Certified moron
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Eddie aquires a new television recording studio to bring the world more entertainment like this?
The sooner people realize Eddie Vakser is a scammer, a con-man and a perpetrator of theft by deception the better off they'll be. No amount of bashing can be responsible for the sorry state of this pathetic excuse of a company. The stock is where it is precisely because of Eddie Vakser and no one else.
Eddie is a JOKE. For years this broke-ass wannabe scrambled around Dallas peddling the same sorry bullsh*t... always including his grandiose plans involving satellite TV (Hell, Eddie can't even produce a Youtube video that doesn't make you cringe). Just ask those who know him and were his partners at one time... Jack S., Chuck W., George G., James from Shoreline, Lauriston C., Chief Billy W., Ponzi jailbird Stan Leitner, the late "not so great" Paul Myer, all his ex-landlords and everyone who was forced to sue his sorry Ukranian ass.
But eventually Eddie struck paydirt when he got his hooks into running a sub-penny stock. He proceeded to put on a good show.. lots of smoke and mirrors.. pie-in-the-sky promises.. he took your money and gave you what in return???
Now it's time for YOU to make him PAY!!! Your money went somewhere!!! And it's pretty obvious it didn't go into many of the things he claimed. How many aquisitions were made with his Monopoly Money instead of cash? The Vaksers know the value of CASH..and they ain't gonna spend that if there's any way possible not to. So where is it? Offshore? CALL THE IRS... THEY'LL FIND OUT! IF YOU'RE BROKE THEN EDDIE SHOULD BE TOO. I'LL BET YOU HE'S ANYTHING BUT!!!
ARTS SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT IS LIKELY INVALID
From the start, Eddie Vakser has operated under the delusion that he can say, promise or do anything --no matter how deceptive or ludicrous-- and somehow be magically protected by his bullit-proof "safe harbor statement." But consider this:
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A safe harbor is a provision of a statute or a regulation that reduces or eliminates a party's liability under the law, on the condition that the party performed its actions in good faith. Legislators include safe-harbor provisions to protect legitimate or excusable violations.
Another definition:
Investopedia explains Safe Harbor
1. In the first case, under SEC rules, safe-harbor provisions protect management from liability for making financial projections and forecasts made in good faith.
Another says a Safe Harbor Statement is:
1.A regulation that protects individuals or corporations from the legal consequences of certain actions they undertake. For example, firms filing forecasts with the SEC have a safe harbor from individuals or businesses that use the forecasts and are subsequently damaged (that is, they lose money), as long as the forecasts were prepared in good faith. Taxpayers are offered safe harbor for favorable tax treatment of certain transactions by following guidelines issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
Here is the SEC page on this:
http://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/r10b18faq0504.htm
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Do you believe Eddie Vakser has acted in "good faith?" Do you think his actions have been "legitimate or excusable?" If not, then his "safe harbor" may be legally pierced thereby holding him personally responsible for countless violations --including pump-and-dump activity, personally profiting at the direct expense of investors, etc
ARTS= Fat Salaries for the Vakser Mafia
Some here have speculated that's the ONLY reason Artfest exists.. that it's all just smoke-and-mirrors designed to suck more money out of unsuspecting, gullible newbies. IF SO.. then that constitutes "theft by deception."
If you feel you have been deceived and robbed, contact your state Attorney General. Also, contact the IRS. If you believe the bulk of your money went straight into the pockets of the Vaksers then they damn sure better pay every penny of taxes due on it. If it turns out they have stashed money offshore to evade taxes then they need to go to prison for that. Finally, read this::
"Why Cash Incentives for Whistleblowers Are So Useful Against Control Frauds" --William K. Black.Assoc. Professor, Univ. of Missouri, Kansas City; Sr. regulator during S&L debacle
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/why-cash-incentives-for-w_b_801558.html
A look inside the warped mind of Eddie Vakser..
The following message was received via email from someone who knows Eddie well, worked with him and had to sue him:::
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"As far as Eddie...this guy is a complete nut job. I have never seen him pay anyone...and the money??? Well the stock is heading to the crapper again. He will take the money.. his mind works this way..get into a deal to screw you not to make money .I have never seen anything like him before. The sad part is he believes his own lies...I'm not kidding."
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The following from Scam.com..
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"I do not care whether I make it or not… I win EITHER WAY. EVEN IF I LOSE… I WIN… I HAVE ALREADY WON… IF I WIN, I WIN… IF I LOSE, I WIN"--- Eddie Vakser
http://scam.com/showthread.php?t=23819&highlight=vakser&page=3
(post #121)
Without an independently audited financial statement this stock well never go anywhere.. not the AMEX.. not the NASDAQ. Imo it is a JOKE.. a pathetic SCAM designed to deceive and dupe the ignorant and gullible. Eddie Vakser signs off on SEC documents as the "CEO, CFO and Principal Financial Officer." You simply cannot trust the numbers fabricated by ONE GUY... especially one guy who personally profits from the information he publishes! Just ask the people who invested with Bernie Madoff!!!
KEEP EV HONEST.. CONTACT THE IRS. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT.
BS regarding latest mystery aquisition...
Doubleday posted the following email excuse (supposedly from Eddie)::::
"Bob, we are very close to finishing the final details of the last acquisition. Which IS public and trading, that is why we did not release the ticker to avoid manipulation, but we had to release SOMETHING so that shareholders can at least SEE progress. This will enable shareholder to actually have the shares that are trading. We want to make sure that what we release now is both accurate and IS ready to go..."
Well what IS ready to "go" are his INVESTORS! Despite this pointless press release, the stock is still falling off a cliff. IMO the only reason the name of this mystery company hasn't been released is because will underwhelm the market.
Eddie needs to stop buying useless crap and start SELLING something besides bullsh*t. You can't get rich just "buying" dude.
Worth reading again...
"ARTS: You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover" Part I & II
http://quicktraders.blogspot.com/2010/02/arts-you-cant-judge-book-by-its-cover.html
Vintage Fast Eddie BULLSH*T...
"At $2.40 to $3.00, we believe that we can sustain the 30 day or so interval, and actually trade up..."
And just where did the stock close today? Oh yeah... $0.38 CENTS!!! Either Eddie is the most incompetent CEO in sub-penny history... or he's a con-man, scammer and thief. You decide.
Yahoo Finance still lists the address as...
Artfest International, Inc.
13342 Midway Road, Suite 250
Dallas, TX 75244
United States - Map
Phone: 877-278-6672
Fax: 866-534-2847
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ARTS.OB
This is the place he was evicted from before squatting at Maximedia. Eddie is so busy scamming he can't take time to update his corporate profile. He either can't or won't get his lazy-ass sister "Anzhelika Tassan-- Chief Marketing Officer" (who rakes in a salary of $150k) to do this brainless grunt work for him. This tells me that Eddie doesn't want to be found
Stock isn't down because of negative posts
It's down because there's no viable business activity underway now or in the foreseeable future! No significant income, no dividends, no business model that makes any sense, no assets, no audited financials. Read the CPA's statement wherein he repeatedly doubts Artfest can continue as a "going concern" and that it's future is dependent on "it's ability to secure ongoing financing." That means endless borrowing and selling shares to ignorant investors.
It sucks that you lost your money. But your plea for critics to keep quiet so some "greater fool" can get sucked in and enable you to dump your shares shows how little you care for anyone but yourself! You shown no longer believe in the this company and it's CEO... and you want out.
If there was any legitimate, positive news to report then the stock will rise despite what any critics say. Artfest is a turd you just can't flush.
Ask the IRS to investigate...
Eddie took your money. What did he do with it? How do you know? Where is his independently audited financial statement? His SEC filings only publish a CPA "opinion" based entirely on the numbers spoon fed to him by Eddie. If your money was not spent as claimed --or not for legitimate business expenses-- then the IRS can get to the bottom of it.
"Artchannel´s Eddie Vakser arrested"
..is the name of a thread on Scam.com (237 posts going back to March 2007)
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=23819
Post #87 on page 2 shows a copy of the arrest for "theft under $1,500" and for an outstanding warrant for "failure to pay tolls"
"He was found to have warrants and was arrested"
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=23819&page=2
Continue reading to see just what slimy, scammy, small-time hustler Eddie and his mob are. An endless stream of lies and brooken promises... going into partnership with known criminal (Bruce Bise)... trying to replicate the bankrupt "product based pyramid scheme" begun by criminal Stanley A. Leitner who now sits in prison for 17 years
Unless you think there's a huge market for watching Rhupert the curious ostrich in lingerie crapping out a football on top of a Picasso sculpture... then you've just pissed away more money
The odds of the SEC doing anything about this sh*tty little scam that results in anyone getting their money back are slim to none. At best you all might get them to yank Eddie's ability to sell more of his worthless stock.
However, a lot of money flowed into Artfest and there's virtually nothing to show for it but a bunch of press releases, websites and a Duraflame "Picasso." So what happened to all of it? I'm betting the cash was skimmed, spent on personal property and the rest stashed offshore. But there's no way of knowing without an independent audit of their financial statements.
If you agree.. and if you feel you have been deceived and screwed.. share your concerns with the IRS.
Yahoo message board is back...
since the switch back to ARTS from R/S exile as ARTSD. Of note today one poster says:
"I can't believe I lost $6000.00 on this stock. My worst loss in ever. What was I thinking! My stock is now worth $50.00. I will never sell, this way every time I log on to Scotttrade I will be re-mined of my burning."
Cheap vs. Worthless...
"Cheap" (adj): "Relatively low in cost; inexpensive or comparatively inexpensive."
"Worthless" (adj): "Lacking worth; of no use or value"
I'm not Newman. I used to hammer this POS and it's POS CEO on the Yahoo Finance message boards. I only landed here after Eddie switched the stock symbol in order to do away with the litany of critics there. The new page he set up doesn't allow a message board.
Investors deserve to know the TRUTH..
Enough with the lies, the spin, the 'half truths,' the barely-legal, the hiding behind 'safe harbor' statments. Eddie Vakser issued a blizzard of public statements and, consequently, took in a SH*TLOAD of money from investors. SO WHERE DID THE MONEY GO? How was it used?
As far as I can tell, there has NEVER been an independently audited financial statement (If I'm wrong, someone correct me). The CPA statement Eddie posts is usless. As I read it it says "I'm offering an opinion based on the financial information I'm given." He makes no assertion whatsoever regarding the truthfulness of anything that followed that.
Also, as far as I can tell, Christopher Miner (Artfest's mystery "Chief Financial Officer") has never personally signed off on any financial statement!!! (Again, If I'm wrong, someone please correct me). What I HAVE seen are many filings (since the big announcement about Miner becoming CFO a year ago) that Eddie has signed in which he is also identified as being both "CFO and Principal Financial Officer."
In a nutshell... it strikes me that EDDIE MANUFACTURES HIS OWN NUMBERS WHICH ARE RUBBER STAMPED BY HIS "RENT-A-CPA," ENDORSED BY HIS PROXY CFO(i.e. Miner).. AND INVESTORS ARE DUPED BY THE ILLUSION OF HONESTY AND TRANSPARENCY WHEN THERE APPEARS TO BE NO REAL 'CHECKS AND BALANCES.'
A THOROUGH AND INDEPENDENT AUDIT IS CALLED FOR... SOMETHING THE IRS IS REEEEEALLY GOOD AT.[/B]
IF IT CAN BE PROVEN THAT EDDIE DIDN'T SPEND INVESTORS MONEY IN APPROPRIATE WAYS.. OR IF THOSE MONIES WOUND UP IN HIS PERSONAL POCKET OR SECRETLY STASHED OFFSHORE.. THEN THERE MAY BE A CHANCE THOSE FUNDS CAN BE CLAWED BACK.
Artfest is DEAD...............
Judging by the lack of activity on message boards this thing is dead --or barely hanging by a thread. Even the most deluded pumpers have given up and fled. A few buzzards are circling but there's barely enough meat on this carcass to bother with.
Eddie ought to print his Picasso statue on his stock/ toilet paper. At least that'll have him fulfil his pledge to publish it!
The average roll of toilet paper has 500 sheets (2 ply) and sells for about $1. That comes to $.002 per sheet. 24,000 sheets comes to 48 rolls (of 500 sheets) which have a value of $48
The pre "reverse split" of Artfest toilet paper valued their 24,000 sheets for $.0001 each. So 48 rolls of Eddie's toilet paper were worth a grand total of $2.40 on the day of the R/S.
Conclusion: Eddie's stock is worth 1/20th the value of toilet paper. (Actually, it's worth 2/3rds less than that based on today's price).
HERE'S HOW EDDIE DESTROYS SHAREHOLDER VALUE
"As of August 3, 2007, the Registrant (Artfest, Inc) had 28,090,629 shares of common stock outstanding."
http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHTML1?SessionID=n4qdWLAZbbqzsfh&ID=5371503
This was mere months before Edwardo got his hooks on this stock which he split into infinity. However, based on his 24,000/1 reverse split, those 28 million shares would now total 1,170. Multiply that by $.70 cents and you have a company worth $819.30.
More history on the Soldnet/ Artfest merger of July 12, 2002
On November 19, 2002, SOLDNET INC., (the"Company") consummated an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the "Agreement") with Artfest, Inc., ("Artfest") a Delaware Corporation. Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, Artfest was issued 19,685,000 shares of restricted Company common stock in exchange for 19,685,000 common shares of Artfest pursuant to a certain Agreement and Plan of Reorganization. The 19,685,000 common shares represent 80% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Artfest. Artfest provides sales, marketing, financial and e-commerce systems to the industries of Arts, Antiques, Collectibles and Luxury Goods. The markets are serviced by artists, dealers, galleries, and manufacturers of reproductions and luxury goods.
Artfest has identified a niche market to provide a group of highly integrated opportunities to the established network of dealers and artisans. Artfest is targeting the mid-market where items are exchanged with values averaging in excess of $1,000. Other companies operating in that environment such as Ebay have been successful in implementing a flea-market approach and have developed the markets with an average sale in the $35.00 range.
Artfest is comprised of four divisions: The Artfest Festival Division, The Artfest Merchant Services Division, The Artfest Internet Division, and The Artfest Gallery Division.
http://google.brand.edgar-online.com/displayfilinginfo.aspx?filingid=2063856&tabindex=2&type=html
http://www.secinfo.com/dUqRq.3mb.htm
By 2007, Artfest was basically bust and desperate for a merger
Sounds plausible. If so I wonder if convicted criminal/ ex-con (and Artfest "investor/ advisor/ consultant") Beryl Zyskind, wife "Frady" and their jail-bird inlaws "The Taubs" are involved?
Check out these slimeballs--
http://manhattanda.org/whatsnew/press/2004-07-19b.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/28/nyregion/28HOME.html
They seem to have their fingers in all sorts of penny stocks. And they were also in the nursing home industry as was former Soldnet CEO (later Artfest) director Larry Ditto. Maybe that's how they connected to Eddie.
ps: don't believe all those insane multi-million dollar philanthropy claims you see on Google for Zyskind. Talk about a campaign to rehab your reputation and squeeze out all the bad press. Still, maybe the IRS can verify his claims. Someone oughta ask ;)
Acquisition of a mystery company.. my thoughts
Announced today: "Artfest International, Inc. Acquires Controlling Interest in a Publicly Traded Company --for cash."
No name.. no stock symbol.. no info whatsoever. So either Eddie's lying or he's up to something. I don't have ANY proof of the following but (IMO) here's one possibility:
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A few weeks ago there was an feeble effort underway in Dallas to re-launch a new version of an old art based MLM that Eddie was previously involved in several years ago which ultimately went bankrupt. However, before this new version could get off the ground, they suffered a MAJOR setback and the whole thing began to fall apart. What followed (I'm told) was/is a big power struggle which included accusations, defections, etc.
I understand the acting owners/directors have been trying to persuade the remaining members (investor/creditors) to convert the IOU's issued to them by the company into shares of STOCK in a new, restructured version of the company. The conversion deal also requires members release the company from any and all liability.
As far as I know this is NOT a publicly traded company --at least not yet. I'm told they have virtually no product sales, very few assets and many liabilities. All they do have is a small, sad group of people who were sucked into giving their hard earned money over to a charismatic pied-piper (who is now gone for good) in the hope of big financial rewards someday.
I suspect this >>"might"<< possibly be the company hinted at in this press release today. If it is, I personally think it's virtually worthless and not likely to boost the stock. If it isn't, then we'll just have to wait till Eddie comes clean about his statements.
Again.. I have no proof that there has been any communication or connection between these entities and parties whatsoever. My 'safe harbor statement' applies as well ;)
He lists his favorite movies are "Boiler Room" and "Wall Street." Now that's perfect!
Their website is dead too:
http://pinkats.com/service-provider?id=1115&b=n&filterOn=2
Picasso.. Pick-asso.. Schmicasso.. what a joke-o
This thing looks like it was whittled in Nigeria for export or sale to stupid tourists http://www.masonicartfoundation.com/ Consider Eddie Vakser's and Barry Wicker's bumbling, ham-handed claims.. you just can't write this sort of comedy:
1) "Signed, and dated, Picasso 2-6-49." Picasso was notoriously hyper (time was MONEY) and constantly flitted from work to work --especially from the 1930's onward. He barely took the time to sign a painting much less invest the considerable labor required to carve and hand polish a piece like this ..much less etch a signature deep into hard wood. THEN we're expected to believe he carved the month, DAY and year on it as well? See how many of his works you can find that are signed and dated with the month, day and year. We're expected to believe Picasso went to this amount of trouble for a secret, private, uncatalogued gift to his lover? Quite a gesture for a woman who in her book "Life with Picasso" explains her 1953 walkout and breakup as being because of "abusive treatment and Picasso's infidelities."
2) There is no "Natural Gallery Museum of Art" in California. Wicker and Vaksers' claim that it was displayed in "a Picasso exhibit in Hollywood, California... side-by-side with Playboy's Hugh Hefner's Vargas Girls watercolors." Man that's some classy venue showing a priceless "Picasso" amidst a collection of cheesecake pin-up girls!
3) "The curator of the museum carbon dated the wood to be of proper period" WTF does that mean? A forger could use any old log as long as it's not younger than 1949. A stunt like this is typical of a con man.
"Signature, and date, to be valid"-- by WHOM?
4) "The statue is uncatalogued" --how very convenient to explain away the lack of provenance.
5) The late "Dr. Kenneth J Maier" (of Lake Forest, director and chairman of the Radiology Imaging Department at Holy Family Hospital in Des Plaines, IL) died in 1994 at age 61. Maier was indeed assisted in a few aquisitions for the "Art Institute of Chicago" (not the "Chicago Art Institute" as described by Master Wicker) However, his involvement appears to be rather limited from what I can find. His interest seemed to be in rare porcelain items. Above all there is ZERO information whatsoever found online connecting him to either Picasso or this hunk of wood. Where's the customs declaration.. the tax records.. travel/ passport evidence? Frankly, I'm not seeing any other provenance or evidence to backup Wicker's claims about Dr. Maier's except HERESAY!!!
Finally, let's do the math: Maier was born in 1933. Therefore, the earliest he might have been in practice was -say- 1963-ish. Picasso died in 1973 at age 91. So for young Dr. Maier (a RADIOLOGIST) to have "rendered services" so valuable enough to warrant such a gift from the 80+ year old Picasso it would have to have been within those last 10 years of his life.
So take the Picasso out of Artfest and what do you have left?
TPF Associates is still listed online as an audio/ visual production facility located at 2229 Cockrell Ave, Dallas, TX --the history of which tells you a lot about how EV evolved into the schmuck he is today.
This dilapidated space is located in a south Dallas industrial ghetto a.k.a. "Little Baghdad" (so named because the block of buildings was converted into an Iraqi street scene for the 2003 TV propaganda film "Saving Pvt. Jessica Lynch"). The block of buildings was owned by Eddie's arch enemy Jack Stadtman of Advanced Art -(AA) 2200 Cockrell Ave.. you can look up the history here: http://www.dallascad.org/SearchAddr.aspx)
Even before Eddie even heard of the International Galleries, Inc product based pyramid scheme, he saw the potential of making big money selling art via MLM. You see, for years there was a giant company in Dallas called "Home Interiors & Gifts." HIG was founded in 1957 by Mary Crowley --sister-in-law of cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash-- as a "poor person's interior decoration service. Basically they provided pre-selected accents they described as "anything for your tables and walls." HIG was eventually run by her son, Don Carter, who used a bit of his HIG money to purchase the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Interiors_and_Gifts
Long story short, Dallas Woodcraft (DW) was a major vendor of framed art prints to HI and Jack's dad was one of the 2 partners. When his dad dies, the other exercised his buy/sell agreement and bought out his former partner. That left Jack out in the cold..but with a buttload of cash. So Jack ramps up his own mini-version of DW and became a vendor of framed art to HIG as well.
Several years back, Jack buys a huge lot of investment quality, limited edition prints for pennies on the dollar from --who else-- Thomas Kinkade. So Jack frames em and unloads em (under the name "Mill Creek") with closeout discounter "Tuesday Morning." This action unleashes a firestorm of protests from collectors who had spent hundreds and thousands for the same prints at Kinkade's own authorized galleries. The lawsuits start flying.
Anyway, somehow Eddie weasles his way into Jack's graces and sets up shop in one of his run-down warehouses. Then IGI pops up so Jack, Eddie, Jim Shore, Whitbread and a few other nimrods decide to launch their own direct selling version. Before long they were screwing each other, fighting, suing and counter suing. Somewhere along the way former Dallas area billionaire Tom Hicks (owner Clearchannel media, Dallas Stars Hockey, Texas Rangers etc) buys HIG and proceeds to hire experts to fix what ain't broke. In no time, HIG as well as Jack's AA are bankrupt.
But their spectacular failures are only partly due to their incompetence and mismanagement. The truth is that the entire art and collectibles industry has been on the skids for over a decade now as witnessed by countless bankruptcies such as Lennox, Wedgewood, Waterford Crystal, Hoebel/ Hummel, Department 56, Enesco, the Franklin Mint, Danbury Mint, BC Sports Collectibles, THOMAS KINKADE, various doll and figurine companies and many more. Yet despite all this.. despite vast changes in public taste and economic realities...
TO THIS DAY EDDIE VAKSER STILL CITES "HOME INTERIORS & GIFTS" AS THE SORT OF BUSINESS MODEL HE WANTS TO EMULATE. In truth he just wants you to believe there's still the same demand, enthusiasm and money for such nonsense. They aint.
So where exactly can we see the names of these "museums and prominent collectors" who have supposedly endorsed this "Pick-asso"? I like to check people and their reputations out for myself.
If you had 24,000 shares (valued at .0001) you then had 1 (one) share valued at $2.40 after the 24,000/1 reverse split. Your $2.40 has since dropped over 2/3rds in value to $.70 cents.
Fast Eddie has painted himself into a corner!
It's obvious he struck some sort of "deal" with Barry Wicker (the owner of this Duraflame "Picasso") earlier this year. Probably some stock swap for art scheme (i.e. investor ripoff). And together they found a "rent-an-appraiser" who has speculated what it "might" by worth "IF" it were legitimate. The only thing they've failed to do is provide credible, independent proof of it's "authenticity." All they have is a line of anecdotal baloney about it being "uncataloged" and given directly to a deceased radiologist (who would have to have been very young at the time) by Picasso himself (who died in 1973) in exchange for "personal services rendered".. supposedly "before the value of his work shot up." (what a joke!)
Picasso enjoyed immense critical and financial success early in his career and was keenly aware of precisely what his work was worth. He was notoriously stingy and gave precious little away during his lifetime. Longtime personal friend, art historian and biographer John Richardson was given a small handfull of sketches and minor works over his decades with Picasso. Yet some young radiologist from the US is gifted a major sculpture? Puh-leeeaze.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Richardson_(art_historian) (Goto www.charlierose.com to see interviews with Richardson about Picasso).
Add to that that the fact that this piece bears no resemblance to other work he was doing at the time he supposedly whittled this monstrosity. I challenge anyone to produce a similar wood carved sculpture by Picasso from that same era.
Picasso is arguably THE most faked and forged artist of all time. So without any iron-clad provenance on this thing, it'll never ever sell to a serious collector for substantial amount. Now I'm not saying it can't be sold to someone at some price. Hell, you can sell a bag of dirt if you try. So here's Eddie's dilemma:
1) He fails to sell Barry's "Picasso" and Artfest keeps imploding.
2) He sells Barry's "Picasso" for much MUCH less than the appraised amount and Artfest keeps imploding.
3) He trades or barters Barry's "Picasso" for some other overly inflated "asset" (i.e. another dubious artwork) and Artfest keeps imploding.
4) The Picasso estate, licensing agents and FBI close in and confiscate this sculpture --or conduct a purchase/ sting--- and Artfest implodes as EV and BW head off to the Graybar Hotel.
Eddie has already apparently scuttled his big plans to publish inkjet canvasses of this sculpture... a scheme he announced would raise $2 million for Artfest. Ask him what happened with this!!! Was he so stupid as to swallow Barry Wicker's claim of owning "all rights.. including copyrights" which he and Eddie assured investors in SEC documents?
As always... Eddie is full of little more than grandiose promises, pledges, IOU's and "pie-in-the-sky." The stock is virtually worthless...so why isn't he buying it up left and right? How much stock does Eddie Vakser personally own?
Probably because $2.40 seemed less insane than the laughable $.0001 per share it was stuck at --with no bids-- for weeks.
Splits usually involve taking a high priced stock and splitting it in order to make more shares available to small investors. Eddie Vakser's 24,000 to 1 reverse split has resulted in your $2.40 per share being worth roughly $0.70 cents today --a further loss of 2/3rds in value. Had he not done the R/S the equivalent share price today would have fallen from $.0001 to $.00003 (adding yet another devastatingly embarrasing ZERO to this sub-penny circus.
As the old "Limbo" song goes... "how LOW can you GO?"
The legal term is "Lulling" >> >> >>
Lull (verb): "To deceive into trustfulness: e.g. "he used charm and excuses to lull his victims."
Lullaby "A soothing song with which to quiet or lull a child to sleep."
Example: "It took a bit longer for the legal to be done."-- EV
Example: "why would I lie about the most visible piece in our catalog? If the sale is not concluded by then, we will most likely get an extension." --EV (translation: Since I couldn't consummate a deal in 6 months I'll extend the charade for as long as it takes to bleed you all dry)
"WikiLeaks: Russia Is Virtual Mafia"
Why am I not surprised?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/02/wikileaks-russia-is-virtu_n_791111.html
HELP BUST EDDIE'S PICASSO INVESTMENT SCAM
Report this scam to the following... tell them how much you invested and lost based on these Picasso claims. Provide links to press releases and SEC filings>>>
North American licensing agent: Artist Rights Society
http://www.arsny.com/
Picasso website: http://www.picasso.fr/us/picasso_page_index.php
Picasso rights: http://www.picasso.fr/us/picasso_page_right-copyright.php
Francoise Gilot website: http://francoisegilot.com/
Email form: http://francoisegilot.com/frames.html
www.FBI.gov
www.SEC.gov
www.IRS.gov
The Veritas appraisal is absolutly WORTHLESS because the sculpture has never been "authenticated" by any expert. Read it carefully... nowhere does it say it's a legitimate Picasso! The Veritas estimate is 100% contingent on the piece being genuine. All Veritas has to go on is pure bullsh*t heresay from con-man Barry Wicker. Sothebys will authenticate it for FREE --the application is right there on their website-- but Eddie refuses. The exposure of their lies will sink ARTS for good
ARTFEST IS USING A MAIL DROP IN CALIFORNIA
Company: ARTFEST INTERNATIONAL INC (ARTSD)
Form Type: 10-Q
Filing Date: 11/22/2010
CIK: 0001168738
Address: 27758 SANTA MARGARITA PKWY #281
City, State, Zip: MISSION VIEJO, California 92691
Telephone: 888-692-7833
http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/DisplayFiling.aspx?TabIndex=2&FilingID=7573977&companyid=100552&ppu=%252fdefault.aspx%253fcik%253d1168738
SAME ADDRESS REVEALS:
A1 Mail (a Neighborhood Postal Center)
27758 Santa Margarita Pkwy
Mission Viejo CA 92691
Fax: 949-855-2761
URL: http://www.a-1mail.com
Artfest is apparently using "box #281
Eddie lists "new home town" as Kharkov, Ukraine
WHERE OH WHERE IS EDDIE SQUATTING NOW???
The following contact info STILL appears on the Yahoo Fincancial ARTSD "company profile" page:::
13342 Midway Road
Suite 250
Dallas, TX 75244
United States - Map
Phone: 877-278-6672
Fax: 866-534-2847
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ARTSD.OB
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This is the place Eddie was evicted from last summer and whose landlord is suing him for being a deadbeat (see the admission of the suit in his subsequent 10-K). Now you'd think Eddie could at least have his sister Angie (a.k.a. "Chief Marketing Officer") or one of his other relatives make this simple update. Then again, wby make it easier for your creditors and irate investors to find you?