A stroll down memory lane hand in hand with Stevo Sulja, a prince among men. Ain't nostalgia grand ?
I guess I'm guilty of attacking their organization and their people. I wonder if I can be granted immunity from prosecution because I didn't understand the definition of "defamation".
SLJB: the silliest press release ever
If you're looking for poorly-written, amateur press releases for entertainment reading, Pink Sheets stocks tend to be a good source of material. A few days ago, Sulja Bros. Building Supplies Ltd. (OTC: SLJB) released the goofiest ones ever.
First, some background on the company: SLJB, a Windsor, Ontario based construction supply store, soared to a high of around 20 cents a share in September of 2006, as the company issued a string of press releases announcing lucrative contracts in the Middle East. For instance, on September 5th, the company announced that it had closed a cement contract in the United Arab Emirates which would generate $350 million (US) in annual revenue for the tiny lumberyard.
The stock's huge upward movement and volume raised the eyebrow of a local reporter who visited the company's office, and wrote a piece essentially saying that the reality of the company didn't seem to match up with the claims of hundred million dollar contracts. Pretty soon, the Ontario Securities Commission had halted trading of the stock (although it still trades OTC in the US) and charged the company and its officers with issuing false press releases and manipulating the trading of the stock while dumping millions of dollars worth of stock -- a classic pump and dump.
The company then issued a press release cautioning investors "not to rely upon the press releases and other public statements previously issued by or on behalf of the Company." The OSC has scheduled a hearing in July, and the stock has sunk into the sub-penny range. Then yesterday, the company issued the stupidest, funniest, most ridiculous press release that I have ever seen in my life. The title says it all: SLJB Takes Offensive Position: States Forward Momentum Toward Original Business Goals. The whole press release reads as though it was written in Italian, translated into Spanish by a computer, and then translated into English. The gist of the release is this: After publicly telling investors not to rely on its own statements, the company is going to start suing people who say bad things about the stock. Here are some of the gems from the PR (emphasis added):
LAS VEGAS, NV--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 13, 2007 -- SLJB today announced that it began a "seek and destroy" mission on all individuals and/or the organizations they either directly or indirectly represent tied to slanderous media campaigns and internet blog-site defamations...
"We can almost consider this a new source of revenue for our company," the spokesperson joked. "There are a lot of people on the hook for this nonsense, and we know who they are. We also know the platforms from where they attack our people and our organization. We will bring them all to like terms," the spokesperson continued...
