Replies to post #163828 on Andiamo Corp. (ANDI)

[janice shell]

Have you ever looked into what the fines are from the SEC for non-reporting, backing away, etc.?

Sure. And for mismarking trades as well. But in the grander scheme of things, it doesn't amount to much. Let's also not forget the problem with long failures to deliver. Just yesterday I was reading an interesting FINRA enforcement action about persistent long fails from a clearing firm a few years ago.

So a firm could make $50-$100k a day in the OTCBB/Pinks by committing these crimes and if, AND THAT IS A BIG IF, the SEC were to catch and fine them they might pay a $500-$1k fine.

Trouble is, a firm couldn't make NEARLY that much. Not shorting them. And that's not actually what's being discussed. What's being discussed is mysterious "offshore hedge funds" who're supposedly shorting naked.

Sure, there're problems with offshore entities, some of whom call themselves hedge funds, and with offshore individuals (or people from the States with offshore accounts). But they do the sensible thing, and play pennies long. They're insiders who often split up their holdings in nominee accounts so they won't be tagged as affiliates. They pay for promotions and dump into the pump. They make out like bandits.

Or did. That's become somewhat more difficult ever since CYNK. We're getting more cooperation from Central American and Caribbean governments, and business is no longer brisk. And of course even those people's trades were executed by US MMs. Their offshore brokerage would hold omnibus accounts with a variety of US brokers, and use them to unload the stock their clients want to dump.

Hard to trace, but easier now than once upon a time.

I do agree with you that transgressions in Pennyland aren't punished as they should be.