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Criminal groups threatening capital markets, RCMP says
DEAN BEEBY
The Canadian Press
December 8, 2008 at 4:31 AM EST
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081208.wcrimemarkets08/BNStory/National/home
OTTAWA -- Organized crime has become a significant threat to Canada's capital markets, a new report from the RCMP's fraud squads says.
Major crime groups are recruiting investment professionals to help them move far beyond traditional activities - smuggling, extortion and counterfeiting - into the rarefied world of high finance and market manipulation, the Mounties say.
"Using the markets requires a degree of knowledge and expertise," says the draft report from the RCMP's Integrated Market Enforcement Teams, or IMETs.
"Organized crime groups harness this skill set by using professional facilitators in the industry.
"The facilitators' subjective knowledge of the true nature of these schemes ranges from willful blindness to direct fraudulent participation."
The alarm is being sounded in the first strategic-intelligence report issued by the fraud squads since they were founded in 2003 as Canada's answer to aggressive U.S. probes into the Enron, Tyco, WorldCom and other Wall Street scandals.
The Canadian Press obtained a heavily censored version of the 23-page RCMP report under the Access to Information Act.
The document is intended to alert Canadian law-enforcement agencies and foreign partners to crime trends observed in Canada's capital markets in 2007-2008.
Organized crime and "criminalized professionals" - rogue investment specialists - are described as the two main players in financial crimes.
The Mounties acknowledge that busting criminal organizations that manipulate capital markets is a daunting challenge.
"The majority of the activity occurs indirectly and is obfuscated under the cloak of apparent legitimate trading between arms-length buyers and sellers," the document says.
"Organized crime groups are constantly innovating their money laundering and fraud techniques in the attempt to remain one step ahead of law enforcement."
The released sections of the report do not identify which organized crime groups are active in market frauds.
The IMETs have been criticized over the past five years for the glacial pace of their often-complex probes.
So far, criminal charges have been laid in just nine cases, four of them relatively minor. Four of the major investigations saw charges filed only this year.
The teams had initially set themselves a tight deadline of one year from the start of a probe to the laying of charges, but have not lived up to the promise.
Mountie officials did not respond directly to a question about whether organized crime has been involved in the investigations where charges have been laid. Four of the nine cases involve some form of money laundering, a traditional activity of crime groups.
"As our charge history has shown, our investigations involve everything related to capital markets fraud, from large companies trading on senior exchanges to small companies on Over-the-counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) and the Pink Sheets," Sergeant Dean Buzza, director of the integrated market enforcement branch, said in an e-mail. "Given this broad spectrum, and the sheer magnitude of transactions in the capital markets, it would be expected that traditional organized crime groups would, in one way or another, be connected to the capital markets."
OTCBB and Pink Sheets refer to the less-regulated electronic trading in shares of smaller companies that are generally exempt from disclosing full financial information, as regulators require of firms listed on stock markets.
The RCMP fraud squads have complained they lack power to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses who are protected by a constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Ottawa has been consulting with the provinces for more than a year on ways to introduce such power, which securities cops in Britain and the United States enjoy, as do Canadian investigators working under the authority of the Income Tax Act and the Competition Act.
A spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan says a proposal is in the works.
"It is still moving forward," Stephanie Rea said in an interview. "We're hoping that we can have something solid soon."
There are currently nine IMET teams, three in Toronto and two each in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. The teams, funded at $31.3-million annually, employ forensic accountants, market specialists and federal prosecutors to help unravel often-tangled financial crimes.
Sgt. Buzza said the current meltdown of financial markets underscores the original rationale for the fraud squads, that the loss of public confidence in the system, whether because of crime or financial bungling, not only hurts markets but the economy as well.
"For quite some time, we have been saying that when the confidence of Canadians, investors and members of the business community in the integrity of the financial system is shaken, it has a detrimental effect on the economy
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081208.wcrimemarkets08/BNStory/National/home
I would have to agree with you Tina. those kind of risk come with a permanent solution with no options of recovery available.
Don't think I like those odds!
Sands
Those kinds of risks are not a good kind of job hazard that's for sure!
Hmmmm. I would say the penny stock promotion business comes with some risks?
SantaShorts
Police Look Into Business Dealings of 2 Slain Stock Promoters
By IVER PETERSON
Published: October 28, 1999
The two partners in an Internet stock promotion operation who were found shot to death on Tuesday inside a mansion here were linked to ''shady'' business dealings and may have been killed to be silenced, the Monmouth County Prosecutor said today.
One victim, Albert Alain Chalem, 41, who lived in the mansion in this wealthy suburb, had worked for the brokerage A. S. Goldmen, which was indicted in July in New York on several charges of stock manipulation and illegal trading; the firm has denied the charges. The other victim, Maier Lehmann, 37, of Woodmere, N.Y., paid $630,000 in penalties and refunds to investors last year to settle a regulatory complaint accusing him of fraud and securities registration violations. The case remains under criminal investigation by Federal prosecutors.
The two men, shot execution style, were found on the marble floor of the foyer of the $1.1 million home by two friends of Mr. Chalem's at 1 A.M. Tuesday. Mr. Lehmann apparently died of a single shot, while Mr. Chalem was shot several times, suggesting that he had tried to get up after being shot. Cell phones belonging to the two men were lying nearby, and are being analyzed.
The house was otherwise undisturbed, and money has been dismissed as a direct motive.
''If someone swindles you out of money, what you want is your money back,'' John Kaye, the County Prosecutor, said. ''You don't murder them, because then you don't get your money and you get caught. So my operating belief is that there was something more here. It was probably related to the victims' business activities, and the killer or killers feared something else more than the loss of money.''
Mr. Kaye called the two men's business practices ''shady'' but said investigators did not know of any illegal operations involving the Web site the men maintained. That site, www.stockinvestor.com, that provided free stock quotes but also recommended that investors buy certain small and obscure stocks, known as penny stocks. Just a little buying or selling can cause big changes in such stocks' prices, which is why the number of Web sites devoted to them has soared, despite warnings from securities regulators that many of these sites are vehicles for stock fraud.
Aggressive penny stock promotions have been a chronic problem for regulators for more than a decade, and have proliferated during the current stock market boom. But until the last few years, these cases have rarely involved violence or threats of violence.
Investigators spent today hauling away vanloads of evidence from the mansion, including paper files and computers. The computer hard drives have been sent to the New Jersey State Police laboratories for analysis and duplication, Mr. Kaye said, and Federal investigators, including officials from securities law enforcement agencies, are helping to sift the financial records taken from the house. No weapon was recovered, said Chief Kevin A. Sauter of the Colts Neck Police Department.
Investigators appeared to be focusing on Mr. Chalem, if only because the slayings took place at his home. But given his involvement in a case under criminal investigation, Mr. Lehman may also have had knowledge that would have made someone want to silence him, Mr. Kaye said.
''We have lots of evidence and lots of leads and lots of suspects, because lots of people didn't like these people,'' he said.
Securities and Exchange Commission records give Mr. Lehmann's wife's name as Tamar, and a phone number for a Tammy Lehmann is listed in Woodmere, N.Y. The number was connected to a fax machine.
Mr. Chalem is listed in his most recent regulatory filing as living in East Hampton, N.Y., at 20 Cross Highway, but Chief Sauter said the broker had moved to Colts Neck in the spring.
The white brick mansion sits on about 10 acres on Blue Bell Lane, with a circular drive surrounding a fountain. It was bought in the spring for $1.1 million by Russell Candela, of Brooklyn, who is the father of Mr. Chalem's girlfriend, Kimberly Scarola, 39.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E7DE1138F93BA15753C1A96F958260
The reason they are dropping like flies is that they weren't really promoters to begin with. They were posers who got lucky on a cold call and scammed someone into hiring them. Unfortunately I-Hub has spawned a great many little wannabes that spend 10 dollars and buy a domain name from Yahoo or someone and build themselves a website and they even manage to get themselves hired a couple of times and then reality sets in and they see that they are in over their heads and they can either keep finding new victims or they decide to take the high road and take their ineffective selves on down the road.
Disclosures with little piddly amounts make me laugh..what are you gonna do to move a stock when you get paid $1,500 or less. Trouble is a few of these posers have actually been paid well over $10,000. I have called a few of the "third parties" that have hired them and they are none too happy to say the least.
whistles the amazing thing is when you ask them who they are?
They attack you and claim they have done nothing wrong!
Amazing they can break the law and feel good about it!
-Sands
Interesting, so few of them actually did follow the law and disclose properly it is sad anyways. Lots of "3rd parties" not real names, just as shameful as not disclosing.
I can only think of one person who has actually fully disclosed (of those that I have read) most have lots of "3rd parties" instead of names.
Investor Relations Professional (IRP) Members
I see the attrition drop out rate of the [IRP's] is rapidly increasing?
Originally there were 28 active IRP's now the ratio is:
1. Active 17
2. Inactive 11
I see the way this program works is if your hot you pay and if your not you don't pay!
-Sands
Spam from ;
aishamel98@yahoo.com
DEAR SIR,
I KNOW THAT MY MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE SINCE I DON'T KNOW YOU IN PERSON OR MET WITH YOU BEFORE,BUT I AM OF THE BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE OBLIGED TO COME TO MY ASSISTANCE AFTER HEARING ABOUT MY SITUATION.I AM MEL AISHA FATIMA,THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF LATE MR AND MRS.MEL GEORGE KANTE.MY FATHER WAS A VERY WEALTHY COCOA MERCHANT BASED IN ABIDJAN,THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF IVORY COAST BEFORE HE WAS POISONED TO DEATH BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES ON ONE OF THEIR OUTING TO DISCUSS ON A BUSINESS.WHEN MY MOTHER DIED , MY FATHER TOOK ME SO SPECIAL BECAUSE I AM MOTHERLESS. BEFORE THE DEATH OF MY FATHER ON 29TH JUNE 2007 IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL HERE IN ABIDJAN. HE SECRETLY CALLED ME ON HIS BEDSIDE AND TOLD ME THAT HE HAS A SUM OF US$ 10,500,000 (TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND, UNITED STATES DOLLARS) LEFT IN A FIXED DEPOSIT ACCOUNT IN A LOCAL BANK HERE IN ABIDJAN, THAT HE USED MY NAME AS HIS ONLY DAUGHTER FOR THE NEXT OF KIN IN DEPOSIT OF THE FUND. HE ALSO EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS WEALTH THAT HE WAS POISONED BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES. THAT I SHOULD SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER IN A COUNTRY OF MY CHOICE WHERE I WILL TRANSFER THIS MONEY AND USE IT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSE, (SUCH AS REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT)
SIR, I AM HONORABLY SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.
1)TO PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO
2)TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND SINCE I AM A GIRL OF 20 YEARS
3)TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR ME TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY AFTER THE MONEY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED.
MOREOVER, SIR, I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 20% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS COMPENSATION FOR YOUR EFFORT/INPUT
THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER OF THIS FUND TO YOUR NOMINATED ACCOUNT OVERSEAS.FURTHER MORE, YOU CAN
INDICATE YOUR OPTION TOWARDS ASSISTING ME AS I BELIEVE THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY INTEREST TO ASSIST ME. ANTICIPATING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS aishamel98@yahoo.com
THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
AISHA.
PPRW - got a SPAM email on this one this AM cause I allegedly "gave permission during a telephone survey" that it was OK for them to send me this crap...lol...NOT...
Shameful, but not unexpected. It is more of a cash grab than an action to actually help investors in any meaningful way.
Buyers beware with this new IRP program on IH. Public TOS compliant posts requesting to know who the third party generic payers are are being deleted by the administration as TOS or off topic..
Many IRP's are not complying with public information that they need and are required to provide when asked!
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=33456726
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=33457408
regards
Sands
will probably lose his CA state bar license as well.. or at least he should.
Junk Faxes to Promote Stock; Signalife Loses Lawsuit
http://www.knobias.com/story.htm?eid=3.1.f275d1b75a8b45267c5519ae04a78b714e97f420528599f5ebdbe706f2dfd505
amex:SGN - otcbb:SGNX - pk:SGAL
Peter Strojnik, P.C. Files First Amended Complaint Alleging Signalife, Inc. Engaged in Mass Broadcasting of Junk Faxes to Promote Its Stock; Signalife Loses Strojnik Lawsuit
Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:30ET
PHOENIX, Nov 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- On October 7, 2008, Peter Strojnik, P.C. filed a first amended complaint in its proposed class action lawsuit against Signalife, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, case number 2:08-cv-1116, alleging the medical supply company engaged in a mass-broadcast of junk faxes to promote its stock.
President and CEO of Peter Strojnik, P.C., Peter Strojnik, opined that Signalife certainly has a motive to pump up the price of their stock. The Complaint alleges "Signalife had a net loss for the six months ending June 20, 2008 in the amount of $8,826,795.00." Mr. Strojnik added, "Signalife admitted in a recent Form 10Q that they had no revenues from product sales during the first half of 2008." Indeed, the Complaint alleges "Signalife has no sales revenues and admits ... that its inability to generate revenues could cause it to go out of business."
Signalife has not gone out of business, but they have been delisted from the American Stock Exchange. In fact, Signalife recently affected a 4500 for 1 reverse stock split and started trading on the OTCBB and Pink Sheets.
Mr. Strojnik explained that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act awards damages at a minimum of $500 for each unsolicited fax. The proposed class action lawsuit against Signalife and others alleges Defendants broadcasted between approximately 12 million to 16 million unsolicited faxes.
In what Mr. Strojnik opined was a defense tactic, Signalife, Inc. filed a Complaint for Declaratory Relief against Peter Strojnik, P.C. in Los Angeles. Signalife sought a decree that it did not violate the TCPA. After several months of argument and deliberations, Orange County Superior Court dismissed the case.
Peter Strojnik, P.C.'s proposed class action lawsuit alleges that "The purpose of the Unsolicited Fax was to manipulate SGN stock or any publicly traded Signalife stock in the securities market." Mr. Strojnik opined, "Signalife cannot be allowed to violate federal law without redress for the regular people who receive these annoying faxes." Paraphrasing the allegations of the Complaint, Mr. Strojnik stated, "In my opinion, Signalife or its insiders hired a third party fax blaster to broadcast millions of faxes promoting its stock." Indeed, Signalife admits in its most recent Form 10Q that they are "in discussions with a number of large third party marketing and distribution partners with the manpower and financial resources to more quickly and aggressively promote [its] products."
Other defendants in the class action lawsuit include Digitalspeed Communications, Inc. and Adam Harris Pasternack.
For more information, please contact Peter Strojnik at ps@strojnik.com or at (602) 524-6602.
SOURCE: Peter Strojnik, P.C.
Peter Strojnik, P.C.
Peter Strojnik, 602-524-6602
ps@strojnik.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
CARMINE J. BUA is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an attorney.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2008/34-58919.pdf
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Before the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES EXHCANE ACT OF 1934 Release No. 58919 / November 7, 2008
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING File No. 3-13288
In the Matter of CARMINE J. BUA, Respondent.
ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO RULE 102(e) OF THE COMMISSION'S RULES OF PRACTICE, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
I.
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted against Carmine J. Bua ("Respondent" or "Bua") pursuant to Rule 102(e)(3)(i) of the Commission's Rules of Practice.[1]
[1] Rule 102(e)(3)(i) provides, in relevant part, that:
The Commission, with due regard to the public interest and without preliminary hearing, may, by order, . . . suspend from appearing or practicing before it any . . . attorney . . . who has been by name . . . permanently enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction, by reason of his or her misconduct in an action brought by the Commission, from violating or aiding and abetting the violation of any provision of the Federal securities laws or of the rules and regulations thereunder.
II.
In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer of Settlement (the "Offer") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission's jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of these proceedings, and the finding contained in Section III.2 below, which is admitted, Respondent consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Rule 102(e) of the Commission's Rules of Practice, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions ("Order"), as set forth below.
III.
On the basis of this Order and Respondent's Offer, the Commission finds that:
1. Bua is a corporate and securities attorney licensed to practice law in the State of California. Bua, 69, is a resident of San Diego, California.
2. On May 28, 2008, a judgment was entered by consent against Bua, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, in the civil action entitled Securities and Exchange Commission v. Global Development & Environmental Resources, Inc., et al., Civil Action Number 8:08-cv-00993-JDW-MAP, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
3. The Commission's complaint alleged that Bua drafted numerous legal documents in furtherance of a fraudulent scheme to illegally issue free-trading shares of Global Development & Environmental Resources, Inc. ("Global"), including an attorney opinion letter that directed Global's transfer agent to improperly issue nearly 2.7 million shares to three foreign entities that sold their shares to the investing public during a fraudulent promotional campaign.
IV.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanction agreed to in Bua's Offer.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, effective immediately, that Bua is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an attorney.
By the Commission.
Florence E. Harmon Acting Secretary
I started a separate IRP board styled after the parking lot board to get the hash and trash off of Matt's IRP board.
Evidently Matt would rather it stay on his board though.
Phil
Matt zapped it.
Phil
The IRP board was designated for IRP's to make improvement suggestions/enhancements for the program as to not waste space on the Q & A board.
It wasn't designed for others to bash/trash IRP's.
I think you posted it at the appropriate place and I do appreciate this board sands :)
phil ... I just went to post it on the board and it seems to have vanished? Is it my computer or did admin torch it?
I can't find it in my favorites or in my posts or yours? Has something happened to it?
-Sands
Be sure to post that on our IRP board.
TIA,
Phil
Pump&Dump.con:
Tips for Avoiding Stock Scams
on the Internet
One of the most common Internet frauds involves the classic "pump and dump" scheme. Here's how it works: A company's web site may feature a glowing press release about its financial health or some new product or innovation. Newsletters that purport to offer unbiased recommendations may suddenly tout the company as the latest "hot" stock. Messages in chat rooms and bulletin board postings may urge you to buy the stock quickly or to sell before the price goes down. Or you may even hear the company mentioned by a radio or TV analyst.
Unwitting investors then purchase the stock in droves, creating high demand and pumping up the price. But when the fraudsters behind the scheme sell their shares at the peak and stop hyping the stock, the price plummets, and investors lose their money.
Fraudsters frequently use this ploy with small, thinly traded companies because it's easier to manipulate a stock when there's little or no information available about the company. To steer clear of potential scams, always investigate before you invest:
Consider the Source
When you see an offer on the Internet, assume it is a scam, until you can prove through your own research that it is legitimate. And remember that the people touting the stock may well be insiders of the company or paid promoters who stand to profit handsomely if you trade.
Find Out Where the Stock Trades
Many of the smallest and most thinly traded stocks cannot meet the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market or a national exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Instead they trade in the "over-the-counter" market and are quoted on OTC systems, such as the OTC Bulletin Board or the Pink Sheets. Stocks that trade in the OTC market are generally among the most risky and most susceptible to manipulation.
Independently Verify Claims
It's easy for a company or its promoters to make grandiose claims about new product developments, lucrative contracts, or the company's financial health. But before you invest, make sure you've independently verified those claims.
Research the Opportunity
Always ask for — and carefully read — the prospectus or current financial statements. Check the SEC's EDGAR database to see whether the investment is registered. Some smaller companies don't have to register their securities offerings with the SEC, so always check with your state securities regulator, too.
Watch Out for High-Pressure Pitches
Beware of promoters who pressure you to buy before you have a chance to think about and fully investigate the so-called "opportunity." Don't fall for the line that you'll lose out on a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to make big money if you don't act quickly.
Always Be Skeptical
Whenever someone you don't know offers you a hot stock tip, ask yourself: Why me? Why is this stranger giving me this tip? How might he or she benefit if I trade?
For more information on how to use the Internet to invest wisely and avoid fraud, be sure to visit our Internet and Online Trading web page. There you'll find a vast array of tips, including Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams.
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/pump.htm
Irate investors accused of hiring U. S. 'hit man'
Finger Severed
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=904609
Adrian Humphreys, National Post Published: Friday, October 24, 2008
Two Canadian businessmen have been arrested in the United States, accused of hiring a hit man to snatch a Calgary lawyer from his tropical island estate and kill him in an elaborate plot to recover millions of dollars lost in a flimsy investment.
The tale of investor revenge that was allegedly taken to a dreadful extreme includes a severed pinkie finger, a hit list of businessmen involved in half a dozen Canadian companies, and an undercover U. S. law enforcement agent posing as a hit man for hire.
"It's very distressing," said Richard DeVries, a lawyer from Calgary now living in the Bahamas who was the intended victim of the alleged plot.
"I am floored by it. Who would want to kill me?" he said when reached by the National Post.
According to U. S. authorities, at least two men: Nicholas Djokich, 57, of Calgary, and Eginardo De Angelis, 72, of Montreal.
They have been charged in Boston with conspiring to kidnap for the purpose of extorting money and a murder conspiracy.
The plot started on July 3 when two men went shopping for a hit man, authorities say.
In an office at Reber America Inc. in Montreal -- where Mr. De Angelis worked selling furniture to hotels -- someone interested in the hit met the accused men, according to U. S. allegations filed in court.
Mr. Djokich allegedly said the target was Mr. DeVries. He said Mr. DeVries, who sits on the boards of several private and publicly traded companies, was partially responsible for a loss of about US$175-million in investments, according to a sworn affidavit by Special Agent Derek Dunn of U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mr. Djokich gave the man a photo of Mr. DeVries, his home address in the Bahamas and documents that he said supported his claim to the money.
He asked the man to go to the Bahamas, force Mr. DeVries to wire as much of the money as possible back to him and then maybe kill him, according to Agent Dunn's affidavit. Unknown to any of the Canadians, the man was a police informant.
After contacting U. S. authorities, the informant again met the men at Reber. There, Mr. Djokich played him a tape of a conversation purportedly between Mr. Djokich and Mr. DeVries.
In the conversation, Mr. DeVries accused Mr. Djokich of kidnapping his partner, Calgary businessman William Lenz.
After playing the tape, Mr. Djokich told the man that he had, in fact, kidnapped Mr. Lenz and said they cut off a finger to make their point, according to Agent Dunn.
Sources confirm that Mr. Lenz was indeed kidnapped in Calgary on June 23, 2006, hooded and threatened to turn over money while his pinkie was severed. The digit was later surgically reattached and no charges were ever laid.
During the ordeal, Mr. Lenz apparently tried to wire US$15-million to his tormenters, but because the bank required him to appear in person, the money was not collected. Mr. Lenz could not be reached for comment.
At the Reber meeting, the informant told the two men (ICE), authorities allege.
Mr. Djokich railed against Messrs. DeVries and Lenz.
The financial dispute is a complicated one involving an investment made through Astral Enterprises Inc. to GSF Ltd. based on a contract involving a third company named Koan Investment Corp., according to documents filed in court.
The deal apparently ran satisfactorily for some years, with wire transfers from GSF to Koan from September, 1998, to June, 2001, before running afoul.
The ICE undercover agent was then told that taking care of Mr. DeVries was only the beginning. Others, as many as five men in several countries, were the next targets of the angry investors, according to the affidavit.
"One at a time," the agent said, according to a transcript of a recording of the meeting. The "hit man" would need to watch Mr. DeVries in the Bahamas for several days to learn his routine and would need some money to do it, the agent said.
"About 10 grand, up front, non-reimbursable, to go down and check out everything. If it works, that becomes part of the overall price," the agent said.
"I'm thinking maybe a boat, get a boat out of the [Florida] Keys, just go east and west, you know, the Coast Guard is only looking for boats going north and south, you know, the drug runners."
Mr. Djokich seemed keen, allegedly saying: "If he refuses and everything, f---, he's going to the fish. It's as simple as that."
The undercover agent replied: "All right, 'cause at the end of the day, you make the call.... You want me to throw him overboard, I'll throw him overboard. You want me to dust him off and put him back on the pier, I'll do that too.... I'm like a house painter. You tell me what colour you want to paint the house."
The men then communicated by e-mail for two weeks, authorities claim.
On Aug. 11, four men met with the undercover agent in a Vermont Starbucks. They arrived in a Buick with a Quebec licence plate. One of them was Mr. De Angelis, authorities alleged.
The agent was given a white plastic bag stuffed with US$10,000 in U. S. currency. The other men have not been charged.
This month, the agent told the two accused men that the plot was finalized, with the kidnapping ready to go when Mr. DeVries visited Florida, authorities say. At a final meeting with Mr. Djokich, the agent asked if there had been a decision on whether to kill Mr. DeVries.
"Angelo wants him wiped out," Mr. Djokich allegedly said, using Mr. De Angelis' nickname. They agreed to US$40,000 more as the fee, on top of the US$10,000 front money.
Mr. Djokich was arrested on Saturday in Los Angeles after flying from Calgary on a business trip.
Mr. De Angelis was arrested on Monday in Atlantic City, N. J., after arriving on a tour bus from Montreal, apparently on a pleasure trip.
Mr. DeVries said anger towards him is misplaced.
"I was simply acting as a lawyer. I received trust funds. I dispersed the trust funds and because I [moved] to the Bahamas, they reached the conclusion I must have stolen the money," he told the Post, adding there was nowhere near US$175-million involved.
"I was simply acting as a lawyer, handling trust funds. That's all I did. I was acting on behalf of a client.... The money was lost in a bad investment."
The arrests bring him comfort.
"I applaud the efforts of police, believe me," he said.
Michel Coretti, a spokesman for Montreal's Reber America, said he knows nothing of the alleged plot, but said Mr. De Angelis is a good man and will be found not guilty.
Neither of the accused men has yet secured a lawyer to represent them in the case.
Atlantic Energy (AESO) hugie email spam today!
-Sands
"Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right?"
- Jerry Garcia
Attention all-
This person has been posting on three stock sites on stocks that he's been COMPENSATED to promote but has NOT disclosed even one time of this compensation which defrauds the public.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/MemberSearchResults.aspx?alias=elcheapo
At the bottom of his STL website is his disclaimer in VERY tiny print: http://www.stocktalklive.net/disclaimer.htm
Not once has he ever posted this information, nor has it been in his signature.
Some material in these sections is provided by the advertisers, not our reporters. We will make reference to this disclaimer whenever it applies.
Copper King Mining Corporation (CPRK) has paid an advertising fee of 500,000 shares of common Stock. Synergetic Technolgies, Inc. (SYGG) has paid an advertising fee of $10,000 cash and 1,785,714 shares of common stock. Deep Blue Marine, Inc. (DPBM) has paid an advertising fee of $10,000 cash and 1,282,051 shares of common stock. Ten and Ten, Inc. (TTEN) has paid an advertising fee of 85,000 shares of common stock. Pow! Entertainment, Inc. (POWN) has paid an advertising fee of 100,000 shares of common stock. Pacific Financial Solutions, Inc. (PFUO) has paid an advertising fee of 80,000 shares. Burned Media, Ltd. (BUNM) has paid an advertising fee of 80,000 shares. Michigan Gold Mining Investments, Inc. (MGGV) has paid an advertising fee of 80,000 shares. Deep Blue Marine (DPBM) has paid an advertising fee of 130,000 common shares. Viper Networks (VPER) has paid an advertising fee of 50,000 shares plus $5000 cash. Pet Ecology Brands, Inc. (PECB) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash plus 40,000 shares of common stock. Titan Oil and Gas (TNOG) has paid an advertising fee of 650,000 shares of common stock. Seamless Wi-Fi has paid an advertising fee of 140,000 shares of restricted stock. Beneficial Holdings Inc. (BFHJ) has paid an advertising fee of 75,000 shares of common stock. Winsted Holdings, Inc. (WLHI) has paid an advertising fee of 2.7 million shares of common stock and $2000 cash. Novak Capital has paid an advertising fee of 87,000 shares of Automotive Specialities Inc. (AMVS) common stock. Wi-Fi TV, Inc. (WTVN) has paid an advertising fee of 80,000 shares of common stock. SunX, Inc. (XSNX) has paid an advertising fee of 125,000 shares of common stock and $2500 cash. Apollo Resources International (AOOR) has paid an advertising fee of 37,736 shares of common stock. Seamless Wi-Fi (SLWF) has paid an advertising fee of 200,000 shares of common stock. IBAC Corporation (IBCX) has paid an advertising fee of 66,666,666 shares of common stock. Hydro Flo, Inc. (HYRF) has paid an advertising fee of $4000 cash. Viper Networks, Inc. (VPER) has paid an advertising fee of 53,000 shares of common stock. Bentley Commerce Corporation (BLYC) has paid an advertising fee of $100,000 in trade credits in its Barter Exchange. DirectView Inc. (DRVW) has paid an advertising fee of 425,000 shares of common stock. AVL Global, Inc. has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Ekwan-X, Inc. has paid an advertising fee of 333,333 shares of common stock. Sciax Corporation (SCXC) has paid an advertising fee of 200,000 shares of common stock. Viva International (VIVI) has paid an advertising fee of 135,000 shares of common stock. Legend Mobile, Inc. (LGMB) has paid an advertising fee of $29,900 in the form of advertising airtime on 8 AM and FM radio stations it owns and operates. Diabetic Treatment Centers of America (DBTC) has paid a fee of $6000 cash. Senticore Inc. (SNIO) has paid an advertising fee of 363,000 shares of common stock. Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc. (IESV) has paid an advertising fee of 85,000 shares of common stock. Leopard Capital, Inc. (LEOP) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Nationwide Safe T Propane, Inc. (NSFE) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Global eScience Corporation has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Integral Technologies Inc. (ITKG) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Viper Networks, Inc. (VPER) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Genius Products (GNPI) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Empyrean Communications, Inc. (EPYR) has paid an advertising fee of $5000 cash. Estelle Reyna (ERYA) has paid an advertising fee of $2500 cash. ZAP (ZAPZ) has paid an advertising fee of 10,000 common shares. Biofield Corporation (BZET) has paid an advertising fee of $1500 in cash. Engine and Energy Technology Corporation (EENT) has paid an advertising fee of $1500 cash. On behalf of Millennium Biotechnologies, Inc. (MBTG) a third party has paid an advertising fee of $1500 in cash. On behalf of Reclamation Consulting and Applications, Inc. (RCAA) a third party has paid an advertising fee of $1250 cash. On behalf of Image Diagnostic Systems Inc. (IMDS) a third party has paid an advertising fee of $1250 cash. Kanakaris Wireless, Inc. (KKRW) has paid an advertising fee of $500 cash. Universal Express (USXP) has paid an advertising fee of $500 cash. Disease Sciences Inc. (DSSC) has compensated IBC $2000 cash for a two- week advertising campaign in the Corporate Reporter section starting January 07, 2002. IBC also purchased 5000 shares ($5000) of DSSC in a private offering in July 2001. On behalf of Genesis Technologies, Inc. (GTEC), a third party has compensated IBC $2500 cash for a one month advertising campaign in the Corporate Reporter section starting January 8, 2002. KBF Pollution Management Inc. (KBFP) has compensated IBC $2500 cash for a one month advertising campaign in the Corporate Reporter section starting January 23, 2002. On behalf of TTTTickets Holding Corporation (TTTT), a third party has compensated IBC $2000 cash for a two week advertising campaign in the Corporate Reporter section starting January 23, 2002.
It's a shame it had to come to this. Anytime you have a big corrupt government, it's the people that suffer. We need an absolute overhaul. You guys might want to read this:
The depression of 1929 is the wrong model for the current economic crisis!!!
By SCOTT REYNOLDS NELSON
Editor's Note: I caught up with Professor Scott Nelson at his office at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia last week. As I write my book on the economy and where it's headed I'm always glad to talk to a historian to get a professional's perspective and share notes. I assert in my book that as serious consumer demand and financial crisis led depressions go, the one that is developing will be epic. However, our current period is unlike the pre-1930s depression era. That depression was triggered by the crash of 1929 but primarily caused by bad monetary policy that exacerbated the debt deflation that followed from consumer over-indebtedness. Weakly structured consumer lending and manufacturing sectors led a sudden decline in consumer purchasing power. Demand crashed. The US depression was then quickly transmitted throughout the world via financial markets, then more slowly through disturbances in trade, which were multiplied by politically motivated disastrous trade policies, and finally war.
Our current episode has more in common with the 1870s depression which, as Nelson notes, was considerably worse. It was primarily caused by over-indebtedness in the commercial real estate sector, which mortgages were based on new forms of financing which were intermingled on the balance sheets of commercial banks with less rarefied assets that the banks added by making business loans. The era, as the poster to the left depicts, was one of broad based public participation in credit financed asset price inflation and speculation. When the commercial real estate market crashed, it took down the banks and caused the market for commercial credit to seize up, much as we are seeing today. Small businesses were hit especially hard. Unemployment spiked and a severe and lengthy depression ensued as financial markets throughout the world suffered, followed by international trade. The crisis emanated from Europe. It was the beginning of the end of Europe's dominance as the center of global economic power. Read on for the full story. Sign up here to be notified when my book is published. - Eric Janszen
As a historian who works on the 19th century, I have been reading my newspaper with a considerable sense of dread. While many commentators on the recent mortgage and banking crisis have drawn parallels to the Great Depression of 1929, that comparison is not particularly apt. Two years ago, I began research on the Panic of 1873, an event of some interest to my colleagues in American business and labor history but probably unknown to everyone else. But as I turn the crank on the microfilm reader, I have been hearing weird echoes of recent events.
When commentators invoke 1929, I am dubious. According to most historians and economists, that depression had more to do with overlarge factory inventories, a stock-market crash, and Germany's inability to pay back war debts, which then led to continuing strain on British gold reserves. None of those factors is really an issue now. Contemporary industries have very sensitive controls for trimming production as consumption declines; our current stock-market dip followed bank problems that emerged more than a year ago; and there are no serious international problems with gold reserves, simply because banks no longer peg their lending to them.
In fact, the current economic woes look a lot like what my 96-year-old grandmother still calls "the real Great Depression." She pinched pennies in the 1930s, but she says that times were not nearly so bad as the depression her grandparents went through. That crash came in 1873 and lasted more than four years. It looks much more like our current crisis.
The problems had emerged around 1870, starting in Europe. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, formed in 1867, in the states unified by Prussia into the German empire, and in France, the emperors supported a flowering of new lending institutions that issued mortgages for municipal and residential construction, especially in the capitals of Vienna, Berlin, and Paris. Mortgages were easier to obtain than before, and a building boom commenced. Land values seemed to climb and climb; borrowers ravenously assumed more and more credit, using unbuilt or half-built houses as collateral. The most marvelous spots for sightseers in the three cities today are the magisterial buildings erected in the so-called founder period.
But the economic fundamentals were shaky. Wheat exporters from Russia and Central Europe faced a new international competitor who drastically undersold them. The 19th-century version of containers manufactured in China and bound for Wal-Mart consisted of produce from farmers in the American Midwest. They used grain elevators, conveyer belts, and massive steam ships to export train loads of wheat to abroad. Britain, the biggest importer of wheat, shifted to the cheap stuff quite suddenly around 1871. By 1872 kerosene and manufactured food were rocketing out of America's heartland, undermining rapeseed, flour, and beef prices. The crash came in Central Europe in May 1873, as it became clear that the region's assumptions about continual economic growth were too optimistic. Europeans faced what they came to call the American Commercial Invasion. A new industrial superpower had arrived, one whose low costs threatened European trade and a European way of life.
As continental banks tumbled, British banks held back their capital, unsure of which institutions were most involved in the mortgage crisis. The cost to borrow money from another bank — the interbank lending rate — reached impossibly high rates. This banking crisis hit the United States in the fall of 1873. Railroad companies tumbled first. They had crafted complex financial instruments that promised a fixed return, though few understood the underlying object that was guaranteed to investors in case of default. (Answer: nothing). The bonds had sold well at first, but they had tumbled after 1871 as investors began to doubt their value, prices weakened, and many railroads took on short-term bank loans to continue laying track. Then, as short-term lending rates skyrocketed across the Atlantic in 1873, the railroads were in trouble. When the railroad financier Jay Cooke proved unable to pay off his debts, the stock market crashed in September, closing hundreds of banks over the next three years. The panic continued for more than four years in the United States and for nearly six years in Europe.
The long-term effects of the Panic of 1873 were perverse. For the largest manufacturing companies in the United States — those with guaranteed contracts and the ability to make rebate deals with the railroads — the Panic years were golden. Andrew Carnegie, Cyrus McCormick, and John D. Rockefeller had enough capital reserves to finance their own continuing growth. For smaller industrial firms that relied on seasonal demand and outside capital, the situation was dire. As capital reserves dried up, so did their industries. Carnegie and Rockefeller bought out their competitors at fire-sale prices. The Gilded Age in the United States, as far as industrial concentration was concerned, had begun.
As the panic deepened, ordinary Americans suffered terribly. A cigar maker named Samuel Gompers who was young in 1873 later recalled that with the panic, "economic organization crumbled with some primeval upheaval." Between 1873 and 1877, as many smaller factories and workshops shuttered their doors, tens of thousands of workers — many former Civil War soldiers — became transients. The terms "tramp" and "bum," both indirect references to former soldiers, became commonplace American terms. Relief rolls exploded in major cities, with 25-percent unemployment (100,000 workers) in New York City alone. Unemployed workers demonstrated in Boston, Chicago, and New York in the winter of 1873-74 demanding public work. In New York's Tompkins Square in 1874, police entered the crowd with clubs and beat up thousands of men and women. The most violent strikes in American history followed the panic, including by the secret labor group known as the Molly Maguires in Pennsylvania's coal fields in 1875, when masked workmen exchanged gunfire with the "Coal and Iron Police," a private force commissioned by the state. A nationwide railroad strike followed in 1877, in which mobs destroyed railway hubs in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Cumberland, Md.
In Central and Eastern Europe, times were even harder. Many political analysts blamed the crisis on a combination of foreign banks and Jews. Nationalistic political leaders (or agents of the Russian czar) embraced a new, sophisticated brand of anti-Semitism that proved appealing to thousands who had lost their livelihoods in the panic. Anti-Jewish pogroms followed in the 1880s, particularly in Russia and Ukraine. Heartland communities large and small had found a scapegoat: aliens in their own midst.
The echoes of the past in the current problems with residential mortgages trouble me. Loans after about 2001 were issued to first-time home buyers who signed up for adjustable rate mortgages they could likely never pay off, even in the best of times. Real-estate speculators, hoping to flip properties, overextended themselves, assuming that home prices would keep climbing. Those debts were wrapped in complex securities that mortgage companies and other entrepreneurial banks then sold to other banks; concerned about the stability of those securities, banks then bought a kind of insurance policy called a credit-derivative swap, which risk managers imagined would protect their investments. More than two million foreclosure filings — default notices, auction-sale notices, and bank repossessions — were reported in 2007. By then trillions of dollars were already invested in this credit-derivative market. Were those new financial instruments resilient enough to cover all the risk? (Answer: no.) As in 1873, a complex financial pyramid rested on a pinhead. Banks are hoarding cash. Banks that hoard cash do not make short-term loans. Businesses large and small now face a potential dearth of short-term credit to buy raw materials, ship their products, and keep goods on shelves.
If there are lessons from 1873, they are different from those of 1929. Most important, when banks fall on Wall Street, they stop all the traffic on Main Street — for a very long time. The protracted reconstruction of banks in the United States and Europe created widespread unemployment. Unions (previously illegal in much of the world) flourished but were then destroyed by corporate institutions that learned to operate on the edge of the law. In Europe, politicians found their scapegoats in Jews, on the fringes of the economy. (Americans, on the other hand, mostly blamed themselves; many began to embrace what would later be called fundamentalist religion.)
The post-panic winners, even after the bailout, might be those firms — financial and otherwise — that have substantial cash reserves. A widespread consolidation of industries may be on the horizon, along with a nationalistic response of high tariff barriers, a decline in international trade, and scapegoating of immigrant competitors for scarce jobs. The failure in July of the World Trade Organization talks begun in Doha seven years ago suggests a new wave of protectionism may be on the way.
In the end, the Panic of 1873 demonstrated that the center of gravity for the world's credit had shifted west — from Central Europe toward the United States. The current panic suggests a further shift — from the United States to China and India. Beyond that I would not hazard a guess. I still have microfilm to read.
Scott Reynolds Nelson is a professor of history at the College of William and Mary. Among his books is Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American legend (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Yeah McCain is responsible for this joke of a post.
Get real.
MC
This post is from another board re nss-could this be the reason my spam/scam emails have dropped to almost 0?:
Posted by: XXXXXXXX Date: Friday, September 19, 2008 4:59:53 PM
In reply to: XXXXXXXX who wrote msg# 101882 Post # of 101891
I talked to a guy at the SEC and he says they are now running new software that finds short sellers that do not cover repeatedly and looks for small time short sellers that short stocks hit hard on message boards. He said they will then connect the dots and things will be different, even in the pinks he said. He said the software does not care what board the stock trades on. The SEC is being forced to change the way they do things by all the failures in the market, and McCain wants everyone who feels cheated by short sellers to vote for him. I like it!
Overstock CEO Comments on SEC's New Rules Against Naked Short Selling
Overstock CEO Comments on SEC's New Rules Against Naked Short Selling
09/17/2008 15:08:00
'No penalties for financial rapists' declares Byrne
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept 17, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) chairman and CEO Patrick M. Byrne comments on the SEC's September 17, 2008 press release (see http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-204.htm) that purports to protect investors against naked short selling.
Dr. Byrne commented, "At the core of the SEC announcement is a decision that if a hedge fund naked shorts a stock, its broker isn't supposed to let them naked short again. But guess what: they were not supposed to naked short in the first place. Instead of giving the buyer who receives the fail the right to put it back to the naked short selling participant, the SEC once again opts for no penalties for financial rapists.
"If the SEC were anything but a hedge fund bootlick," continued Byrne, "it would not have taken the half-measure of a pre-borrow requirement applied only as a penalty for those failing to deliver within T+3, but would have instituted a market-wide pre-borrow requirement (as it did in its July 15, 2008 Emergency Order protecting Upper Caste financial firms), and mandatory buy-ins at T+3.
"Some questions for the SEC:
1. How will the SEC determine whether an institution is in compliance with this rule? The only way to determine compliance is through an SEC audit, something that could only occur months after the fact. In the case of a bear raid, that will be too late.
2. Where is the 'buy-in' requirement? Under the new SEC rules a crooked hedge fund can still naked short sell without settlement and keep that short open indefinitely. It appears that only future naked short sales will require a pre-borrow and that there is still no closeout requirement for failed trades.
3. What of manipulative day trading? Chairman Cox has admitted that the financial stocks did not have a significant level of naked shorts, but rather collapsed under day trading activities. The new rule fails to address this, the very activity that generated the need for the July 15, 2008 emergency order. The manipulative day trading short seller never has a position open for three days. However, under the new rules, he can still use a single locate multiple times to create the best leverage possible to drive natural investors out of the market.
4. Where are the penalties? Without meaningful penalties, these rules have no bite. The SEC needs to make sure that the rules are strictly and aggressively enforced -- both for failures to deliver that occur within the CNS system and outside the CNS system in ex-clearing trades, where, I suspect, there is naked shorting that makes the object of current SEC concerns look like small potatoes.
"Rule 10b-21, the short selling anti-fraud rule, is a carefully contrived joke. It moves from a low-penalty too-vague-to-enforce rule, to a high-penalty too-vague-to-enforce rule. Without strict and aggressive SEC enforcement (for which the SEC has zero demonstrated record) it will be just more lines of meaningless pabulum in the Federal Register.
"On the bright side, the SEC has eliminated a major loophole in Regulation SHO, the options market maker exception. There was never a good reason why options market makers should have been allowed to naked short and fail to deliver in perpetuity. For taking this long overdue action, I applaud the SEC.
"What is needed is a Congressional investigation into the abortion that is our nation's stock settlement system, focusing especially on the DTCC. A healthy next step would be to unplug the SEC and move its functions into the DOJ."
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. is an online retailer offering brand-name merchandise at discount prices. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System and can be found online at http://www.overstock.com.
Overstock.com(R) is a registered trademark of Overstock.com, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding investor protections against naked short selling. Our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or any amendments thereto, and our other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections, estimates or forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Overstock.com, Inc
SEC finally gets off the can and does something:
SEC Issues New Rules to Protect Investors Against Naked Short Selling Abuses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-204
Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today took several coordinated actions to strengthen investor protections against “naked” short selling. The Commission’s actions will apply to the securities of all public companies, including all companies in the financial sector. The actions are effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008.
“These several actions today make it crystal clear that the SEC has zero tolerance for abusive naked short selling,” said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. “The Enforcement Division, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, and the Division of Trading and Markets will now have these weapons in their arsenal in their continuing battle to stop unlawful manipulation.”
In an ordinary short sale, the short seller borrows a stock and sells it, with the understanding that the loan must be repaid by buying the stock in the market (hopefully at a lower price). But in an abusive naked short transaction, the seller doesn't actually borrow the stock, and fails to deliver it to the buyer. For this reason, naked shorting can allow manipulators to force prices down far lower than would be possible in legitimate short-selling conditions.
Today’s Commission actions, which are the result of formal rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act, go beyond its previously issued emergency order, which was limited to the securities of financial firms with access to the Federal Reserve’s Primary Dealer Credit Facility. Because the agency's exercise of its emergency authority is limited to 30 days, the previous order under Section 12(k)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 expired on Aug. 12, 2008.
The Commission’s actions were as follows:
Hard T+3 Close-Out Requirement; Penalties for Violation Include Prohibition of Further Short Sales, Mandatory Pre-Borrow
The Commission adopted, on an interim final basis, a new rule requiring that short sellers and their broker-dealers deliver securities by the close of business on the settlement date (three days after the sale transaction date, or T+3) and imposing penalties for failure to do so.
If a short sale violates this close out requirement, then any broker-dealer acting on the short seller’s behalf will be prohibited from further short sales in the same security unless the shares are not only located but also pre-borrowed. The prohibition on the broker-dealer’s activity applies not only to short sales for the particular naked short seller, but to all short sales for any customer.
Although the rule will be effective immediately, the Commission is seeking comment during a period of 30 days on all aspects of the rule. The Commission expects to follow further rulemaking procedures at the expiration of the comment period.
Exception for Market Makers from Short Selling Close-Out Provisions in Reg SHO Repealed
The Commission approved a final rule to eliminate the options market maker exception from the close-out requirement of Rule 203(b)(3) in Regulation SHO. This rule change also becomes effective five days after publication in the Federal Register.
As a result, options market makers will be treated in the same way as all other market participants, and required to abide by the hard T+3 closeout requirements that effectively ban naked short selling.
Rule 10b-21 Short Selling Anti-Fraud Rule
The Commission adopted Rule 10b-21, which expressly targets fraudulent short selling transactions. The new rule covers short sellers who deceive broker-dealers or any other market participants. Specifically, the new rule makes clear that those who lie about their intention or ability to deliver securities in time for settlement are violating the law when they fail to deliver. This new rule is effective immediately.
you should inform Eddy Mires of GRMU of that! He is not only doing just that he is documenting his fraud in his SEC filings!
-Sands
It is a huge no,no. But it's so easy to do. You can tell which company is doing it when you see share volume in the billions being dumped into the market like when I saw USXP dump billions of shares.
selling unregistered shares into the market is a huge no no.
Wow, very nice article.
I have a few penny stocks that dumped alot of unregistered shares.
PHGI is one of them.
Just my Opinion of course.
new Email spam: OEDV
Big campaign on for Tuesday's Trading.. BIG.. Sales and EBITDA and Colombian Permits in Place!!
Read on!!
Osage Exploration and Development, Inc.
Symbol OEDV
Price: $.55
Friday's Volume: 96,518 shares
Does the following validate what they are doing?? Second Quarter Results: (Source: News 8/18/08) -Record quarterly revenues of $1,081,327 for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, an increase of over 1,069% compared to $92,443 in the quarter ended June 30, 2007. -The company recorded its first positive EBITDA quarter with EBITDA of $349,392
for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. -Record revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008 of $1,115,893, an increase of over 585% compared to $162,700 for the six months ended June 30, 2007. -Total assets have more than doubled since December 31, 2007.
Holy smokes super woman that is one mean looking disclaimer there! WOW who is that?
that is compensation!
-Sands
Looks like money flow in plenty of their stocks.
Any and all posts by me are simply my opinion, DO NOT BUY OR SELL ON MY OPINIONS!
Post Unavailable
Posted by: youhavenoidea Date: Sunday, August 24, 2008 7:44:08 PM
In reply to: youhavenoidea who wrote msg# 187 Post # of 188
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=31676153
Posted by: youhavenoidea Date: Saturday, August 23, 2008 8:00:50 PM
In reply to: A deleted message Post # of 19863
Message : 2138 of 2148 Aug 23, 2008 7:28:59PM EST
Author : TheFraudStopper Posted as a reply to wilfblum
I make it a habit to NEVER get to know the CEO’s of OTC companies. While you may say that that is stupid it is, actually, quite the opposite.
I base what I do on facts and actions – not on what a company spokesman says.
Wilf, I am not saying that you are running a scam, when I say this, I am simply point out something: Those who talked to Urban Casavant, Richard Altomare, Petar Vucicevich and other scam CEO’s inevitably come away feeling mollified. The “con” in “con man” comes from “confidence”, and by definition, scam CEO’s MUST be damned good snake oil salesman.
Moreover, most of the best scams have legitimate aspects to them that can be trotted out and shown to shareholders (look at SLJB and the lumber yard tours that were used to sucker in many).
Again, I am NOT saying that DPBE is a scam, but I am saying that there are many things here that do not look right. Your unwillingness to answer simple questions that should be easy for any CEO of a public company and that would be part of even the most rudimentary disclosure causes me some concern.
As to your answer about why your T/A is gagged - nice try. I have worked in corporate finance for almost 20 years and what you say is a rationalization, not a legitimate reason. Sorry
Ya I know on the same day too! Lol you would think they would wait a little and be a little more discrete?
This company has a TA that has suspended its service. Have you ever seen that either before?
I haven't
Sands
never seen that before,crazy
absolutely crazy isn't it!
Sands
i've seen it all now sandy
omg
righty the transfer agent doesn't issue stock! LOL they are instructed by the company and keep the records on all the stock that does get issued or released through the company. Transfer companies cannot lie unlike Pink sheet CEO's. They are bound by very strict rules governed by the FTC and the SEC..
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=31644373
There records much match the DTC and they are updated nightly after trading...
All TA employees even have to be fingerprinted.. It is a very serious business. That is why I refuse to accept what a CEO or director of the company tells me when you have to call them when a TA is Gagged!
Now I have to tell you I am now initiation full coverage and research by the S&S research team on this company for a while due to all the RED flags that keep popping on a daily rate! I am not flat out calling this a Scam yet although I have made references to that possibility?
They are most certainly following the path of that route at this point in time. Now I have archived all the PR and here's is the real kicker starting with the Merger and RS announcement!
=========================================================
In this PR titled:BLUE CHIP COMPUTERWARE INC ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF NAME CHANGE, NEW SYMBOL AND REVERSE STOCK SPLIT
May 8, 2008
Pink OTC Markets News Service
New York, New York— Blue Chip Computerware, Inc. (Pink Sheets: BCHP)("Blue Chip"), today announced that its Board of Directors, pursuant to the stock exchange agreement between Blue Chip and The Anviron Corporation ("Anviron"), has approved the name change ("The Anviron Holding Company") and a 1000-for-1 reverse split of BCHP's common stock following approval by its stockholders on March 28, 2008. The reverse stock split will become effective on May 8, 2008 upon the approval and issuance of a new ticker symbol for The Anviron Holding Company (Pink Sheets: ANVH), which was approved by FINRA and NASDAQ today.
"This approval is another milestone in our completion of the acquisition agreement between Blue Chip and Anviron." said Steve Young, COO of The Anviron Corporation. "The reverse split is part of our overall strategy to achieve the optimal capital structure for Anviron," stated Marcia Corbin acting CFO for Anviron. "With this action we enable ourselves to move towards accomplishing a number of our immediate goals: 1) simplify our investors' understanding and visibility of our earnings on a per share basis, 2) attract and retain long term institutional shareholders through a higher share price and manageable share count, and 3) significantly reduce administrative, transaction and regulatory costs related to the number of shares outstanding."?
The reverse split will reduce the number of shares of Blue Chip's common stock outstanding from approximately 24.4 million to approximately 24,464. Blue Chip will not issue fractional shares as a result of the reverse stock split. For registered stockholders, the transfer agent will aggregate all shares held by each registered stockholder immediately prior to the reverse stock split and will round up each fractional share such that any fractional shares resulting from the aggregation will be converted into the right to receive one whole share of common stock.
========================================================
Now this is way too funny that very same day after that announcement how the Reverse split to a low share structure will be more manageable and attract institutional investor through a higher price what does the company go and do? LOL
They raise the AS from 25 million to 500 million! and call it a milestone for the company to achieve the optimal capital structure for Anviron
How much more hypocritical can a company be?
======================================================
BLUE CHIP COMPUTERWARE INC ANNOUNCES THE APPROVAL OF AN INCREASE IN THE AUTHORIZED SHARES OF THE COMPANY
May 8, 2008
Pink OTC Markets News Service
New York, New York— Blue Chip Computerware, Inc. (Pink Sheets: BCHP)("Blue Chip"), today announced that its Board of Directors, pursuant to the completed stock exchange agreement between Blue Chip and The Anviron Corporation ("Anviron"), has approved an increase in authorized common shares from 25 million to 500 million at a par value of $0.00001 per share following the approval by its stockholders on March 28, 2008.
The increase in authorized shares will have no affect on the company's current operations or financial condition.
"This approval is another milestone in our completion of the acquisition agreement between Blue Chip and Anviron." said Steve Young, COO of The Anviron Corporation. "The Increase in authorized shares is part of our overall strategy to achieve the optimal capital structure for Anviron," stated Marcia Corbin acting CFO for Anviron.
First they boast how the low share count will benifit the structure of the company and then an hour later they say they raised the AS :
to achieve the optimal capital structure for Anviron," stated Marcia Corbin acting CFO for Anviron.
====================================================
A company only raises its share structure for one reason righty.... Thats right to issue and sell more stock!
LOL righty, man you just can't make this stuff up! this is better than comedy central!
-Shorts&Sands
> These messages are only the opinion of the poster, are no substitute for your own research,http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=7707
NUBV just raised its share count to 25 billion and they still keep pumping and buying the stock!
-Sands
definitely need something
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Moderators Bull Trader |
Welcome to the Spam and Scam Stock Message Board!
The Spam & Scam Stock message board is intended to share info on stocks that are currently being spammed to the public by e-mail, fax, phone and internet message boards through "stock awareness" or "promtion" companies paid to "pump" a stock for the benefit of company officers.
Typically, these are the riskiest stocks since the companies are deliberately paying people to "pump" the share price to enable company officers sell stock to the unsuspecting public. Unfortunately, people buying these hyped stocks will become the next generation of BAG HOLDERS
Be advised that many stock promotions sent to the public are usually distributed by unidentified individuals seeking to defraud the public. Investors are encouraged to use care and Due Diligence (DD) in their investment decisions, as mass spam campaigns are commonly used by unscrupulous promoters in “pump and dump” schemes.
In most cases, these securities promoters and those who finance them hope to turn a quick profit when unsuspecting investors buy stocks based on unsupported or spurious claims/press releases - leading the stock's market value to plummet as soon as these promotional activities cease. Always remember that these promoters are front runners and already have received stock that they will be dumping on the unsuspecting investment community.
Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud.htm (Read before YOU LOSE ALL OF YOUR MONEY on "Pink Sheet" stocks that don't file earnings reports with the SEC.
Pump-and-Dumpers Face up to 10 Years in Jail after Stealing More than $20 Million (Sep, 14, 2007): http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=22889376
Beware of the Penny Stock Hype: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=22799151
Internet Message Boards: Pump and Dump operations rely heavily on deceiving "suckers" on the stock message boards. The relationships of stock message board companies and Penny Stock "promotion" companies appears to be growing: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=22443933
Junk Faxes: Pump and Dump operations continue to use "junk faxes" even in the age of emails.
* http://www.junkfax.org/index.html (Junk Fax.org - Dedicated to Helping Stop Junk Faxes)
*The owner of this web site has sued several Pump and Dump operations for spamming his fax machine.
* http://www.junkfax.org/fax/profiles/wsp/wsp.htm (Largest Pump & Dump via Fax in US history)
Take Action - Forward Spam Emails & Faxes To The Authorities:
SEC Email: enforcement@sec.gov
Pinksheets.com Email: info@pinksheets.com; issuerservices@pinksheets.com
UCE Email: spam@uce.gov
FBI Web site: http://www.fbi.gov
DOJ Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov (Dept of Justice)
Canada Securities Administrators (CSA): http://www.csa-acvm.ca/html_CSA/invinfo_spam_emails.html
Check PinkSheets.com For Stock Ratings BEFORE You Decide Buy!!!: http://www.pinksheets.com/pink/otcguide/categories.jsp
Caveat Emptor: BUYER BEWARE. There is a public interest concern associated with the company, which may include a spam campaign, stock promotion or known investigation of fraudulent activity committed by the company or insiders. During a spam campaign, any stock that is not in the Current Information category will also have its quotes blocked on pinksheets.com.
"Watch Out For The Skull And Crossbones": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/28/AR2007072800047.html
No Information: Indicates companies that are not able or willing to provide disclosure to the public markets - either to a regulator, an exchange or Pink Sheets. Companies in this category do not make Current Information available via Pink Sheets News Service, or if they do, the available information is older than six months.
This category includes defunct companies that have ceased operations as well as 'dark' companies with questionable management and market disclosure practices. Publicly traded companies that are not willing to provide information to investors should be treated with suspicion and their securities should be considered highly risky.
Limited Information: Is designed for companies with financial reporting problems, economic distress, or in bankruptcy to make the limited information they have publicly available. The Limited Information category also includes companies that may not be troubled, but are unwilling to meet Pink Sheets' Guidelines for Providing Adequate Current Information.
Current Information: Indicates reporting companies that submit filings to regulators with powers of review and that make the filings publicly available or non-reporting companies that make current information publicly available on the Pink Sheets News Service. The Current Information category is based on the level of disclosure and is not a designation of quality or investment risk. This category includes shell or development stage companies with little or no operations as well as companies without audited financials and as such should be considered extremely speculative by investors.
OTCQX: Companies worthy of investor consideration that have operating businesses, audited financials and provide credible disclosure to the public can qualify for the OTCQX premium market tier. Designed to meet the particular needs of small to medium-sized U.S. public companies and foreign stock exchange-listed companies, OTCQX aims to raise the visibility among U.S. investors of OTC traded companies that have strong operating models and that provide high-quality disclosure to the marketplace. For more information on OTCQX, please see www.otcqx.com.
"The SPAM & SCAM Sniff Test"
In order for a stock to be listed on the Spam and Scam Stock Board, it must meet one of the following criteria:
1. Received an unsolicited Spam email or Fax in the last month.
2. Quotes blocked and the promotional activities warning up on the pinksheets Quote page.
3. Recent merger, revere split, and/or issued restricted shares in exchange for free trading shares.
4. Recent suspension from trading, in default or Revoked with their state of corporation.
Educational Resources to Learn about SPAM & SCAM Operations:
http://www.spamnation.info/stocks/index.php
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=610
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/suspensions.shtml
http://searchwww.sec.gov/EDGARFSClient/jsp/EDGAR_MainAccess.jsp
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/microcapstock.htm
http://www.law.uc.edu/CCL/33Act/sec17.html
http://www.pinksheetstocksblog.com/
Spam Stock List: http://www.crummy.com/features/StockSpam/reports/?C=M;O=D
Penny Stocks Being Shorted: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/ViewShortableStocks.php?cntry=usa&tag=United%20Stat....
Short Interest Links:
http://otcbb.com/asp/OTCE_Short_Interest.asp
http://www.pinksheets.com/marketactivity/reg_sho_list.jsp
Verifty The Company Is Still Incorporated:
COLORADO: http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do
DELEWARE: http://corp.delaware.gov (See Services - General Information)
FLORIDA: http://oss.dos.state.fl.us (See Corporations)
GEORGIA: http://www.sos.state.ga.us/corporations
ILLINOIS: http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc
MASSACHUSETTS: http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/corpsearch/corpsearchinput.asp
NEVADA: http://www.sos.state.nv.us (Click on or scroll over Commercial Recordings then select Business Entity Search)
NEW YORK: http://appsext8.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/corpsearch.entity_search_entry
OREGON: http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.login
UTAH: http://corporations.utah.gov (Scroll over or click on searches then select Business Entity)
WASHINGTON: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/
WYOMING: http://soswy.state.wy.us/
Gagged Transfer Agents = TROUBLE - STAY AWAY:
Why? Companies that won't allow stock transfer agents to release outstanding share figures are probably selling tons of shares to pay their corporate salaries or wosre.
Select American Transfer Company (Closed - Allegedly Selling Counterfeit Shares)
118, Finch Avenue West, Suite 35
Toronto, Ontario M2N 7G2
Phone: 647.722.9581 Fax: 647.723.0366
First American Stock Transfer Company
706 E Bell Rd, Suite 202
Phoenix, AZ 85022-6642
Phone: 602.485.1346
Transfer Online, Inc
317 SW Alder Street, 2nd Floor
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503.227.2950 FAX: 503.227.6874
Integrity Stock Transfer
2920 N Green Valley Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89120
Phone: 702.317.7757
Very Informative Message Boards on Penny Stocks:
Dump The Pump: http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=9311
FAKE: http://www.atomicbobs.com/index.php?board=276
Market Scams: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=610
Reverse Split Repeat Offenderss (RS/RO): http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=3017
iHub's Pump & Dump Hall of Fame: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=9580
CEOs of Scam Companies: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=9937
Scammy CEOs: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=8927
BagHolders (SCAM): http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=2537
Disclaimer
This message board, and its moderators, are not associated with any publicly-traded companies, stock promotion companies or third-party relations to stock promotion companies.
All messages, including iBox content, are only the opinion of the poster, are no substitute for your own research, and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Please review the Investors Hub Terms of Service (TOS) for message posting rules. Posting on internet message boards is not anonymous and you can be held liable for spreading false and misleading information about people and companies. Post at your own risk.
TOS Refresher: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/complex_terms.asp
For more information about investing, Internet fraud, and micro-cap stocks, please visit the following SEC web sites:
http://www.sec.gov/sitemap.shtml
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud.htm
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/microcapstock.htm
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