After four years of lying gurus and the wackiest conspiracy theories ever concocted on message boards, the bashers once again got it right.
It was so simple, and at the time so obvious.
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Securities, and sold the shares into the market. (See SF No. 15.) Promptly after selling CMKM stock, Edwards and others wired the proceeds to a series of bank accounts, provided large sums to Casavant, and used the money for various
purposes, including paying gambling debts, investing in real estate, and generating more shareholder interest. (SF No. 16.) By engaging in this conduct, Edwards violated the registration provisions of the federal securities laws. (See SF No. 25.)
Casavant generated investor interest in CMKM by using false press releases, Internet chat boards, and “funny car” race events across the country. (SF No. 17.) To divert attention from their own dumping of CMKM shares, Casavant persuaded
CMKM’s investors that the reported high trading volume in CMKM stock reflected extensive “naked short selling” rather than ordinary stock dilution. (SF No. 18.) This promotion was extremely successful, and about 40,000 investors purchased
CMKM stock during the period of the fraud. (SF No. 19.) In reality, Casavant ran the company from his house in Las Vegas, and CMKM had no meaningful operations other than issuing and promoting its own stock. (SF No. 20.)