My guess is that Alan has talked himself into believing that Hall told him things he didn't tell him.
So, we are left with the conclusion that AlanC is either a base liar, or complicit in the scam. I don't care how desperate he is, it does not excuse illegal activity, IMO.
First, I doubt he's talked to Hall more than once or twice. Hall seems to be pretty hard to get hold of. Second, I suspect Alan did most of the talking, and Hall made noncommittal noises. I think it's entirely possible that Alan said, for example, something like: "Any chance of a change of name an cusip?", and Hall replied that if they indeed did a merger, that would be necessary.
Then Alan called all his True Long buddies, and by the time the conversations were over, the official line was that Hall had DEFINITELY told them to expect a change of name and cusip.
