My Response to Monk
I am taking some time to write a response to your notes. But before I do, I think it should be noted that I did not post what you wrote on iHub nor did I comment on it publicly on iHub prior to you releasing the notes publicly. You sent me the notes and posted them on the "New Den" long before they appeared on iHub. I promised you a response prior to doing either of the aforementioned actions and I have kept my word. I'm not telling you this to engender some sort of approval, just simply stating a fact. My integrity is very important to me and I think I proved that. Below is my response to your notes. The portions you wrote are italicized.
Howdy all...
As some of you may know I have been traveling recently... What you may not know is why... Well, let me fill you in...
Last week, I met with my legal team and the SEC... I would like to share with you some of the results of this meeting...
My life for the last few years was literally an open book... During this event, my emails, posting history, bank records, and much more was all on display, even down the various settings I use on a chart and why...
Your life is an open book because of the SEC investigation. Unfortunately, this comes with the territory. 2 of the 4 stocks that you touted have been suspended and the other two are languishing off of their highs with GRNO being down roughly 90% and PNTV off about 75%. While I understand that this sucks, it is the nature of an investigation. Like it or not, there are some questions that the government would like to ask you and in the course of their investigation, they will dig into your personal life. Whether or not the investigation is warranted and whether or not the stocks you touted should have been suspended is completely immaterial. The bottom line is that a lot of people are out a lot of money, two companies have been suspended and the regulators want answers. Since you were the front man, you are going to be scrutinized. If you have nothing to hide, then there is nothing to fear. Are you innocent?
While some of you may have been falsely hearing that I have been having money transferred to some tax haven somewhere, that is completely false, and all my transactions from every account I have has been recorded and reported. In fact, some folks would have you believe that they personally called PayPal and was told about how PayPal has transferred money on my behalf to offshore accounts... And, while I am not going to point fingers or start some type of negative campaign, I will say that as of the time of that posting... I had not received one single cent from PayPal, and, I inquired with PayPal to see if such information had been released, to which they responded, there was zero chance anyone other than me got information on my account in any way, shape or form.... And, for the record, all of my funds from there were eventually sent to my local Chase Bank... Other things such as my military service and disabilities from the service as well as my educational background were also discussed, and since it seems that far too many folks will take any personal information about me and twist upside down… and some have even gone as far as criticizing my marriage so, I think you will understand that I am unwilling to share any of those personal details.
I don't know about your tax havens or if you even have them. If you do have them, I'm sure the authorities will find them eventually. If you are trying to hide them, I would suggest you come clean. The SEC has unlimited resources, you do not. Whether or not you transferred money to them is again, immaterial. If as you say, the money was transferred to your local Chase bank and as you claim, and your life has been an open book, then your statement is easy to prove to the SEC. I will not engage in speculation about what you did or didn't do, I simply don't know. What I will say is this, if you did transfer money to an offshore account and you think that writing this letter is a way to try and cover it up, it won't work. Back to my point about the resources: SEC = Unlimited vs. Jerry = not so much.
As for your military service and your education, this is especially troubling to me. I have written to many former members and some current members of the Den that these two issues must be resolved for several reasons. First of all, the military service. If you did in fact serve, why not release a DD-214? The form is a simple record of your discharge that all folks who have served will eventually get. There is nothing earth shattering in this form but it's release will give you some credibility. Scan a copy and post it for all the world to see, I don't see a problem with this. Second, your PhD. Why not release your diploma and your dissertation? Again, releasing them improves your credibility and will sure deal a blow to anyone out there who says you are not formally educated. It is my opinion that these two "personal" issues need to be resolved. Both your military service and your PhD spoke of your credibility, integrity and education. I think that these three qualities were some of the reasons why so many people trusted you with their money and their own personal integrity. As of this moment, you have none. You may not believe that and you may have others telling you that you still posses these qualities but in the eyes of all but your few supporters, you are sorely deficient in all three. I'm not trying to be nasty, I'm just pointing out the facts. Your choice to withhold documents that would in no way jeopardize your privacy would go a long way towards restoring some of what you lost. I urge you to release these documents.
Let's talk about stocks... This is what actually matters…
While many seem to believe anyone that speaks or posts about my holdings as if they have seen my trading records… and they will tell you that I have dumped everything I own or that I am a pump and dumper, Well, if I am a pump and dumper, I am the worst one ever, as I have been involved in all of the plays that I brought to the Den for this entire time... So, let's be clear, I have substantial positions in the Den plays.... and while yes, I did have a private transaction with a member of the Den who always told me to consider them a resource so I wouldn't have to carry the entire financial burden myself. I still hold millions of shares of the plays and contrary to what you have been told, I have never shorted any penny stock, especially, the Den plays...
First of all, I don't doubt that you still own substantial positions in all the den plays nor do I think I am alone in that camp. But stating that you own "substantial positions" in the den plays is one thing, revealing and proving your cost basis is quite another. Many of the Den folks bought the FLD's at substantially higher prices than I believe you did. Some bought CDIV as high at $0.60 or $0.70 only to watch it fall to where it is today. I would say, that is a substantial loss. Did you suffer a loss like so many of us did or have you only suffered a "loss of profit"? This is a key question and I think a lot of folks want his answer. Second, when and how did you acquire the shares of the FLD's? This goes back to my point about proving your cost basis. Did you acquire the on the open market or were you given shares as a form of compensation for promoting the company's you touted? You have admitted that PNTV gave you 1.5 million shares, did EIGH, GRNO or CDIV do the same? This is a very important question because it goes back to how much of a "real" loss did you take. I think you will agree, free shares are different then those bought on the open market. If free shares go to zero, nothing happens except the loss of opportunity. If "purchased" shares go to zero…well, bad things happen and in this case, they did to many people. I think folks would like to know the answers to these questions and I think the deserve to know.
I think everyone is mostly concerned about EIGH... So let's start there... Over the course of 2010, I personally purchased over $600,000 worth of shares, without selling a single share... Even though I had plenty of chances to sell for substantial profit, I did not... And, after the dividend was cancelled, not only did I not sell, I continued to add to help support the price. If I had sold my position as the price was climbing and or nearish the top... I could have netted well over a million bucks on it... Up until November, I still thought the acquisition would go through as I was told by the company we had 60 days to complete it...
EIGH – I'm not sure how you got wrapped up with these guys but I believe that was a very poor choice. All the research indicates that Mr. Kelly and Mr. Bryant are nothing more than two-bit scam artists whose game is pumping and dumping penny stocks. You may think I am echoing the "bashers" on iHub but I assure you, I have come to this conclusion on my own. NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING that the management of EIGH has ever said has come to fruition. They showered PR's on the market like a December blizzard and not one of those PR's EVER contained anything that as proven to be factually accurate. It appears they lied about everything. I'm not sure if you got caught up because of greed or because they stroked your ego but the moment the red flags started going off in your head, I think you owed it to the Den to at least let them know. Would there have been a substantial drop in price, yes; would people have lost money, yes, but it would not have been the disaster it turned out to be and you would have escaped with some modicum of integrity. I don' t know where EIGH is headed for sure but if the research I have done is correct, and I believe it is, the company is completely worthless, will never trade on any exchange again (besides the grey sheets), and will join the ranks of those companies the SEC has shut down and rightfully so. I don't know if you believe me but if you do, I think you owe it to those folks who are still holding on to hope an explanation of the facts and some closure. If Mr. Kelly and Mr. Bryant are the scam artists most folks believe they are, then I would suggest putting as much distance between them and you as possible. To use a military phrase, I would "toss them in the blades" the first chance I got.
CDIV... As I always said, with the size of my position, I would sell a little all the way up when it was strong and support when weak... this is precisely what I did... And of course, I made some profit on it... But, as I would not sell when the chart was weak or the price was coming back.... I still hold millions of shares that I could have sold for well over $2,000,000 profit.... And yet I still hold them... And for the record, I had to sell a portion of my holding within a given time frame based on my marital separation and or pending divorce at the time... again, some criticize me for making a private transaction for the sale of shares here, I think it's important to note that the person who's making the complaint against me, makes it clear that they sold their shares pretty much the minute the shares cleared, and likely the millions of other shares they proclaimed to me, they held... I sold no shares of CDIV after that transaction I held all I had and added more in support as I could...
GRNO... Again, with the size of my position, I took some off over the course of time as the chart was gaining strength. But, again, I would not sell anything when the chart was showing any kind of weakness… I still to this day personally hold well over a million shares that I could have sold for about $1,000,000 profit… Once again, I believe in the float lock down process and, while many others who will tell you I am the worst of the bottom of the barrel, were making money on their own selling, I can certainly think of several examples, but I will not point fingers or be negative…
CDIV & GRNO – You admit to selling shares on the way up. Bottom line, there is no way to justify this at all. If anyone else from the "family" knew that you were doing this and joined you in selling, they are just as guilty as you. The FLD concept was ONLY supposed to work if people BOUGHT and HELD. This was touted constantly on the boards and posted in the Den on iHub. I can recall thousands of posts, mine included, where we "added" shares but not a single post where people "sold a little on the way up". The fact that you sold is completely inexcusable. I know you don't think so but it is. Who do you think bought those shares you were selling as you "made a profit"; DEN MEMBERS, that's who! Is this any way to treat a family? Is this any way to treat folks who are depending on you and believe that you have come up with a brilliant way for the "little guy" to beat Wall Street? Honestly, it doesn't matter if you left a billion dollars on the table, the bottom line is you sold while we all were told to buy. Again, please answer my questions: what is your cost basis, and did you suffer a real loss or just a loss of profit? Most people could have very easily taken some profits on the way up, maybe taken their initial investment off the table and let the free shares ride. Why didn't they? Because you and the FLD concept were so adamant in the "Buy and Hold" approach that they couldn't. If they did, they were looked on as traitors. Maybe you didn't look at them that way but when they were hammered on by den members, you certainly never tried to stop it or at least didn't try in a meaningful way. Myself and a lot of other folks could have sold for nice profits but instead, we took huge losses while you, as you say, "made some profit on it". Inexcusable!
PNTV... I believe PNTV to be a very fundamentally sound play and they have some very prominent investors coming in to help them out... PNTV and I had originally intended to work together for long term endeavors such as filming videos on demand relating to day trading and technical analysis... With all that has happened in the last few months, it would seem the best course of action would be to keep that thought process on hold... As a result of that, I returned over 1,500,000 shares to the company to return to the treasury... I still hold a nice chunk there too... I would like to add that, the aforementioned shares were restricted for six months... I kept them in certificate form the entire time I owned them... They were never added to the float... I owned them over a year... Had I deposited and sold them, I would have netted about $750K...
PNTV – Who knows what the future holds. My guess is that the SEC is looking at them as well but who knows. Did you buy shares of PNTV? You returned 1.5 million which I think was the right thing to do but did you purchase more or are your holdings free shares. Your statement concerning your $750K potential profit is not valid, they were free shares. While you certainly missed out on profit, you did not take a loss like so many other folks did.
Now for a few more things you don't know.... People think I am wrong to charge for membership to the Den... well, I have spent nearly $200K in the past year and half on web site development.... it would be nice to recoup the costs.... But, when I have heard that folks were having financial troubles… I have routinely gifted them a subscription to help them out…
I don't know how much you spent on the Den but I'll take your word for it. Bottom line is this, I can steer you in the direction of an excellent website that was designed with threads, live chat and a few other really nice features that costs nothing for membership. The webmaster sells advertising and that's how he pays the bills. If you want an advertisement free site, I think it's about $10 a month. I've also been shown other websites very similar to what you have that are virtually free. I'm not going to say that charging $25 per month is wrong, if people will pay it, by all means, charge them $100 per month. You are selling your services and I understand that. I think people were angry with the fees because they saw portfolios down 90%+ with little hope. You could have just stayed on iHub, grabbed a premium board and banned anyone you didn't like. Heck, you could have banned Janice Shell and iHub would not have cared. iHub would have run folks around $8/month. Sure there would have been no live chat but Skype s pretty easy to use and free. Again, I'm not judging you for heading over to your website, I'm just pointing out the fact that there were other ways to do it without looking like you were just in it for the money.
For the folks that say the chat sessions we have are of no use, well, that's on you, because we have people that swear by it, and If you don't think I can trade, then I invite you to inquire of the people that are in there day in and day out and have heard me call live plays, not, after the fact saying oh I got in there and out there... I mean actual live calls that I was personally playing with live money...
Or perhaps you can ask any of the Den members that I have helped out over the last few years... the very folks that I helped financially, now out there saying negative things about me... Or the many others that I have helped and you have never heard about... As helping others is not about receiving accolades, it's about helping.... Nothing more nothing less.... Or the trip I made to Wisconsin on my dime in the middle of Winter to help out folks that Jacki asked me to visit...
I've never been in chat so I won't comment on if it works or not. Sure would be nice to get some numbers out of it though. Maybe they could be published in Monday's With Monk but that appears to have ended. If you are having smashing success, then let us know. You will never convince some folks but again, there are ways to prove that what you are doing is working and that you are helping folks out.
Well... If you have made it this far, there is a little more I would like to add... this endeavor for the past six to seven months or so has taken about 1,500 hours of my personal time and now, well over $300K in costs and volunteers have put in over 2,000 hours to help me out... and it's safe to say that class sizes will not return to pre-event levels... Registration levels are making it a loss for me to travel and hold the classes... I have been teaching some private classes for some folks that have been to the advanced and still want to learn more... Maybe, I'll stick to those as they do not require me to travel...
While I hate to see anyone in a losing position, I would be willing to bet, that I have left behind far more than anyone here... And one way or another we will all get back on track... For anyone that was a member of the Den and moved on, I wish you well and you will not hear me speak badly of you no matter what you may say about me...
Finally, you chose your words very carefully here. You use the term "left behind" not lost. This is very telling. Leaving profits behind is not the same thing as losing money.
Listen, I don't hate you. Hate is a strong word. You never made any of us hit the buy button, we are all responsible for our trading decisions. What you did do is encourage and feed the mantra of Buy and Hold which you admit to not have adhered to. This speaks to your character and your integrity. In the wake of the FLD disaster, most folks were willing to stick with you. Some jumped ship right away but I think more than a few of us stayed on and believed in you. Many folks wanted you to show leadership, take some responsibility and start helping folks make money. Instead they found a $25/month website, $10 or $15 per day live chat, and a $200/month MIAB that has yet to be proven. There are many great traders out there who make excellent calls everyday. Why couldn't you make calls on some good swing trading stocks? Many den members had good suggestions on good swing trade plays, why didn't you ever validate these plays? In the carnage, you were nowhere to be found. You released a few posts that basically said you couldn't talk about anything. Did this include calling stock plays? If so, why didn't you say so? The fact that so many people have left doesn't stem from the losses, it stems from a complete lack of integrity on your part. You had a great thing going and you blew it. I don't know if it was greed or ego, but you blew it. Your reputation has been damaged, some would say beyond repair.
I do not write these words to rub salt in your wounds nor do I do it because I get some sick sense of euphoria. You asked me for my opinion, here it is. Like it, hate it but I'm being honest and honest is all I have ever been. I wish I could take back some of the "pumping" posts on iHub but I can't. While I certainly am not proud of them, they are what they are. I got sucked in by greed and greed cost me…but never again.
AI
