Article: ATSI Communications, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd.

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ATSI Communications, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd.

Smarter Legal Research,  02 September 2009

More detailed factual background is provided in our previous opinion in this case, ATSI Commc’ns, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd., 493 F.3d 87 (2d Cir. 2007) (” ATSI I”).

ATSI describes itself as a firm which was “founded in December of 1993 to capitalize on the opportunities anticipated by trends towards deregulation and privatization of telecommunications markets within Mexico and other Latin American countries.” In 1999, needing capital, ATSI issued four series of convertible preferred stock (“Preferred Stock”), shares of which were convertible, with minimal restrictions, to ATSI common shares in increasing amounts as the price of ATSI common shares declined. Because there was no limit on the number of common shares into which the Preferred Stock could convert, securities such as these are called “floorless” convertibles. ATSI I, 493 F.3d at 94. A holder of such Preferred Stock who wanted to increase ownership or acquire the company could actually benefit from a decline in ATSI share price. Accordingly, ATSI elicited the purchasers’ representations that they would not sell shares short, or were not purchasing with an intent to resell. Id. at 95-96. ATSI issued Preferred Stock at various points to (among others) defendants The Shaar Fund, Ltd. (“Shaar Fund”) and Rose Glen Capital Management, L.P. (“Rose Glen”).

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Article: UK denies collusion with terror suspect torture

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UK denies collusion with terror suspect torture

David Milliken, 09 August 2009

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said its security services worked to avoid colluding in mistreatment of terrorism suspects held overseas, after a report from lawmakers on Sunday expressed concern about cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies.

Foreign Minister David Miliband and Interior Minister Alan Johnson defended Britain’s intelligence links with countries where detainees are at risk of torture or other abuse in a joint newspaper article.

“All the most serious plots and attacks in the UK in this decade have had significant links abroad. Our agencies must work with their equivalents overseas. So we have to work hard to ensure that we do not collude in torture or mistreatment,” the ministers wrote in the Sunday Telegraph. Continue reading “Article: UK denies collusion with terror suspect torture”

Article: Major Investor in Russia Sees Wide Fraud Scheme

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Major Investor in Russia Sees Wide Fraud Scheme

Andrew E. Kramer, 31 July 2009

William F. Browder, once the largest foreign investor in the Russian stock market, filed court documents in New York this week contending that other Western investors in Russia had colluded with the authorities to steal hundreds of millions of dollars through tax refunds and then laundered the money through New York banks. Continue reading “Article: Major Investor in Russia Sees Wide Fraud Scheme”

Article: The Jim Cramer Indictment: Five More Counts

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The Jim Cramer Indictment: Five More Counts

Jim Cramer knows how easy CNBC is to fool. He used to play the network himself. Here are five episodes from the stock speculator’s past that could use some dusting off.

Cramer avoided any career-ending gaffes on the Daily Show last night — like say, “when a performing monkey pundit does it that means that it is not illegal!”

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Article: Jim Cramer Uses CNBC to Manipulate Stocks

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Jim Cramer Uses CNBC to Manipulate Stocks

I’ve been waiting for a good time to bring this story to Daily Kos and, since it’s CNBC day (or week hopefully), I figured now would be a good time.

By now, everyone should have heard about the ongoing war that CNBC is waging against the Obama administration and its plans revamp the economy. From it’s constant anti-Obama propaganda and commentary to its shady PR stunt to manufacture a bogus uprising against Obama’s mortgage plan, CNBC has been working overtime as a propaganda front against the Obama agenda.

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Article: Overstock and Patrick Byrne Continue Naked Short Selling Jihad

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Overstock and Patrick Byrne Continue Naked Short Selling Jihad

Thomas J. Catino, 08 November 2008

Overstock.com (Nasdaq: OSTK) President, Dr. Patrick Byrne, has continued to up the ante in his vocal public battle against a coordinated campaign of short sellers who have allegedly targeted his company’s shares. After appearing over the summer on a CNBC Street Signs segment with anchor Ron Insana, Byrne continued to emphasize that “what’s at stake here is innovation and entrepreneurship in America.” With strong words, Byrne said that his “company has been attacked and I’m not going to take this lying down.” Continue reading “Article: Overstock and Patrick Byrne Continue Naked Short Selling Jihad”

Article: SEC Focuses on Efforts by Hedge Fund Managers to Conceal Poor Performance

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SEC Focuses on Efforts by Hedge Fund Managers to Conceal Poor Performance

Caryn Mazin Schechtman; Perrie M. Weiner,  02 November 2008

The SEC has charged a San Francisco investment adviser, MedCap Management and Research LLC (MMR), and its principal, Charles Toney, Jr., with falsely inflating the price of a thinly-traded portfolio security to enhance fund asset values at the end of a reporting period so that it could avoid reporting a 40 percent loss and stave off a rash of investor redemptions. This practice, which the SEC calls “portfolio pumping,” is alleged by the SEC to violate the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The charges were filed October 16.

MedCap Partners L.P. (MedCap), a fund managed by Toney and MMR, was plagued by poor performance and investor redemptions in 2006. According to the SEC, facing mounting losses in the third quarter of the year, Toney and MMR allegedly placed numerous buy orders during the last few days of the quarter in a thinly traded over-the-counter security heavily owned by MedCap through another MMR-controlled fund. The SEC alleges that this purchasing activity caused the portfolio security to quadruple and fraudulently increased MedCap’s value for the third quarter of 2006 by $29 million; both the stock price of the underlying security and MedCap’s value subsequently declined back to their previous levels. Continue reading “Article: SEC Focuses on Efforts by Hedge Fund Managers to Conceal Poor Performance”

Article: SEC to limit shorting of Fannie, Freddie, brokers

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SEC to limit shorting of Fannie, Freddie, brokers

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that it will try to limit so-called “naked” short selling of shares in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and big brokerage firms.

The SEC will issue an emergency order stating that all short sales of shares in these companies will be subject to a “pre-borrow” requirement, said Christopher Cox, chairman of the SEC. This will last for 30 days, he said. The SEC is also planning more rule-making focused on short selling in the broader market, Cox said.

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Article: Nanopierce Technologies, Inc. v. Southridge Capital Management

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Nanopierce Technologies, Inc. v. Southridge Capital Management

Find a Case, 29 January 2008

Before the Court are three motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The three motions are addressed in the following order: first, the motion for summary judgment filed by Harvest Court (a co-defendant and subsidiary of Southridge); second, the motion for summary judgment filed by Counterclaim-Plaintiffs Kampmann and Metzinger (Nanopierce executives); and third, the motion for summary judgment filed by H. Glenn Bagwell, Jr. For the reasons stated below, Harvest Court’s motion for summary judgment is granted, Kampman and Metzinger’s motions for summary judgment are denied with respect to Counts 1, 7, 8, and 13, and granted with respect to Count 9. Bagwell’s motion for summary judgment is denied.

I. Background*fn1
In a September 26, 2000, meeting at defendant Southridge’s office, Nanopierce President Paul Metzinger negotiated an agreement with two Southridge employees, Defendants Singer and Pickett.*fn2 The negotiated agreement between Southridge and Nanopierce called for $7.5 million in initial financing in exchange for approximately 4.5 million shares of Nanopierce stock. The agreement also contained a provision providing “reset rights,” which entitled the Southridge to additional shares of common stock in the event the stock price declines. The reset clause included three reset dates (at 65, 130, and 195 days after the closing) at which additional shares would be issued if the stock was trading below the initial purchase price. Finally, the agreement also provided for an additional $7.5 million in financing at a future date, on the condition that Nanopierce’s stock met certain price and volume thresholds. Continue reading “Article: Nanopierce Technologies, Inc. v. Southridge Capital Management”

Article: Overstock.com Congratulates Bloomberg Television for Its Emmy Nomination for ‘Phantom Shares’, a Special Report on Naked Short Selling

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Overstock.com Congratulates Bloomberg Television for Its Emmy Nomination for ‘Phantom Shares’, a Special Report on Naked Short Selling

PRNewswire, 02 November 2007

Bloomberg Television’s special report on naked short selling entitled “Phantom Shares” was nominated for an Emmy(R) Award for Business & Financial Reporting by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The report, which was nominated for outstanding investigative reporting of a business news story – news magazines and long form, featured Overstock.com and its Chairman and CEO, Patrick Byrne, extensively. It examined the strategy and execution of naked short selling, the threat this poses to American entrepreneurship, and the steps regulators are taking to control it.

Patrick Byrne said of the news, “Unsettled trades in our stock settlement system present a serious problem to our capital markets. Bloomberg’s report shed light on the issue and brought it into the mainstream. It is an example of the critical, investigative mindset that is essentially absent within American financial journalism, and I am pleased to see Bloomberg being recognized for its fine work.”

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Article: ATSI COMMUNICATIONS INC v. SHAAR FUND LTD RGC LDC

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ATSI COMMUNICATIONS INC v. SHAAR FUND LTD RGC LDC

FindLaw,  11 July 2007

ATSI COMMUNICATIONS, INC., a Delaware Corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The SHAAR FUND, LTD., Shaar Advisory Services, N.V., RGC International Investors, LDC, Rose Glen Capital Management, L.P., Corporate Capital Management, InterCaribbean Services Ltd., Citco Fund Svcs., Luc Hollman, Sam Levinson, Hugo Van Neutegem, Declan Quilligan, Wayne Bloch, Gary Kaminsky, Steve Katznelson, Trimark Securities, Inc., Levinson Capital Management, and W.J. Langeveld, Defendants-Appellees,

Marshall Capital Services, LLC., Jesup & Lamont Structured Finance Group, MG Security Group, Inc., Crown Capital Corporation, John Does 1-50, Kenneth E. Gardiner, Nathan Lihon, and Sei Investment Co., Defendants. ATSI Communications, Inc., a Nevada Corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Uri Wolfson, Defendant-Appellee, Sam Levinson, Defendant.

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Article: Bloomberg TV’s Special Report “Phantom Shares” (later nominated for an Emmy for Investigative Journalism)

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Bloomberg TV’s Special Report “Phantom Shares” (later nominated for an Emmy for Investigative Journalism)

PATRICK BYRNE, 05 April 2007

Bloomberg Television has produced a shocking 25 minute exposé showing how Wall Street rogues are exploiting a crack in the system to steal tens of billions of dollars from Americans. The Bloomberg piece starts by talking about Overstock (I make a brief appearance, as a guy just trying to be a good citizen), but goes on to describe a wildly illegal scheme that hurts thousands of companies and millions of Americans with stock accounts. This may turn into a financial scandal that makes Enron look like a Sunday picnic.

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Article: Cramer bragged of manipulating stock prices

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Cramer bragged of manipulating stock prices

In an interview for a financial website, Jim Cramer, the extroverted host of CNBC’s “Mad Money,” boasted about manipulatin Cramer g stock prices when he was a Wall Street trader.

In a webcast on TheStreet.com that has been widely viewed on YouTube, Mr. Cramer spoke about bringing down the prices of a high-flying stock and admitted that his actions might have been illegal.
“A lot of times when I was short, I would create a level of activity beforehand that would drive the futures. . . . It’s a fun game,” he said in the interview with TheStreet.com’s executive editor Aaron Task.

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Article: Bloomberg TV Examines ‘Phantom Shares’ in Special Report Tonight

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Bloomberg TV Examines ‘Phantom Shares’ in Special Report Tonight

Bloomberg , 13 March 2007

NEW YORK, March 13 /PRNewswire/ — Tonight BLOOMBERG TELEVISION(R) examines a little-known stock trading practice that can be affecting your portfolio and your company. The special report, titled “Phantom Shares,” explores the problem of “naked shorting” in the stock market. The half-hour BLOOMBERG TELEVISION program is scheduled to air on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 7:00, 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. ET.

Every day, millions of shares of stock are sold but can’t be delivered because of an obscure trading practice called “naked short selling.” In a normal short sale, an investor borrows shares and sells them, making a profit if the price falls by replacing the borrowed shares with cheaper ones. In a naked short sale, an investor doesn’t borrow the shares, but sells them anyway. In extreme cases, the investor sells “Phantom Shares,” shares that don’t exist. The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION report, anchored by Mike Schneider, explains this practice, how it’s executed and what the Securities and Exchange Commission is doing in an effort to control it. Continue reading “Article: Bloomberg TV Examines ‘Phantom Shares’ in Special Report Tonight”

THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?