Anthonette Clerigo – Page 29 – Financial Treason & Crime

Joe Ciolli, 04 October 2017

Andrew Left is back at it again. The Citron Research founder tweeted on Wednesday that the Canadian e-commerce company Shopify was a “business dirtier than Herbalife.” He also posted a seven-minute YouTube video outlining his bear case, titled “Citron Exposes the Dark Side of Shopify — The FTC Will Take Notice,” and posted a report to his firm’s website.

In the video, Left lays out the big question he has around the company: Outside the roughly 50,000 verifiable merchants working with Shopify, who are the other 450,000 the company says it has? According to Left, many of them are, among other things, influencers paid to promote the company.
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09/21/201702/25/2021

Article: TTC suing Manulife for alleged negligence related to benefits fraud scheme

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TTC suing Manulife for alleged negligence related to benefits fraud scheme

The Canadian Press, 21 September 2017

TORONTO — The Toronto Transit Commission is suing Manulife Financial for alleged negligence in connection with a benefits fraud scheme that first came to light three years ago. To date, 170 TTC employees have been dismissed, retired or have resigned to avoid dismissal, and 10 former employees are facing criminal charges for their part in the alleged fraud. In a statement of claim — filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice — the TTC alleges Manulife Financial did not have appropriate fraud management controls in place nor were there systems in place to detect and analyze unusual trends or patterns that might indicate fraud or abuse.
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09/21/201702/25/2021

Article: TTC suing Manulife for up to $5M over failure to spot employee fraud

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TTC suing Manulife for up to $5M over failure to spot employee fraud

NEWS STAFF, 21 September 2017

The TTC is suing Manulife Financial for up to $5 million for failing to spot and stop a large-scale scheme that saw employees allegedly bilk the transit agency with phony benefits claims. An investigation into the allegations of mass fraud are ongoing, but the TTC says so far 170 employees have been fired or resigned. Ten former employees are facing criminal charges in connection with the probe.

The TTC has filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Manulife. (Read full document below.) The claim alleges Manulife, which provided group benefits for the TTC, represented itself as an industry leader in combating fraud and benefits abuse. It also claimed to have systems in place to detect irregularities and weed out employee fraud.
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08/23/201702/27/2021

Article: SPRUCE POINT CAPITAL ISSUES “STRONG SELL” RESEARCH OPINION ON TSO3

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SPRUCE POINT CAPITAL ISSUES “STRONG SELL” RESEARCH OPINION ON TSO3

ValueWalk, 23 August 2017

TSO3 Inc. (“TSO3” or “the Company”) makes low-temperature sterilization systems to eliminate microbial contaminants that cause infection. Founded in 1998, TSO3 is a regular stock promotion that has repeatedly disappointed investors by failing to broadly commercialize its product and show a profit. Déjà vu, now on its 3rd attempted generation STERIZONE VP4 and its 3rd sales/distribution partner Getinge (previous partner 3M sued it), TSO3 is again baiting investors, who’ve bid its share price up 6x since 2014. Our fundamental and forensic analysis suggests investors should brace for disappointment and >80% downside.

The Canadian markets are littered with recent examples of healthcare stocks in need of urgent medical attention, wounded from over-promotion, questionable practices, and poor performance. Short sellers made early warning calls on many names down >80%: Valeant, Concordia, Nobilis, CRH Medical.
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08/23/201702/27/2021

Article: Spruce Point Capital Releases a Strong Sell Research Opinion on TSO3, Inc. (CN:TOS, OTC:TSTIF)

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Spruce Point Capital Releases a Strong Sell Research Opinion on TSO3, Inc. (CN:TOS, OTC:TSTIF)

Spruce Point Capital Management, 23 August 2017

In late January 2021, GameStop experienced a once-in-a-decade squeeze that has captivated the world’s attention. It was a premeditated and programmatic exercise, orchestrated by coordinated stock and option buying across the retail and professional community, resulting in large institutional entities losing billions of dollars. Investment houses with significant short positions did not expect a stock with GameStop’s fundamental profile to increase +2,500% in price over less than three weeks; therefore, they did not have the controls in place to handle the incredible levels of stock and call option purchases. The frenzy drew comments from the White House, provoked a social media crackdown, caused brokerage units to restrict trading, and has led to a Congressional hearing on GameStop on Thursday, February 18th.
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08/17/201707/02/2021

Article: Top Wall Street Banks Accused of Conspiracy to Control Stock Lending Market Via Threatening Tactics and Boycotts

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Top Wall Street Banks Accused of Conspiracy to Control Stock Lending Market Via Threatening Tactics and Boycotts
Cohen Milstein, 17 August 2017

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, UBS, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Face Antitrust Allegations

NEW YORK—Several of the world’s largest investment banks have colluded, in violation of federal antitrust laws, to create and maintain exclusive control of the more than $1 trillion stock loan market, reaping massive profits at the expense of investors, according to three public employees’ pension funds which today filed a federal class action lawsuit. The suit alleges that since at least 2009, six of the world’s largest investment banks—Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS—have illegally conspired to overcharge investors and maintain the power they hold over the stock loan market, obstructing multiple efforts to create competitive electronic exchanges that would benefit both stock lenders and borrowers. Continue reading “Article: Top Wall Street Banks Accused of Conspiracy to Control Stock Lending Market Via Threatening Tactics and Boycotts”

08/11/201702/22/2021

Article: Feds file fraud charge in Columbia Sportswear hacking case

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Feds file fraud charge in Columbia Sportswear hacking case

Jeff Manning, 11 August 2017

Federal prosecutors sent a message to would-be hackers Thursday, filing a single count of computer fraud against Michael Leeper, the former Columbia Sportswear information technology manager who allegedly continued to log in to the company’s computer system for years after he quit.

Leeper worked for Columbia for 14 years, topping out as director of technical infrastructure, which gave him virtually unlimited access to Columbia’s computer systems. Leeper quit in 2014 to join a Seattle technology company. Prosecutors claim he continued to access Columbia’s system for more than two years with the hopes of commercial gain
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07/28/201702/23/2021

Article: TOP 20 HEALTHCARE FRAUD CASES OF 2017

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TOP 20 HEALTHCARE FRAUD CASES OF 2017

WALTER EISNER, 28 July 2017

It has been a busy year so far on the healthcare fraud and settlements front. Our friends at HealthFinance compiled a lengthy list of healthcare frauds and settlements to date for 2017. We’ve culled the list and report on the top 20 fraud allegations and settlements ranked according to the amount of money involved. 20. $6.5 Million Carolinas Healthcare System Upcoding Settlement.
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07/20/201702/27/2021

Article: Short-seller calls Manitoba-based company ‘ticking time bomb’

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Short-seller calls Manitoba-based company ‘ticking time bomb’

Kristin Annable, Katie Nicholson, Vera-Lynn Kubinec, 20 July 2017

A Manitoba-based company targeted by a U.S short-seller put on a brave face for investors Thursday, presenting a second-quarter report it says shows it’s on the path to a record-breaking year Exchange Income Corp.’s quarterly results were released under a cloud, announced ahead of schedule after Marc Cohodes revealed he was betting against EIC’s stock earlier this month.

“The reason to report earlier was driven by the uncertainty in the marketplace, and we felt the best way to relieve this uncertainty was with facts,” CEO Michael Pyle said Thursday in a teleconference with investors. The uncertainty was driven by Cohodes’s aggressive short campaign, dubbed Mayday EIF Dividend (the company’s name on the stock market), which carries a host of allegations against the company.
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07/05/201702/27/2021

Article: Short seller Marc Cohodes now bets against Exchange Income Corp.

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Short seller Marc Cohodes now bets against Exchange Income Corp.

Jonathan Ratner, 05 July 2017

Exchange Income responded, calling the attack a “short and distort campaign” aimed at undermining the value of the company’s shares. “The short report was deliberately released immediately following the end of the company’s second quarter when EIC is in a quiet period, and is based on a number of statements, assumptions and opinions with which we strenuously disagree,” Exchange Income said in a press release. Cohodes said the company has increased its debt load by $427 million over the past five years, and issued more than $230 million of shares to fund its roughly $700 million deficit.
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05/05/201703/01/2021

Article: Who Turned Out the Lights at Badger Daylighting Ltd.?

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Who Turned Out the Lights at Badger Daylighting Ltd.?

Joey Frenette, 05 May 2017

Badger Daylighting Ltd. (TSX:BAD) nosedived 14.27% last Friday following an announcement from activist short-seller Marc Cohodes that he?d gotten a short position in the stock approximately four months ago.

In a previous piece, I?d stated that Badger was ridiculously overvalued with a price-to-earnings multiple of 41. Mr. Cohodes also believes that Badger is overvalued and could drop by a substantial amount going forward.

Badger is a rather underrated company that not many investors have been talking about until Mr. Cohodes made his short position public. Badger is in the business of exposing underground infrastructures like pipelines, electrical lines, or any other buried apparatus that needs to be brought to the light of day in a process called ?daylighting.?
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04/17/201703/01/2021

Article: Why I Wouldn’t Touch Equitable Group Inc.

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Why I Wouldn’t Touch Equitable Group Inc.

Joey Frenette, 17 April 2017

Equitable Group Inc. (TSX:EQB) operates through its subsidiary Equitable Bank, which offers a range of solutions including mortgage lending products. Marc Cohodes, a well-known short-seller who has called the downfall of many infamous Canadian stocks, believes that Equitable Group is a “poor man’s Home Capital Group Inc. (TSX:HCG),” which is another mortgage lender that Mr. Cohodes is short.

Unlike Home Capital Group, Equitable Group isn’t riding a huge amount of negative momentum, and the stock isn’t far off its all-time high. Home Capital Group, though, is down over 60% from its all-time high, and it looks like there’s no bottom in sight as the stock continues to fall farther into the abyss.

There’s no question that the Canadian housing market is overheated. Many pundits believe a correction could be in the cards sometime over the next few years. If there was a Canadian housing collapse, then both Equitable Group and Home Capital Group would get crushed, and their investors would lose their shirts.
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02/09/201703/01/2021

Article: Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK) And The Trump Tales

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Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK) And The Trump Tales

The Street Sweeper’s Blog, 09 February 2017

Northern Dynasty Minerals (NYSEMKT:NAK) may be using Trump tales to hook investors. The company appears to be allowing distribution of extremely aggressive and possibly misleading news – even suggesting the new administration has “a desire to permit” Northern’s stalled project. These claims appear to be nothing but hype used in an effort to pump up the stock.

And it’s working. The stock darted upward about 75% after a couple of key stories hit in late December and January, spreading misconception about Northern.

Northern wants to mine copper and gold deposits along Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed which supports the world’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery. But the “Pebble” project has been stalled for three years amid a firestorm of opposition and a lawsuit with regulators. Northern sued the Environmental Protection Agency in 2014 after the agency used a rare veto initiative to block mine construction before the company had applied for a federal permit. Northern lost its funding partners a year earlier after half-a-billion-dollars in costs and permitting problems.
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11/10/201603/01/2021

Article: Osiris Therapeutics: Regenerative Technologies And Restated Financials

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Osiris Therapeutics: Regenerative Technologies And Restated Financials

Cannell Capital LLC, 10 November 2016

Investing in oil exploration, gold prospecting and biotechnology is high-risk/high-return speculation. Such plays are about getting rich quick, and high hopes and dreams often attract scallywags – a desirable ingredient in short-selling candidates. We think Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (“OSIR” – $5.18), a Columbia, Maryland-based trafficker in used human tissue, is flailing and infested with vermin.

December 14, 2015 – OSIR’s auditor, BDO USA, resigns in the wake of questions about OSIR’s accounting and business practices.[1] As of November 8, 2016, Osiris had yet to file its financial results for the year 2015 or for any quarter in 2016.

March 15, 2016 – Unable to file its Form 10-K, OSIR files the esoteric mea culpa Form 10-NT instead.[2] In its last timely filed Form 10-Q [3] (August 10, 2015), the company reported 47% year-over-year sales growth that yielded a 121 days sales outstanding and 232 days in inventory! Amongst the reasons for the inflated receivables was a one-year extension of payment terms which were expected to come due in the end of 2015. It remains unclear whether these payments were ever collected.
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10/27/201603/01/2021

Article: Cohodes vs Home Capital: Testing the short seller’s claims

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Cohodes vs Home Capital: Testing the short seller’s claims

Amber Kanwar, 27 October 2016

San Francisco-based short seller Marc Cohodes has been shorting Home Capital Group since 2014. He made a number of claims, and raised questions, about Home Capital in an interview with BNN this week. We gave the mortgage lender an opportunity to respond. Below, you’ll find Home Capital’s comments.

Cohodes says Operation Trillium was Home Capital’s response to discovering mortgages that had poor underwriting standards. He believes it was initiated a year before the suspended brokers were announced. “[Operation Trillium] is somewhere between a cover up and a remediation effort,” said Cohodes in an interview with BNN. He believes it was initiated a year before Home Capital disclosed the suspended brokers.

Home Capital did not confirm the existence of Operation Trillium and instead provided this comment: “We refer investors who are interested in the facts to our quarterly disclosure, which includes information on the performance of the mortgages originated by the suspended brokers, the value of loans outstanding that were originated by those brokers, and the progress of our review of those mortgages.”
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