Month: November 2020

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Article: The Dark Money Secretly Bankrolling Activist Short-Sellers — and the Insiders Trying to Expose It

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The Dark Money Secretly Bankrolling Activist Short-Sellers — and the Insiders Trying to Expose It

Michelle Celarier, 30 November 2020

John Fichthorn had been in the hedge fund business for more than 20 years when a half-hour phone call with a stranger put him on high alert. In December 2017, Fichthorn — a veteran short-seller and the founder of hedge fund Dialectic Capital Management — had joined the board of a troubled small-cap company called Health Insurance Innovations. But when he happened to mention its name to a prospective investor a year later, the man told him an alarming detail. Continue reading “Article: The Dark Money Secretly Bankrolling Activist Short-Sellers — and the Insiders Trying to Expose It”

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Article: Top official implicated in corruption scam with FSB links

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Top official implicated in corruption scam with FSB links

The Bell, 08 March 2021

The Russian banking sector was rocked by the arrest of several high-ranking FSB officers last year who covered up a bribery scandal (as reported by The Bell and investigative outlet Proekt). This week, we learned of yet another player in the scam — the deputy head of state-owned Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) that manages failing banks. An investigation by Meduza, VTimes and Proekt found that one of the agency’s senior managers set up a system that diverted funds to rescue struggling banks into the pockets of contractors (who paid kickbacks). Continue reading “Article: Top official implicated in corruption scam with FSB links”

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Article: Former Overstock.com CEO says he’s funding ‘a team of hackers and cybersleuths’ in an attempt to prove that Trump won the presidential election

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Former Overstock.com CEO says he’s funding ‘a team of hackers and cybersleuths’ in an attempt to prove that Trump won the presidential election

JOHN L. DORMAN, 29 November 2020

Former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne said that he’s financing “a team of hackers and cybersleuths” in an attempt to prove that President Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, according to The Daily Beast.

Byrne, who stepped down from his position at Overstock last year after admitting to a relationship with a Russian spy, recently went on the One America News Network (OAN), a conservative news outlet and a favored media destination of Trump, to detail what he described as a “rigged” election process. Continue reading “Article: Former Overstock.com CEO says he’s funding ‘a team of hackers and cybersleuths’ in an attempt to prove that Trump won the presidential election”

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Article: UBS refuses to produce trading data in HFT market manipulation case

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UBS refuses to produce trading data in HFT market manipulation case

Maria Nikolova, 26 November 2020

A landmark securities class action case involving allegations of market manipulation via high frequency trading (HFT) continues at the New York Southern District Court. The latest dispute in this case, which targets major US stock exchanges, concerns trading data. In particular, the plaintiffs in this case – a group of investors, allege that UBS Securities has to provide them with a decent volume of trade data. UBS, which is not a party to the litigation, says it does not have to do that.

On November 25, 2020, UBS Securities filed a Letter with the Court, requesting that the plaintiffs’ motion to compel it to produce a heavy volume of trade data be denied. Continue reading “Article: UBS refuses to produce trading data in HFT market manipulation case”

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Article: Palantir Technologies inc PLTR: A fraud since 2003?

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Palantir Technologies inc PLTR: A fraud since 2003?

MMa2019, 25 November 2020

Palantir has not made a profit since 2003. It is a software company that offers a product called ”Gotham” for the defense and intelligence sector, another product called ”Foundry” sold to the private sector. Both products run on a SaaS infrastructure called Apollo and use Amazon’s web services (AWS) as their PaaS. In 2015, during a promotion tour for his book “Zero to One”, Peter Thiel, the founder of Palantir explains to the audience that one should be wary of “buzz words”:
Continue reading “Article: Palantir Technologies inc PLTR: A fraud since 2003?”

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Article: Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal

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Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal

Sam Jones, 25 November 2020

High-profile Kremlin critic and investor Bill Browder has threatened Credit Suisse and UBS with legal action for breaching US sanctions if they unfreeze accounts belonging to three Russian clients accused of a huge tax fraud against his investment company.

The two Swiss banks hold assets worth more than $24 million (CHF21.8 million), which Browder says were gained from fraud perpetrated in Russia against his investment business, Hermitage Capital, in 2007. Continue reading “Article: Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal”

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Article: Qatar starts legal proceedings against FAB in New York in market manipulation row

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Qatar starts legal proceedings against FAB in New York in market manipulation row

Reuters Staff, 24 November 2020

DUBAI (Reuters) – The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) said on Tuesday it has started legal proceedings in New York to compel First Abu Dhabi Bank to pay $55 million in financial penalty imposed by a Qatari court.

The Qatari regulator last year had fined United Arab Emirates’ biggest bank 200 million riyals ($55 million) for obstructing an ongoing investigation into suspected market manipulation, a charge FAB denied.

“FAB has failed to make payment against this final judgment rendered by the Civil and Commercial Court (QFC Court) in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) thereby requiring the QFCRA to take steps to enforce the court’s judgment under well-recognised measures for international enforcement of money judgments,” the Qatari regulator said in a statement.

Qatar in 2018 alleged that First Abu Dhabi Bank, the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, made “bogus” foreign exchange deals to harm Qatar’s economy after the UAE and other Arab states began a boycott of Qatar in 2017.

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Article: MPLN SECURITIES FRAUD INVESTIGATION: Hagens Berman, National Trial Attorneys, Alerts MultiPlan (MPLN) Investors with Losses to Contact Its Attorneys Now, Firm Investigating Possible Securities Fraud

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MPLN SECURITIES FRAUD INVESTIGATION: Hagens Berman, National Trial Attorneys, Alerts MultiPlan (MPLN) Investors with Losses to Contact Its Attorneys Now, Firm Investigating Possible Securities Fraud

Newsfile Corp., 18 November 2020

The investigation centers on MultiPlan’s financial disclosures leading up to- and through- its merger and going public transaction with special purpose acquisition (“SPAC”) company Churchill Capital Corp. III. More specifically, Hagens Berman is investigating the company’s and its sponsor’s statements about MultiPlan’s client base and revenues. On Nov. 11, 2020, Muddy Waters Capital published a scathing report, “MultiPlan: Private Equity Necrophilia Meets The Great 2020 Money Grab,” based in part on its interviews of former MultiPlan executives.

Among other things, Muddy Waters observes: (1) the company and its sponsors concealed the impending loss of MultiPlan’s largest client (“UnitedHealthcare”, or “UHC”) due to UHC’s formation of a competitor (“Naviguard”) that offers significantly lower prices and fewer conflicts of interest; (2) MultiPlan’s financials “have been financially engineered to obscure the decay in its business;” and, (3) “[w]e understand that in 2018, MPLN released revenue reserves, dropping them from approximately 30% to 10% of revenue, which we believe enabled MPLN to show 2018 EBITDA growth amid shrinking sales.”
Continue reading “Article: MPLN SECURITIES FRAUD INVESTIGATION: Hagens Berman, National Trial Attorneys, Alerts MultiPlan (MPLN) Investors with Losses to Contact Its Attorneys Now, Firm Investigating Possible Securities Fraud”

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Article: 4 Things to Know From DoorDash’s IPO Filing

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4 Things to Know From DoorDash’s IPO Filing

Evan Niu, 17 November 2020

DoorDash has at long last filed the public version of its S-1 Registration Statement with the SEC, nearly nine months after submitting a confidential version to the SEC. The leading food delivery platform has opened its books for prospective investors ahead of going public through an IPO. The upcoming debut comes as Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) is preparing to be acquired by Just Eat Takeaway. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “DASH.”
Continue reading “Article: 4 Things to Know From DoorDash’s IPO Filing”

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Article: DoorDash delivers an IPO filing

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DoorDash delivers an IPO filing

Robinhood Snacks, 16 November 2020

Drooling all over the S-1… DoorDash released its IPO paperwork on Friday, and didn’t hold back with the high-res food pics (so many poke bowls). Companies that are going public have to file a prospectus with the SEC so investors can get informed. Here’s what DoorDash delivered:

#1 food deliverer in the US: DoorDash has an enviable 50% share of the market. Uber Eats has 26%, Grubhub has 16%, and Postmates (which Uber’s buying) has 7%.
Sales more than tripled to $1.9B from January to September compared to the same period in 2019. 18M customers, 1M Dashers, and 390K merchants now use DoorDash’s platform.
It’s still not profitable. Buuuut: DoorDash significantly cut its net loss from $533M in the 2019 period to $149M in 2020.
Continue reading “Article: DoorDash delivers an IPO filing”

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Article: DoorDash files for IPO, shows surging revenue during pandemic

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DoorDash files for IPO, shows surging revenue during pandemic

Emily Bary and Levi Sumagaysay, 13 November 2020

DoorDash Inc., the leading food-delivery app in the nation, filed paperwork Friday morning for an initial public offering, giving investors a first glimpse into its fast revenue growth amid the pandemic — and its continued losses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a boon to delivery businesses as people have had to stay home and in many cases outsource their shopping or food pickup. The company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows just how big of a boost it has received. DoorDash’s revenue rose to $1.92 billion through the first nine months of the year, a 227% increase from the year-ago period, according to the company’s filing.

The San Francisco-based company, which said in a prospectus that its mission is “to grow and empower local economies,” intends to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “DASH.”
Continue reading “Article: DoorDash files for IPO, shows surging revenue during pandemic”

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Article: Jupiter Wellness Awarded Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Safe Sea(R) for the Entire Florida Market

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Jupiter Wellness Awarded Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Safe Sea(R) for the Entire Florida Market

ACCESSWIRE, 09 November 2020

upiter Wellness, Inc. (NASDAQ:JUPW), a cutting-edge wellness brand dedicated to providing multiple therapeutic and medical uses of cannabidiol (CBD), today announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement for Safe Sea products. The distribution agreement’s initial phase is through the end of 2021 and covers all of Florida.

Safe Sea develops, markets, and distributes the world’s first sunscreen that provides protection from jellyfish stings and sea lice. The Safe Sea line of products are also patent protected, biodegradable and safe to marine life, and provide UVA/UVB protection from the sun’s harmful rays. Continue reading “Article: Jupiter Wellness Awarded Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Safe Sea(R) for the Entire Florida Market”

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Article: Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy

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Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy

Arent Fox, 06 November 2020

On October 30, 2020, a Russian national was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a scheme to illicitly obtain and use sensitive personal and financial information online over the course of twelve years, resulting in more than $100 million in estimated losses. In February, the defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

The government alleged that, from 2007 through 2019, the defendant and other cybercriminals used “botnets,” or networks of infected computers, to engage in a large-scale scheme to steal and traffic sensitive information, such as personally identifiable information and online banking credentials. Continue reading “Article: Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy”

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Article: Jupiter Wellness, Inc. Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering

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Jupiter Wellness, Inc. Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering

ACCESSWIRE , 04 November 2020

Jupiter Wellness, Inc. (NASDAQ:JUPW) (the “Company”), a cutting-edge wellness brand dedicated to exploring the multiple therapeutic and medical uses of cannabidiol (CBD) via a multitude of convenient products, today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 933,333 units consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant for gross proceeds of $7,000,000, before deducting offering expenses. Aegis Capital has fully exercised its option to purchase up to 140,000 warrants. The shares and warrants began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on October 30, 2020, under the symbols “JUPW” and “JUPWW.” Continue reading “Article: Jupiter Wellness, Inc. Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering”

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Article: LOOP Stock: Berger Montague Investigates Alleged Securities Fraud Claims Against Loop Industries, Inc. (LOOP); Lead Plaintiff Deadline is December 14, 2020

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LOOP Stock: Berger Montague Investigates Alleged Securities Fraud Claims Against Loop Industries, Inc. (LOOP); Lead Plaintiff Deadline is December 14, 2020

Newsfile, 03 November 2020

Berger Montague is investigating potential securities fraud claims against Loop Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOOP) (“Loop” or the “Company”) on behalf of investors who purchased Loop securities between September 24, 2018 and October 12, 2020 (the “Class Period”). If you purchased Loop securities during the Class Period, have questions concerning your rights or interests, or would like to discuss Berger Montague’s investigation, please contact attorneys Andrew Abramowitz at aabramowitz@bm.net or (215) 875-3015, or Donnell Much at dmuch@bm.net or (215) 875-4667, or contact us at www.bergermontague.com/loop-industries.
Continue reading “Article: LOOP Stock: Berger Montague Investigates Alleged Securities Fraud Claims Against Loop Industries, Inc. (LOOP); Lead Plaintiff Deadline is December 14, 2020”

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