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Mayor Ray Nagin took $50,000 payoff, granite, consulting gig, businessman says
Published: Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 10:46 AM Updated: Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 11:34 AM
By Times-Picayune Staff
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/06/mayor_ray_nagin_took_50k_payof.html
While in office, Mayor Ray Nagin accepted a $50,000 payoff and shipments of free granite from city vendor Frank Fradella, and after leaving City Hall, he became a highly paid consultant to Fradella, according to court documents filed this morning. Fradella was in federal court to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to bribe Nagin, described in court documents as "Public Official A."
The government's description of that public official, as well as other clues, make clear that it is Nagin.
Nagin has not been charged. He has not responded to an email seeking comment. Robert Jenkins, who WDSU-TV has reported is his lawyer, has not returned calls from The Times-Picayune.
Paul Murphy of WWL-TV reported this morning that Jenkins had no comment on Fradella's allegations.
Fradella was charged in bill of information Monday that only vaguely sketched out the alleged kickback scheme. But the summary of the government's case against Fradella filed today added vivid new details -- and made it crystal-clear that Nagin is the target federal prosecutors are seeking.
It says that Fradella, who ran a disaster-recovery firm, transferred $50,000 to Nagin on June 23, 2008, during Nagin's second term in office. By then, Nagin's relationship with Fradella had come under some public scrutiny.
Nagin's public calendar shows two meetings with Fradella on June 24, 2008, including one with Entergy executive Rod West to discuss the possible redevelopment of the Market Street Power Plant. Nagin met with Fradella again a week later, his calendar shows.
Fradella had hoped to land a deal to redevelop the site but never did.
The hulking building has spent much of the past few years caught in a tug-of-war between various would-be developers.
E-mails released in bankruptcy court in late 2010 raised questions about whether former Nagin was trying to advance an economic development project for the city, or working a more personal angle. The e-mails -- released by a group of investors that seized control of the project -- allude to Nagin getting a "piece" of a development deal.
According to the court documents released today, Fradella routed the $50,000 payment through the bank account of a board member of his company "in an effort to disguise the illegality" of the payment. In an effort to legitimize the payment, Nagin made that person a member of the board of a Nagin-owned firm, the document says. Neither the person nor any of the firms is named.
The payment was made months after Nagin's relationship with Fradella started to come under heavy public scrutiny.
Also, during Nagin's tenure at City Hall, Fradella also donated "numerous truckloads" of granite -- the document does not say what its value was -- to the Nagin family's countertop business, Stone Age LLC.
Immediately upon leaving office, Nagin began working for Fradella as a paid consultant, according to the document, which is signed by Fradella. Fradella paid him $10,000 a month, an arrangement that lasted until March 2011, roughly 10 months after Nagin exited City Hall, it says.
Fradella pleaded guilty this morning before U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, with U.S. Attorney Jim Letten and Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux among those in attendance. His plea agreement calls for a prison term of no longer than seven years. The statutory maximum for the crime Fradella admitted committing is 15 years.
Letten will hold a news conference shortly, his office said.
After Hurricane Katrina, firms associated with Fradella landed various contracts in and around New Orleans: major repairs at Louis Armstrong International Airport, rebuilding sidewalks in the French Quarter, and restoring storm-damaged French Market stalls. The company also got recovery work at several public schools and was hired to rebuild kitchens at Orleans Parish Prison.
One of Fradella's companies, Home Solutions of America, acquired a Florida-based subsidiary called Cornerstone Building & Remodeling in 2005.
Anthony Leeber Jr., Cornerstone's founder, has said that after Home Solutions bought his firm, Fradella pushed him out, liquidated Cornerstone's inventory and sent some of it to Stone Age.
Leeber told The Times-Picayune earlier this year that he had met recently with FBI agents and "told them everything about the mayor, and that was it."
The documents filed this morning do not specify the source of the granite Fradella allegedly gave Nagin.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/06/mayor_ray_nagin_took_50k_payof.html
I was surprised, I got a check for around 1200.00 on the settlement.
Once the legal process is over, do you believe it will be feasible to get some cash back from it? If I am not wrong this co. had $100M assets. I guess Mr Fratella is guilty of fraud, so probably he will be forced to return some millions to SEC.
Got a 1200.00 check from the class action attorney this week.
The crime here is so bad that even the pink sheets won't allow trading in this stock anymore.
I traded this stock in two different accounts. Made around 7000.00 in one & lost around 4000.00 in the other. I report the losses to the class action attorney. Never heard a word from them.
Home Solutions of America lied to inflate stock price before CEO sold, SEC alleges
07:38 AM CST on Tuesday, December 1, 2009
By SHERYL JEAN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/smallbiz/stories/120109dnbushomesolutions.3f0a341.html
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a former Dallas-based hurricane restoration company and some of its former executives of reporting bogus multimillion-dollar business deals and fraudulently inflating its stock price before the former CEO sold millions of dollars in shares.
In a civil complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Dallas, the SEC charged that Home Solutions of America Inc., now based in New Orleans, issued news releases and filing statements with the SEC about false contracts and financial results after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and other disasters. The company's stock price then soared.
The SEC also accused then-CEO Frank J. Fradella, who resigned in March, of selling $6.8 million in company stock in an inflated market that he helped create. The stock price later plunged after large insider stock sales, shareholder lawsuits and the company's announcement that it would restate some financial reports.
Home Solutions' shares peaked at $14.14 in May 2006 but lost about 70 percent of their value by early September. Today, shares trade over the counter at 3 cents.
"The company's financial results were largely fabricated, and its public statements were intended to deceive," Rose Romero, director of the SEC's Fort Worth office, said in a prepared statement. "Instead of rebuilding New Orleans and other hurricane-stricken areas, they constructed a fantasyland of fraud."
Home Solutions and four of seven executives accused have reached settlements with the SEC.
The company has "executed a consent agreement to settle the case in its entirety," said Mark Mandel, a New York lawyer representing Home Solutions. "The company is pleased to put this behind them."
Jonathan Scott, a branch chief in the SEC's Fort Worth office, confirmed "a partial settlement in principal" and said Home Solutions has agreed to "let the court determine the appropriate penalty." The SEC is waiting for Home Solutions to provide all of the "necessary consent documentation," he said.
The SEC has initiated separate administrative proceedings to suspend or revoke the company's securities. Mandel said he couldn't comment on Home Solutions' operating status. Home Solutions could not be reached.
The SEC cited several "illicit maneuvers" from 2004 to 2007 by Fradella, Home Solutions' former chief financial officer Jeff Mattich and Brian Marshall, former president of the company's Fireline Restoration Inc., subsidiary to mislead the public about the company's true financial condition and defraud its main lender.
The agency accused Fradella of creating an expense-deferral scheme to inflate net income and accused all three men of conducting a series of revenue-inflation schemes.
Fradella, Mattich and Marshall and their lawyers could not be reached for comment.
The SEC alleged that Home Solutions misstated its net income for 2004, 2005 and 2006 and the first half of 2007 by 6.8 percent to 308 percent by improperly deferring expenses and recording false revenue and accounts receivable in advance of expected acquisitions or for construction projects that never materialized.
Home Solutions also improperly accounted for millions of dollars in executive bonuses in 2004, 2005 and 2006, which also inflated net income for those years, according to the SEC.
Since last fall, Home Solutions has been selling or closing divisions that don't directly serve the New Orleans market, according to documents filed with the SEC in April. Its remaining business, Picke Construction Corp. in New Orleans, lists Fradella as CEO on its Web site. A call to Picke found its phone disconnected.
Home Solutions moved its headquarters from Dallas to New Orleans in July 2008.
Four former Home Solutions and Fireline executives settled with the SEC, agreeing to permanent injunctions and a total of $180,000 in penalties and $32,850 in disgorgement and interest payments.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/smallbiz/stories/120109dnbushomesolutions.3f0a341.html
Administrative Proceedings: 34-61076 Nov. 30, 2009 Home Solutions of America, Inc.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2009/34-61076.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin.shtml
SEC v. Home Solutions of America, Inc., Frank J. Fradella, Brian M. Marshall, Jeffrey M. Mattich, Rick J. O'Brien, Stephen C. Gingrich, Thomas L. Davis and Jeffrey T. Craft, Civil Action No. 3:09-cv-02269 (DCG) (N.D. Tx. Nov. 30, 2009)
Litigation Release No. 21314 / November 30, 2009
Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 3071 / November 30, 2009
SEC v. Home Solutions of America, Inc., Frank J. Fradella, Brian M. Marshall, Jeffrey M. Mattich, Rick J. O'Brien, Stephen C. Gingrich, Thomas L. Davis and Jeffrey T. Craft, Civil Action No. 3:09-cv-02269 (DCG) (N.D. Tx. Nov. 30, 2009)
SEC Charges Hurricane Restoration Company and Executives In Post-Katrina Accounting Fraud; Four Individuals Settle
On November 30, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas charging a Dallas and New Orleans-based hurricane restoration company and several executives for lying about non-existent business deals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and fraudulently inflating the company's stock price before the company's CEO sold millions of dollars in company shares.
The SEC alleges that Home Solutions of America, Inc. recorded millions of dollars in bogus revenue and issued a series of materially false press releases boasting robust financial results following Katrina and other weather-related disasters, thus inflating the company's stock price. The stock price later plummeted after large insider stock sales, the filing of private securities lawsuits alleging fraud, and the company's public announcement that it would restate its financial statements. Home Solutions then-CEO Frank Fradella, who is among seven individuals charged by the SEC in the scheme, dumped approximately $6.8 million worth of stock into the inflated market.
According to the SEC's complaint, several different illicit maneuvers were used by Home Solutions at various times between 2004 to 2007 at the direction of Fradella and other executives in order to mislead the public about the company's true financial condition. The SEC alleges that Fradella initiated an expense-deferral scheme to inflate earnings by expensing year-end bonuses when paid rather than when earned. Fradella, Home Solutions CFO Jeff Mattich, and Brian Marshall (who became a Home Solutions director and president of its largest subsidiary, Fireline Restoration Inc., after its acquisition by Home Solutions) together engaged in a series of revenue-inflation schemes, booking millions of dollars of bogus revenue by invoicing and recording receivables on work that never occurred. They also improperly caused millions of dollars of revenue from another public company to be booked as Home Solutions revenue.
The SEC further alleges that Marshall engaged in a separate revenue-inflation scheme at Fireline, booking more than $9 million of fake construction revenue from undisclosed, related-party contracts with entities that Marshall controlled. In fact, at the time Fireline caused Home Solutions to record the revenue, very little work had been performed on the projects and most remained bare-dirt lots.
The SEC's complaint charges Home Solutions, Fradella, Marshall and Mattich with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The complaint also charges Home Solutions with violating, and Fradella, Marshall and Mattich with aiding and abetting Home Solutions' violations of, Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A), and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, and 13a-13. The complaint further charges Fradella and Mattich with violating Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, Rules 13a-14, 13b2-1, and 13b2-2 thereunder and Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; and Marshall with violating Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and, Rules 13b2-1, and 13b2-2 thereunder, and aiding and abetting Home Solutions' violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and financial penalties against Home Solutions, Fradella, Marshall and Mattich, as to all the individuals, full disgorgement with interest and officer and director bars, and as to Fradella and Mattich, reimbursement of bonuses and stock sale profits under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Based on the failure of Home Solutions to file periodic reports since August 2007, the Commission also instituted separate administrative proceedings against the company, seeking revocation or suspension of each class of its securities.
Four others charged today by the SEC simultaneously agreed to settle on the following terms, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint.
Former Home Solutions CFO and COO Rick O'Brien agreed to pay a $130,000 penalty.
Former Fireline controller Stephen Gingrich agreed to pay a $25,000 penalty and to an administrative order barring him from practicing before the Commission as an accountant for at least three years.
Former Fireline COO Thomas Davis agreed to pay a $25,000 penalty and to pay disgorgement and interest of $32,850.
In addition, O'Brien, Gingrich and Davis each consented to final judgments permanently enjoining them from violating Sections 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act and from aiding and abetting violations of Sections 13(a) and 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, and 13a-13 thereunder.
Finally, Jeff Craft, a business partner of Marshall, consented to a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating Rule 13b2-2 under the Exchange Act.
The SEC's investigation is continuing.
# # #
SEC Complaint
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2009/comp21314.pdf
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2009/lr21314.htm
SEC: ‘Fantasyland of fraud’ at Home Solutions of America
Monday, November 30, 2009, 1:39pm EST | Modified: Monday, November 30, 2009, 3:21pm
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Janet Leiser Staff writer
http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/11/30/daily6.html
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Home Solutions of America Inc.’s former executives Frank Fradella, Jeff Mattich and Tampa businessman Brian M. Marshall with fraudulently inflating the stock price to reap financial rewards.
“The company’s financial results were largely fabricated and its public statements were intended to deceive,” Rose Romero, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth, Texas regional office said in a Nov. 30 statement.
“Simply put, instead of rebuilding New Orleans and other hurricane-stricken areas, they constructed a fantasyland of fraud,” Romero said.
In 2006, Home Solutions, then based in Dallas-Fort Worth and listed on the Nasdaq, reportedly paid up to $50 million for Tampa’s Fireline Restoration Inc., a Florida general contractor that specialized in disaster restoration services. Marshall, founder of Fireline, became a director and president of Home Solutions, which has been based in New Orleans since July 2008.
SEC investigators allege that executives at Home Solutions, now listed as HSOA on the pink sheets, lied about business deals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to pump up the stock price and then sold millions of dollars in shares.
The company recorded millions of dollars in bogus revenue and issues a series of materially false press releases boasting robust finances for the company following weather-related disasters, states the SEC.
The stock price hit a high of $13 before it plummeted following large insider stock sales, class-action shareholder lawsuits and the company’s public acknowledgement it would restate previous incorrect financial statements.
Fradella, HSOA’s chief executive officer from 2001 through 2008, dumped $6.8 million in stock between May 24-26, 2006, the SEC alleges.
Fradella, Mattich, who was chief financial officer, and Marshall “engaged in a series of revenue-inflation schemes, booking millions of dollars of bogus revenue by invoicing and recording receivables on work that never occurred,” states the SEC.
Marshall is accused of engaging in a separate revenue-inflation scheme at Fireline by booking more than $9 million of fake construction revenue from undisclosed, related-party contracts with entities he controlled, said the SEC.
Marshall’s business partner, Jeffrey T. Craft of Craftmar Construction Inc., has consented to a permanent injunction for his involvement with Fireline, the SEC said.
Even before Home Solutions acquired Fireline in July 2006, Marshall allegedly assisted Home Solutions in generating bogus revenues by awarding a contract to HSOA to perform work on Vista Royale, a Vero Beach condominium project on Florida’s east coast damaged by a hurricane, the SEC said.
Home Solutions never performed work on Vista Royale, yet it sent $8.4 million in invoices to Marshall, according to the SEC complaint. Based on those invoices, HSOA recorded $8.4 million in bogus revenue for the second quarter of 2006.
In turn, Home Solutions sent checks for about $2.7 million to Marshall for subcontractors that reportedly worked on Vista Royale, states the complaint. About $1.3 million was paid to entities controlled or managed by Marshall.
Beginning in December 2006, Marshall began a scheme to inflate Fireline’s revenue by causing private companies he controlled to enter into contracts for construction work. He then directed Fireline Vice President Thomas Davis and other employees to create documents and make accounting entries to make it appear Fireline was performing the work, states the complaint.
During 2006 and 2007, Marshall caused Fireline to enter into at least 10 related-party contracts, including a $4 million contract for the construction of Marshall’s home.
“When counsel to HSOA’s audit committee visited the Tampa construction sites in October 2007, most were bare lots or just in the initial stages of construction,” states the complaint.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, Home Solutions’ revenue was overstated by $3.2 million while operating income was overstated by about $1 million.
For the six months ended June 30, 2007, Home Solutions’ revenue was overstated on these projects by $6.9 million, states the complaint.
To perpetuate the scheme, Marshall had Craft, his partner at Craftmar Construction, provide a false confirmation letter of the work to KMJ Corbin & Co., HSOA’s accounting firm, the complaint states.
Marshall, Fradella and Mattich are charged with violations of the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctive relief and financial penalties.
In addition to Craft, three others, including Davis, agreed to a settlement with the SEC without admitting or denying allegations in the complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas.
Former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer Rick O’Brien consented to a permanent injunction and $130,000 penalty. And former controller Stephen Gingrich consented to a permanent injunction, a $25,000 penalty and an order barring him from practicing before the SEC as an accountant for at least three years.
http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/11/30/daily6.html
HSOA is "a fantasyland of fraud..."
SEC Charges Hurricane Restoration Company and Executives in Post-Katrina Accounting Fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2009-256
Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Dallas and New Orleans-based hurricane restoration company and several executives for lying about non-existent business deals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and fraudulently inflating the company's stock price before the company's CEO sold millions of dollars in company shares.
The SEC alleges that Home Solutions of America, Inc. recorded millions of dollars in bogus revenue and issued a series of materially false press releases boasting robust financial results following Katrina and other weather-related disasters, thus inflating the company's stock price. The stock price later plummeted after large insider stock sales, the filing of private securities lawsuits alleging fraud, and the company's public announcement that it would restate its financial statements. Home Solutions then-CEO Frank Fradella, who is among seven individuals charged by the SEC in the scheme, dumped approximately $6.8 million worth of stock into the inflated market.
"The company's financial results were largely fabricated and its public statements were intended to deceive," said Rose Romero, Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office. "Simply put, instead of rebuilding New Orleans and other hurricane-stricken areas, they constructed a fantasyland of fraud."
According to the SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, several different illicit maneuvers were used by Home Solutions at various times between 2004 to 2007 at the direction of Fradella and other executives in order to mislead the public about the company's true financial condition. The SEC alleges that Fradella initiated an expense-deferral scheme to inflate earnings by expensing year-end bonuses when paid rather than when earned. Fradella, Home Solutions CFO Jeff Mattich, and Brian Marshall (who became a Home Solutions director and president of its largest subsidiary, Fireline Restoration Inc., after its acquisition by Home Solutions) together engaged in a series of revenue-inflation schemes, booking millions of dollars of bogus revenue by invoicing and recording receivables on work that never occurred. They also improperly caused millions of dollars of revenue from another public company to be booked as Home Solutions revenue.
The SEC further alleges that Marshall engaged in a separate revenue-inflation scheme at Fireline, booking more than $9 million of fake construction revenue from undisclosed, related-party contracts with entities that Marshall controlled. In fact, at the time Fireline caused Home Solutions to record the revenue, very little work had been performed on the projects and most remained bare-dirt lots.
The SEC's complaint charges Home Solutions, Fradella, Marshall and Mattich with violations of the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctive relief, financial penalties, and as to the individuals, full disgorgement with interest and officer and director bars.
Four others charged today by the SEC simultaneously agreed to settle on the following terms, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint:
Former Home Solutions CFO and COO Rick O'Brien consented to a permanent injunction and a $130,000 penalty.
Former Fireline controller Stephen Gingrich consented to a permanent injunction, a $25,000 penalty, and an administrative order barring him from practicing before the Commission as an accountant for at least three years.
Former Fireline COO Thomas Davis consented to a permanent injunction, a $25,000 penalty, and payment of disgorgement and interest of $32,850.
Jeff Craft, a business partner of Marshall, consented to a permanent injunction.
The SEC's investigation is continuing.
# # #
For more information about this enforcement action, contact:
Rose Romero
Regional Director — SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office
817-978-3821
Steve Korotash
Associate Director, Enforcement — SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office
817-978-3821
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-256.htm
Does this Stock have any legs this time around?
woah 52 week range .17 - 5.75!!!
going up a teeny-weeny bit 5% or so!
HSOA dipping but it'll bounce - target price for next week ------> .75
And of course the latest news from the company:
Home Solutions of America, Inc. Completes Repayment of Bank Debt Ahead of Previous Schedule
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Home Solutions of America, Inc. (Pink Sheets:HSOA), a commercial, institutional and infrastructure construction company serving the private and public sectors, announced today that on July 3, 2008, ahead of the schedule agreed to last month, it completed repayment of a previously agreed “Payoff Amount”, to Texas Capital Bank (TCB) and its syndicate members. The total amount repaid was $10.5 million and HSOA is now relieved of any further principal remittances to the bank syndicate, including any future receivables or cash collections.
Funds for the payoff came from accounts receivable collected through July 3, 2008, an equity investment by the Company’s Chairman and another large shareholder and the proceeds from the sale of the business of the Company’s PW Stephens subsidiary. The Company’s remaining obligations to its bank lenders are to issue warrants to acquire 2,100,000 shares of its common stock to the lenders and to replace or cash collateralize approximately $2.0 million of letters of credit issued pursuant to the bank facility, in each case on or before August 1, 2008.
In connection with these transactions, EvenFlow Funding, LLC, an entity controlled by HSOA’s Chairman, Michael J. McGrath, Jr., has invested an additional $1.5 million. Another investor, MT Trading, LLC and Sondra Beit, has also collectively invested $1.5 million. The investors acquired 13% convertible redeemable preferred stock, as well as warrants to acquire, in the aggregate, 6,000,000 shares of the Company’s stock. The Company has the right to redeem the preferred stock at 110% of par within 90 days, and if it does so 75% of the warrants are cancelled. After the 90 days, the preferred stock is redeemable at 125% of par. It is mandatorily redeemable at 125% on June 15, 2013.
Mr. McGrath has also agreed to fund an additional $2.0 million of equity to the Company to ensure that the bank letters of credit are replaced or cash collateralized. In addition, Mr. McGrath personally guaranteed a $500,000 loan made by the purchasers of PW Stephens in connection with that transaction, as described below. In consideration for Mr. McGrath’s $2.0 million commitment and guaranty of the $500,000 loan, the Company agreed, by September 1, 2008, to pay Mr. McGrath $250,000 or to issue Mr. McGrath (or, at his election, EvenFlow) a warrant for the purchase of 373,134 shares of the Company’s common stock. In addition, should Mr. McGrath pay any amounts to the Company under the commitment or guaranty, the Company agreed to issue Mr. McGrath (or, at his election, EvenFlow) one share of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock per $10.00 paid and warrants to purchase 20 additional shares of common stock for every share of preferred stock that is issued.
The sale of the PW Stephens business is part of HSOA’s plan to focus on its core competencies. The asbestos, mold and lead paint remediation company was sold to an entity controlled by PW Stephens’ current management. The purchase price was $5.0 million, reduced by $700,000 with respect to cash distributed by PW Stephens by the Company prior to the sale. In connection with the sale transaction, $500,000 of the sale proceeds were lent by PW Stephens to another Company subsidiary which issued a $500,000 promissory note payable September 1, 2008, guaranteed by Mr. McGrath. The promissory note and the guarantee were among the assets conveyed to the buyers of the PW Stephens business.
HSOA’s Chairman, Michael J. McGrath, Jr. said: “Relieved of our bank debt, HSOA is now poised to look to the future. The company can now use its receivables to fund its ongoing operations and focus on its core competency, specifically construction opportunities related to the recovery of the Gulf Coast as well private development projects. As we do so, we will also continue our review of certain non-core and non-strategic assets and consider our options for divesting them, as we have done with PW Stephens.”
The Company further announced that it has made significant progress in completing the restatement of its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the first and second quarters of 2007, completing the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2007 and the annual report on Form 10-K for 2007. The Company expects these reports to be completed and filed in the near future. The Company also said that it is continuing to cooperate fully with an ongoing SEC investigation.
About Home Solutions of America, Inc.
Home Solutions of America, Inc. is a provider of restoration, construction and interior services to commercial and residential customers. Its Fireline subsidiary is involved in providing construction services, rebuilding, catastrophic storm response and contents restoration for commercial, industrial and residential properties. Based in Tampa, Fireline is certified in multiple aspects of the restoration industry, including smoke, fire, water and mold. The Company has operations in California, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. Home Solutions Restoration of Louisiana, Inc., which does business as Associated Contractors (“Associated”), is a Louisiana based commercial, industrial and residential contractor working in the governmental and private arenas. Associated has been one of the larger players in redeveloping public schools in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Its clients include the State of Louisiana, the City of New Orleans, the Louisiana National Guard, the historic French Market and Louis Armstrong International Airport. For additional information, please visit the Company’s Web site at http://www.hsoacorp.com.
HSOA is the parent company of Tampa's Fireline Restoration Inc. and Associated Contractors LLC
Income statement looks to be positive but any sort of income from their shares seems to point south :(
I remember back to the days when i played this company on the Nasdaq...
The large shareholder was posting on SI for a while.
He told everyone he was accumulating. When he hit 5% he filed.
Shortly after that filing, this came out.
Regards.
CEOCast for this week...hmmm...
http://www.ceocast.com/(nbzjbt55oft4ky45oq0dpg55)/NewsLetters.aspx?id=442&mode=
"Shares of Home Solutions of America, Inc. (OTC: HSOA), a provider of restoration, construction and interior services to commercial and residential customers, more than doubled last week from badly beaten down levels, after the company said that it had concluded the investigation by the Audit Committee, which should allow it to file its financial statements for 2007and regain listing on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.
The report appears to clear the company's CEO of any wrongdoing. The company also took steps to bolster its management team, appointing as Chairman a large shareholder and replacing its CFO. The next event for the investment community will likely be the filing of its financial statements. Shares ended the week at $0.66, up 36 cents."
Flatsixer
Music Superstar/Entrepreneur Dr. Dre Partners With Drinks Americas to Launch Beverage Joint Venture
via COMTEX
February 25, 2008
WILTON, CT, Feb 25, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd. (OTCBB: DKAM), a leading owner, developer and marketer of premium beverages, today announced a new beverage venture in association with Grammy Award-winning producer and artist, Dr. Dre. Drinks Americas and Dr. Dre have formed a partnership to identify, develop, and market premium non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. The partnership's first premium beverages will be a super premium cognac selection, followed by a unique new to market sparkling vodka (which is now being crafted). Drinks Americas and Dr. Dre also plan to enter the growing imported premium tequila category.
The venture marks the first time an iconic artist has partnered directly with a beverage company in an equity arrangement to jointly develop and market products. The deal is under the umbrella of the previously announced agreement between Drinks Americas and Interscope Geffen A&M Records.
The partnership will be the latest in Dr. Dre's successful business ventures, which include his eleven-year old record company, Aftermath Entertainment, with artists including Eminem and 50 Cent, and his recently announced film production company, Crucial Films. The new products will join Drinks Americas' current and growing portfolio of products including Donald Trump's award winning Trump Super Premium Vodka, Willie Nelson's Old Whiskey River Bourbon and Paul Newman's Lightly Sparkling Fruit Juice Drinks and Flavored Waters.
"I'm always down for a new challenge," said Dr. Dre. "When Drinks Americas approached me about going into business with them, I knew there was a lot of competition out there but it was the same way when I started doing music. I'm going to put the best product out there, because that's what I do."
J. Patrick Kenny, President & Chief Executive Officer of Drinks Americas, stated, "This is the next of several steps as Drinks assembles a range of global iconic brands and trademarks that will build substantial long term shareholder value. We are thrilled to be working with Dr. Dre, a true icon, as an owner and our partner in brands that will reflect his tastes and personality. Unlike hiring a celebrity to help grow an existing brand, Dr. Dre is an equity owner of the brands and will be involved as our partner at every stage of the process."
Kenny added, "We expect Dre's foray into the beverage business to rival the magnitude of his success in the music business. Our plan is to be in key markets as 2008 unfolds with a superior cognac followed by selected premium spirits category entries. We have the credit facilities and production partners. Building volume with these products will take time, but the instantly recognizable branding, coupled with superior quality products, and Dre's partnership start us with a competitive advantage, and a corresponding boost in value to our shareholders."
LOL...Loooong, grisly story on HSOA...;^))...em
Looks like it's heading to .25 or lower. The management sold all their shares around 10.00. Looks like they don't care about the shaeholders anymore. Why else would they become "PINK"'
From today's CEOCast newsletter...
http://www.ceocast.com/(3gbgcjqgwuaic5far0detk45)/NewsLetters.aspx?id=434&mode=
"Volume Alert: Shares of Home Solutions of America, Inc. (OTC: HSOA), a company that provides restoration, construction, and interior services to commercial and residential properties, jumped 33% on Friday on more than three times average volume after the company in a regulatory filing said it had settled its initial claim on the Vista Royale Condominiums component of the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association construction recovery claim, for $35 million.
After deduction for monies previously paid as well as payments to the Vista Homeowner's Association, certain legal fees and payments made to select subcontractors, the company received approximately $14 million.
The company has two additional unresolved claims with FIGA for work completed on the Delmar Condominiums and Tropic Villa Condominiums in Florida which the company continues to pursue. The company also entered into a Forbearance Agreement with its lenders under its Revolving Credit Facility, Term Loan and Letter of Credit Facility.
Under the Forbearance Agreement, the company paid $10.1 million in principal from the FIGA proceeds, which reduced the outstanding amounts due under the facilities to $39.9 million, in exchange for the lenders agreeing to forego taking any action permitted under the original credit facility until July 1, 2008.
Shares increased by 13 cents, to finish the week at $0.68. "
Flatsixer
I agree. I have followed some of his recommendations and they rarely do well. He knows all there is to know about the markets being an ex-hedgefund manager. He pumps up these stocks so his buddies can short them after they gone up in value. He's no friend of the average american middle class investor.
If Cramer says buy, more times than not, it's a sell.
Especially small caps
What's even more amazing to me - is that this was a Stock's under $10.00 recommendation from Jim Cramer's group.
Glad I sold it!
Why are companies like HSOA allowed to put out pr's like the two 100 million dollar contracts and back log of work etc. when in reality they didn't have shite? Is the only way to get restitution by selling these crooks for putting out and misleading statements. Now what? Frank and crew get to skate away with all their money they made selling at 10 plus per share. What a joke.
I made money on this garbage in the past but I was always aware that the company was crap.
I said it when it was HOM at a buck and its worth repeating again now that its .50 and on the pinks - this NEVER should have been a publicly traded company.
In hindsight I should have shorted it when I sold at 10.00
Caveat Emptor
Hmm...lol Well, I doubt we'll be in to long anyways, but thats definitely an interesting turn of events.
Thanks Flat!
Hmmm...If FIGA pays B-I-G, thennnnn...
"Home Solutions of America (OTC: HSOA), a provider of restoration, construction and interior services to commercial and residential customers, said late Friday that the company failed to make the required quarterly installment to its bank lending group in the amount of $1,250,000. In addition, HSOA did not pay accrued interest totaling $885,074.
As a result, the bank group has the right to declare an event of default under the credit facility, although it has taken no action to date. The Company said it was in discussions with its bank lending group regarding the terms of an extension (bank loan was expected to be refinanced prior to year-end) and amendments that will address the missed payment.
The company's ability to survive appears to hinge on whether it receives an insurance payment from the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association (FIGA), which could generate gross proceeds of as much as $40 million. The stock fell another 19 cents to close the week at $0.76."
Flatsixer
It only dropped a quarter and then leveled out. Who knows, this could head north in a hurry on any kind of news.
HSOA goes to the pinks today...
"Home Solutions of America (OTC: HSOA), a provider of restoration, construction and interior services to commercial and residential customers, said late Friday that it will withdraw its appeal to remain listed on the Nasdaq and that it expects its common stock to start trading on the Pink Sheets on Monday.
The company has been unable to file its third quarter financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2007 due to an ongoing investigation into related party transactions. The decision to delist, while disappointing to investors, could allow the company the opportunity time to complete its investigation without pressure from the Nasdaq to file its statements.
Of course, until the financials are filed and the company' collects on the receivables guaranteed by FIGA, it is impossible to determine what the business looks like, or whether HSOA has the ability to fund operations. Investors might want to consider that there was a pre-existing, albeit much smaller business, prior to the acquisition of Fireline. Shares ended the week at .95"
http://www.ceocast.com/(llrkm4v5lg3khn55f4p4cd55)/NewsLetters.aspx?id=429&mode=
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080104/20080104005666.html?.v=1
Flatsixer
Problem is: a lot of people think this is a fraudulent company. Make sure you don't hold the stock overnight.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Looking Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HUGE BOTTOM BOUNCE PLAY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me update that last post. I spoke too soon.
"I can't remember what the short amount was when I owned it, but I actually think the shorts may have gone down since then?"
That site actually shows your shorts have gone down by a small amount.(see short shares prior)
That's a cool site. We all should bookmark that.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I compared a short squeeze on another stock to HSOA because I remembered HSOA had a lot of shorts when I owned it. I no longer own it, btw (disclosure) but I thought it might be info worthy of posting on the board for those of you who do own HSOA...
Plus it's a good site to have for your other stocks. I can't remember what the short amount was when I owned it, but I actually think the shorts may have gone down since then?
Anyway....Good luck. If you get some good news you should have one heck of a ride because you are sitting at a 17 day cover.
Jen
http://shortsqueeze.com/index.php?symbol=hsoa&submit=+GO+
flatsixer... i have this one on my nss reg sho radar...seems like some of the other big nss stocks are getting some covering now..shrp blrc nrmx...from what i can tell n the numbers i have gone over....they have to cover by dec 4th....does that sound about right to ya? ...GLTA
Today's HSOA CEOCast...
"Earnings Preview: Home Solutions of America, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSOA), a provider of restoration, construction and interior services to commercial and residential customers, is likely to release results from its third quarter ended September 30, 2007 on or about Wednesday, after taking a five-day extension. Shares have lost more than half of their value since the company released Q2 results, which raised fears that the company was experiencing liquidity issues.
Likely overshadowing the quarterly results is the outcome of meetings the company began last week with FIGA, a state agency that pays claims that bankrupt insurance carriers are unable to satisfy. The company has claims of nearly $50 million from work completed several years ago, and the company said previously that a resolution of the undisputed amounts was likely to come by mid-November. A significant cash settlement could send shares dramatically higher, while continued uncertainty about when and whether HSOA will be paid would do little to alleviate fears of a liquidity crisis.
We are cautiously optimistic that the company will receive a settlement next week. Q3 results could be impacted by constraints on working capital. Shares ended the week at $2.31, down 4 cents."
Flatsixer
The shorts have crushed and controlled this stock, thanks to the bumbling management.
Andy Left just documented this.
The shorts have crushed and controlled this stock, thanks to the bumbling management.
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