Roslyn, on the north shore of New York's Long Island. There, a stocky, 37-year-old money manager named Corey Ribotsky runs a company called N.I.R. Group LLC. Mr. Ribotsky came not from the world of mortgage securities, but from the arena of penny stocks, shares that trade cheaply and often become targets of speculation or manipulation". go back and read the article, it is a bit long but Extremely enlightning!
You guys get all the juicy stuff.
Why couldn't Mark Angelo have been involved in that?
jonesie
Quite interesting. Did Mr. Ribotsky have some involvement there?
UNBELIEVABLE!!!! all joking aside!!!!
WOW ..Major, what do you make of the previous post?
Notice to All Norma CDO I Ltd.
Investors From the Securities Law Firm of Klayman...
Mon Jan 7, 2008 10:34am EST
NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. ("K&T") (www.nasd-law.com) announced today that it is investigating the possibility of taking legal action on behalf of investors who lost money in a collateralized debt obligation ("CDO") called Norma CDO I Ltd.
("Norma"). Norma, brought into existence by Merrill Lynch, bet heavily on the success of the sub-prime market. Just nine months after it sold about $1.5 billion in securities to its investors, the value of Norma has been decimated in
the collapse of the housing market and is reported to be worth only a fraction of its original value.
Presently, K&T is investigating how Merrill Lynch and others marketed Norma, and whether the true risks of Norma were fully disclosed to its investors. Further,the law firm is looking into whether Norma was suitable for the retail and
institutional customers that invested in the product. If you are an investor in Norma, or if you have information relevant to our investigation, please contact Lawrence L. Klayman, Esquire of Klayman & Toskes, P.A., at 888-997-9956. CONTACT: Klayman & Toskes, P.A.
Lawrence L. Klayman, Esquire
Steven D. Toskes, Esquire
888-997-9956
http://www.bionicturtle.com/learn/article/instructive_article_on_a_cdo_called_norma/
WSJ article "an insiders view of the CDO market"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119871820846351717.html
Wall Street Wizardry Amplified Credit Crisis
A CDO Called Norma Left 'Hairball of Risk';
Tailored by Merrill Lynch
By CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and SERENA NG
December 27, 2007; Page A1
In recent years, as home prices and mortgage lending boomed, bankers found ever-more-clever ways to repackage trillions of dollars in loans, selling them off in slivers to investors around the world. Financiers and regulators figured all the activity would disperse risk, and maybe even make markets safer and stronger.
Then along came Norma.
Norma CDO I Ltd., as its full name goes, is one of a new breed of mortgage investments created in the waning days of the U.S. housing boom. Instead of spreading the risk of a global home-finance boom, the instruments have magnified and concentrated the effects of the subprime-mortgage bust. They are now behind tens of billions of dollars of write-downs at some of the world's largest banks, including the $9.4 billion announced last week by Morgan Stanley.
Norma illustrates how investors and Wall Street, in their efforts to keep a lucrative market going, took a good idea too far. Created at the behest of an Illinois hedge fund looking for a tailor-made bet on subprime mortgages, the vehicle was brought into existence by Merrill Lynch & Co. and a posse of little-known partners.
In its use of newfangled derivatives, Norma contributed to a speculative market that dwarfed the value of the subprime mortgages on which it was based. It was also part of a chain of mortgage-linked investments that took stakes in one another. The practice generated fees for a handful of big banks. But, say critics, it created little value for investors or the broader economy.
"Everyone was passing the risk to the next deal and keeping it within a closed system," says Ann Rutledge, a principal of R&R Consulting, a New York structured-finance consultancy. "If you hold my risk and I hold yours, we can say whatever we think it's worth and generate fees from that. It's like...creating artificial value."
Only nine months after selling $1.5 billion in securities to investors, Norma is worth a fraction of its original value. Credit-rating firms, which once signed off approvingly on the deal, have slashed its ratings to junk.
The concept behind Norma, known as a collateralized debt obligation, has been in use since the 1980s. A CDO, most broadly, is a device that repackages the income from a pool of bonds, derivatives or other investments. A mortgage CDO might own pieces of a hundred or more bonds, each of which contains thousands of individual mortgages. Ideally, this diversification makes investors in the CDO less vulnerable to the problems of a single borrower or security.
The CDO issues a new set of securities, each bearing a different degree of risk. The highest-risk pieces of a CDO pay their investors higher returns. Pieces with lower risk, and higher credit ratings, pay less. Investors in the lower-risk pieces are first in line to receive income from the CDO's investments; investors in the higher-risk pieces are first to take losses.
But Norma and similar CDOs added potentially fatal new twists to the model. Rather than diversifying their investments, they bet heavily on securities that had one thing in common: They were among the most vulnerable to a rise in defaults on so-called subprime mortgage loans, typically made to borrowers with poor or patchy credit histories. While this boosted returns, it also increased the chances that losses would hit investors severely.
Also, these CDOs invested in more than simply subprime-backed securities. The CDOs held chunks of each other, as well as derivative contracts that allowed them to bet on mortgage-backed bonds they didn't own. This magnified risk. Wall Street banks took big pieces of Norma and similar CDOs on their own balance sheets, concentrating the losses rather than spreading them among far-flung investors.
"It is a tangled hairball of risk," Janet Tavakoli, a Chicago consultant who specializes in CDOs, says of Norma. "In March of 2007, any savvy investor would have thrown this...in the trash bin."
Penny Stocks
Norma was nurtured in a small office building on a busy road in Roslyn, on the north shore of New York's Long Island. There, a stocky, 37-year-old money manager named Corey Ribotsky runs a company called N.I.R. Group LLC. Mr. Ribotsky came not from the world of mortgage securities, but from the arena of penny stocks, shares that trade cheaply and often become targets of speculation or manipulation.
N.I.R. and its affiliates have taken stakes in 300 companies, some little-known, including a brewer called Bootie Beer Corp., lighting firm Cyberlux Corp. and water-purification company R.G. Global Lifestyles. Mr. Ribotsky's firms are in litigation in New York federal court with all three companies, which claim N.I.R. manipulated their share prices. Through its lawyer, N.I.R. denies wrongdoing and has accused the companies of failing to repay loans.
Mr. Ribotsky's firm attracted the attention of Merrill Lynch in 2005. The top underwriter of CDOs from 2004 to mid-2007, Merrill had generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from assembling and then helping to distribute CDOs backed by mortgage securities. For each CDO Merrill underwrote, the investment bank earned fees of 1% to 1.50% of the deal's total size, or as much as $15 million for a typical $1 billion CDO.
To keep underwriting fees coming, Merrill recruited outside firms, called CDO managers. Merrill helped them raise funds, procure the assets for their CDOs and find investors. The managers, for their part, choose assets and later monitor the CDO's collateral, although many of the structures don't require much active management. It was an attractive proposition for many start-up firms, which could earn lucrative annual management fees.
Mr. Ribotsky's entry into the world of CDO managers began at Engineers Country Club on Long Island. There, in 2005, he met Mitchell Elman, a New York criminal-defense lawyer who specializes in drunk-driving and drug cases. Mr. Elman introduced Mr. Ribotsky to Kenneth Margolis, then a high-profile CDO salesman at Merrill, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr. Elman declined to comment.
'It Sounded Interesting'
Mr. Margolis, who in February 2006 became co-head of Merrill's CDO banking business, played a key role in seeking out start-up firms to manage CDOs. He put Mr. Ribotsky in contact with a few people who had experience in the mortgage debt market. They included two former Wachovia Corp. bankers, Scott Shannon and Joseph Parish III, who left Wachovia and established their own CDO management firm.
Mr. Ribotsky decided to team up with Messrs. Shannon and Parish. "It sounded interesting and that's how we ventured into it," Mr. Ribotsky says. Messrs. Parish and Shannon declined to discuss specifics of Norma.
Together the trio set up a company called N.I.R. Capital Management, which over the next year or so took on the management of three CDOs underwritten by Merrill.
In 2006, Mr. Ribotsky says Merrill came to N.I.R. with a new proposition: One of the investment bank's clients, a hedge fund, wanted to invest in the riskiest piece of a certain type of CDO. Merrill worked out a general structure for the vehicle. It asked N.I.R. to manage it.
"It was already set up when it was presented to us," Mr. Ribotsky says. "They interviewed a bunch of managers and selected our team."
The CDO would be called Norma, after a small constellation in the southern hemisphere. According to people familiar to the matter, the hedge fund was Evanston, Ill.-based Magnetar, a fund that shared its name with a powerful neutron star. Magnetar declined to comment.
On Dec. 7, 2006, Norma was established as a company domiciled in the Cayman Islands. N.I.R., as its manager, would earn fees of some 0.1%, or about $1.5 million a year.
Norma belonged to a class of instruments known as "mezzanine" CDOs, because they invested in securities with middling credit ratings, averaging triple-B. Despite their risks, mezzanine CDOs boomed in the late stages of the credit cycle as investors reached for the higher returns they offered. In the first half of 2007, issuers put out $68 billion in mortgage CDOs containing securities with an average rating of triple-B or the equivalent -- the lowest investment-grade rating -- or lower, according to research from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. That was more than double the level for the same period a year earlier.
Buying Protection
For Norma, N.I.R. assembled $1.5 billion in investments. Most were not actual securities, but derivatives linked to triple-B-rated mortgage securities. Called credit default swaps, these derivatives worked like insurance policies on subprime residential mortgage-backed securities or on the CDOs that held them. Norma, acting as the insurer, would receive a regular premium payment, which it would pass on to its investors. The buyer of protection, which was initially Merrill Lynch, would receive payouts from Norma if the insured securities were hurt by losses. It is unclear whether Merrill retained the insurance, or resold it to other investors who were hedging their subprime exposure or betting on a meltdown.
Many investment banks favored CDOs that contained these credit-default swaps, because they didn't require the purchase of securities, a process that typically took months. With credit-default swaps, a billion-dollar CDO could be assembled in weeks.
Multiplying Risk
In principle, credit-default swaps help banks and other investors pass along risks they don't want to keep. But in the case of subprime mortgages, the derivatives have magnified the effect of losses, because they allowed bankers to create an unlimited number of CDOs linked to the same mortgage-backed bonds. UBS Investment Research, a unit of Swiss bank UBS AG, estimates that CDOs sold credit protection on around three times the actual face value of triple-B-rated subprime bonds.
The use of derivatives "multiplied the risk," says Greg Medcraft, chairman of the American Securitization Forum, an industry association. "The subprime-mortgage crisis is far greater in terms of potential losses than anyone expected because it's not just physical loans that are defaulting."
Norma, for its part, bought only about $90 million of mortgage-backed securities, or 6% of its overall holdings. Of that, some were pieces of other CDOs mostly underwritten by Merrill, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. These CDOs included Scorpius CDO Ltd., managed by a unit of Cohen & Co., a company run by former Merrill CDO chief Christopher Ricciardi. Later, Norma itself would be among the holdings of Glacier Funding CDO V Ltd., managed by an arm of New York mortgage firm Winter Group.
A Winter Group official said the company declined to comment, as did Cohen & Co.
Such cross-selling benefited banks, because it helped support the flow of new CDOs and underwriting fees. In fact, the bulk of the middle-rated pieces of CDOs underwritten by Merrill were purchased by other CDOs that the investment bank arranged, according to people familiar with the matter. Each CDO sold some of its riskier slices to the next CDO, which then sold its own slices to the next deal, and so on.
Propping Up Prices
Critics say the cross-selling reached such proportions that it artificially propped up the prices of CDOs. Rather than widely dispersing exposure to these mortgages, the practice circulated the same risk among a relatively small number of players.
By early 2007, Norma was ready to face the ratings firms. Different slices of CDOs get different ratings because some protect the others from losses to defaults. A "junior" slice might take the first $30 million in losses on a $1 billion CDO, while a triple-A "senior" slice would not be affected until losses reached $200 million or more.
But the system works only if the securities in the CDO are uncorrelated -- that is, if they are unlikely to go bad all at once. Corporate bonds, for example, tend to have low correlation because the companies that issue them operate in different industries, which typically don't get into trouble simultaneously.
Mortgage securities, by contrast, have turned out to be very similar to one another. They're all linked to thousands of loans across the U.S. Anything big enough to trigger defaults on a large portion of those loans -- like falling home prices across the country -- is likely to affect the bonds in a CDO as well. That's particularly true for the kinds of securities on which mezzanine CDOs made their bets. Triple-B-rated bonds would typically stand to suffer if losses to defaults on the underlying pools of loans reached about 10%.
Easy Credit
When rating companies analyzed Norma, though, they were looking backward to a time when rising house prices and easy credit had kept defaults on subprime mortgages low. Norma's marketing documents noted plenty of risks for investors but also said that CDO securities had a high degree of ratings stability.
Beyond that, rating firms say they had reason to believe that the securities wouldn't all go bad at once as the housing market soured. For one, each security contained mortgages from a different mix of lenders, so lending standards might differ from security to security. Also, each security had its own unique team of companies collecting the payments. Yuri Yoshizawa, group managing director at Moody's Investors Service, says the firm figured some of these mortgage servicers would be better than others at handling problematic loans.
In March, Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings gave Norma their seal of approval. In its report, Fitch cited growing concern about the subprime mortgage business and the high number of borrowers who obtained loans without proof of income. Still, all three rating companies gave slices comprising 75% of the CDO's total value their highest, triple-A rating -- implying they had as little risk as Treasury bonds of the U.S. government.
Merrill and N.I.R. took Norma to investors. Together, they produced a 78-page pitchbook that bore Merrill's trademark bull. Inside were nine pages of risk factors that included standard warnings about CDOs. The pitchbook also extolled mortgage securities, which it noted "have historically exhibited lower default rates, higher recovery upon default and better rating stability than comparably rated corporate bonds."
Most importantly, though, Norma offered high returns: On a riskier triple-B slice, Norma said it would pay investors 5.5 percentage points above the interest rate at which banks lend to each other, known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. At the time, that translated into a yield of over 10% on the security -- compared with roughly 6% on triple-B corporate bonds.
Network of Contacts
Mr. Ribotsky says the selling required little effort, as Merrill drummed up interest from its network of contacts. "That's what they get their fees for," he says.
Norma sold some $525 million in CDO slices -- largely the lower-rated ones with higher returns -- to investors. Merrill declined to say whether it kept Norma's triple-A rated, $975 million super-senior tranche or sold it to another financial institution.
Many investment banks with CDO businesses -- Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and UBS -- frequently kept or bought these super-senior pieces, whose lower returns interested few investors. In doing so, they bet that the top CDO slices, which typically comprised as much as 60% of the whole CDO, were insulated from losses.
By September, Norma was in trouble. Amid a steep decline in house prices and rising defaults on mortgage loans, the value of subprime-backed securities went into a free fall. As increasingly worrisome delinquency data rolled in, analysts upped their estimates of total losses on subprime-backed securities issued in 2006 to 20% or more, a level that would wipe out most triple-B-rated securities.
Within weeks, ratings firms began to change their views. In October, Moody's downgraded $33.4 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities, including those which Norma had insured. Those downgrades set the stage for a review of CDOs backed by those securities -- and then further downgrades.
Mezzanine CDOs such as Norma were the hardest hit. On Nov. 2, Moody's slashed the ratings on seven of Norma's nine rated slices, three all the way from investment-grade to junk. Fitch downgraded all nine slices to junk, including two that it had rated triple-A.
Worse Performances
Other mezzanine CDOs, including some underwritten by other investment banks, have had worse performances. Around 30 are now in default, according to S&P. Norma is still paying interest on its securities. It is not known whether it has had to make payouts under the credit default swap agreements.
Ratings companies say their March opinions represented their best read at the time, and called the subprime deterioration unprecedented and unexpectedly rapid. "It's one of the worst performances that we've seen," says Kevin Kendra, a managing director at Fitch. "The world has changed quite drastically -- and our view of the world has changed quite drastically."
By mid-December, $153.5 billion in CDO slices had been downgraded, according to Deutsche Bank. Because banks owned the lion's share of the mezzanine CDOs, they bore the brunt of the losses. In all, banks' write-downs on mortgage investments announced so far add up to more than $70 billion.
For larger banks, holdings of mezzanine CDOs could account for one-third to three-quarters of the total losses. In addition to the $9.4 billion fourth-quarter write-down Morgan Stanley just announced it would take, Citigroup has projected its fourth-quarter write-down could reach $11 billion. UBS said this month it would take a $10 billion write-down after taking a $4.4 billion third-quarter loss.
Merrill, for its part, took a $7.9 billion write-down on mortgage-related holdings in the third quarter. Analysts expect it to write down a similar amount in the current quarter, which would represent the largest losses of any bank. News of the losses have led to the ouster of CEO Stan O'Neal and Osman Semerci, the bank's global head of fixed income. Mr. Margolis left this summer.
Mr. Ribotsky says he doesn't have plans to do any more CDOs at the current time. "Obviously, we're not happy about the occurrences in the marketplace," he says.
Everything above is from the WSJ and none my writing.
hope you all like :)
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