Publications – Page 160 – Financial Treason & Crime

PYMNTS, 04 April 2016

Overstock’s CEO has a reputation for having an affinity for digital currency — which has been reflected in Overstock’s business plans — and now, the company has taken that vision a step further.

The company announced late last week a $4 million investment in Bitt, a Caribbean-based FinTech firm that aims to help digital currency adoption grow in that region. Continue reading “Article: Overstock Invests $4M In Digital Currency FinTech Firm”

03/21/201603/02/2021

Article: Drugmaker Valeant CEO leaving as investor Ackman joins board

Article - Media, Publications

Drugmaker Valeant CEO leaving as investor Ackman joins board

Reuters, 21 March 2016

Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (>> Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc) (>> Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc) said on Monday its chief executive officer is leaving and billionaire investor William Ackman would join the board as it tries to clean up accounting problems and save its business.
(Reuters) – Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (>> Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc) (>> Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc) said on Monday its chief executive officer is leaving and billionaire investor William Ackman would join the board as it tries to clean up accounting problems and save its business. Continue reading “Article: Drugmaker Valeant CEO leaving as investor Ackman joins board”

03/16/201604/26/2020

Data: ShareIntel DRIL-Down

Data

ShareIntel.com provides a software-as-a-service (SAAS) called ShareIntel DRIL-DownTM that enables public companies like SHIS to proactively track equity flows and identify suspicious, aberrant and/or unusual trading activity. DRIL-DownTM identifies Banks, Broker-Dealers and Clearing Firms that have clients that are likely participants to naked short selling (counterfeiting), thus enabling public company fiduciaries to take action. In addition, DRIL-DownTM tracks critical Broker-Dealer and shareholder movement behind street name enabling public companies to identify who is buying and who is selling their shares, as well as giving them access to a plethora of additional information to help proactively identify and attract likely new investors.

Learn more (media article).

VIsit vendor site.

03/15/201604/26/2020

Article: Stop Abusive and Illegal Short Selling

Article - Media

Stop Abusive and Illegal Short Selling

MrTopStep.com, 15 March 2016

Is your company’s stock exhibiting signs of abusive short selling?

There is an epidemic of abusive and illegal shorting of stocks on USA Stock Exchanges today. The problem is regulators are not equipped to stop it on a large scale. By and large, convictions do not come from regulators policing the markets.

How to tell if your stock is being illegally shorted:

Continue reading “Article: Stop Abusive and Illegal Short Selling”

02/09/201603/11/2021

Article: UK Subsidiary of Russian State Bank VTB Reported to Serious Fraud Office Over Vivacom Sale

Article - Media, Publications

UK Subsidiary of Russian State Bank VTB Reported to Serious Fraud Office Over Vivacom Sale

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 09 February 2016

Empreno Ventures, the owner of the largest Bulgarian telecommunications company Vivacom has reported VTB Capital, the UK arm of the state owned Russian bank, to the Serious Fraud Office for the alleged illegal seizure and sale of the company to a connected party.

The criminal complaint was filed with the Serious Fraud Office last week by lawyers representing InterV and its owner Dmitry Kosarev, who is the principle shareholder in Vivacom.

In a separate legal action Mr Kosarev is suing VTB Capital in London for damages in excess of 143m euros for allegedly selling Vivacom for a price that significantly under represented the true value of the company. Continue reading “Article: UK Subsidiary of Russian State Bank VTB Reported to Serious Fraud Office Over Vivacom Sale”

02/05/201603/01/2021

Article: Amidst Allegations of Financial Misconduct, Osiris CEO Resigns

Article - Media, Publications

Amidst Allegations of Financial Misconduct, Osiris CEO Resigns

Mark Terry, 05 February 2016

Columbia, Md.-based Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced that Lode Debrabandere, president and chief executive officer, has resigned for personal reasons. Dwayne Montgomery, currently the company’s chief business officer, will act as interim chief executive officer. Frank Czworka, presently vice president and general manager of wound care, will step up as chief operating officer.

The board of directors will start a search for a permanent chief executive officer and has hired an executive search firm to assist in the process. The company indicates it will consider both internal and external candidates. The company has had some problems lately. The company is currently transitioning from research to a commercial company. A Seeking Alpha report published on Jan. 15 cited several red flags. One was that the company’s chief financial officer, Phil Jacoby, resigned in September, replaced by Gregory Law.
Continue reading “Article: Amidst Allegations of Financial Misconduct, Osiris CEO Resigns”

02/03/201605/17/2020

Article: Overstock and Merrill Lynch settle for $20 million

Article - Media

Overstock and Merrill Lynch settle for $20 million

Mark Dugdale

Securities Lending Times, 3 February 2016

Overstock.com has ended its long legal battle with a group of broker-dealers after securing a $20 million settlement from the remaining defendant.
Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation was the last defendant standing in the litigation over allegations of naked short selling, which were first brought in 2007. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $20 million to Overstock and co-plaintiffs on 28 January to settle the claims, without admitting any liability.

Read full article.

01/29/201605/12/2020

Article: Case Sheds Light on Goldman’s Role as Lender in Short Sales

Article - Media

Case Sheds Light on Goldman’s Role as Lender in Short Sales

Gretchen Morgenson

The New York Times, 29 January 2016

It would be easy to overlook the case against Goldman Sachs filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 14. It involved a complex piece of Wall Street plumbing, led to a minuscule $15 million fine and came on the same day that Goldman agreed to pay up to $5 billion to settle prosecutors’ claims that it sold faulty mortgage securities to investors.

Read full article.

01/23/201603/01/2021

Article: Osiris Therapeutics counters report questioning sales

Article - Media, Publications

Osiris Therapeutics counters report questioning sales

LORRAINE MIRABELLA, 23 January 2016

Its stock is off two-thirds from its summertime high, its auditor quit and it’s restating earnings. The past few months have not been friendly to Osiris Therapeutics, a Columbia-based company that’s considered one of the state’s most promising biotechnology firms.

Osiris, known for its stem cell-based products, is in the midst of transitioning from a research firm into a commercial enterprise and making strides with products such as Grafix, a human tissue product that treats chronic wounds such as foot ulcers. But after showing much promise, Osiris, which takes its name from the Egyptian god of death and regeneration, faces uncomfortable questions about its recent missteps. Several shareholders have sued and postings on financial advice websites voice continuing doubts about its sales and financial reports.
Continue reading “Article: Osiris Therapeutics counters report questioning sales”

01/20/201603/11/2021

Article: Asacub Android Trojan: From Information Stealing to Financial Fraud

Article - Media, Publications

Asacub Android Trojan: From Information Stealing to Financial Fraud

Kaspersky Lab, 20 January 2016

With millions of people worldwide using their smartphones to pay for goods and services, 2015 saw cybercriminals exploit this by focusing their efforts on developing malicious financial programs for mobile devices. For the first time, a mobile banking Trojan entered the Top-10 most prevalent malicious programs targeting finances. The Asacub Trojan is yet another example of this worrying trend.

The first version of the Asacub Trojan, discovered in June 2015, was capable of stealing the contact lists, browser history, list of installed apps, sending SMS messages to given numbers and also blocking the screen of an infected device – all standard functions for a typical information stealing Trojan. Continue reading “Article: Asacub Android Trojan: From Information Stealing to Financial Fraud”

01/19/201605/17/2020

Filing: SEC v Schwab

Filing

SEC v Schwab

19 January 2016

A Charles Schwab Corp subsidiary and a former customer told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday that an agency judge overreached when she found them liable for an alleged naked short-selling scheme and ordered them to pay $8.2 million in sanctions.

PDF (3 pages): SEC v Schwab

01/15/201602/19/2021

Article: Goldman Sachs to pay $15 million to settle SEC stock lending case

Article - Media, Publications

Goldman Sachs to pay $15 million to settle SEC stock lending case

Suzanne Barlyn, 15 January 2016

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs & Co GS.N will pay $15 million to settle civil charges that its securities lending practices violated federal regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Goldman made improper representations to customers who requested that the firm locate certain stocks for short selling, the SEC said. Goldman told those customers that it had arranged to borrow, or believed it could borrow, the security to settle the short sale, a process known as “granting locates.”
Continue reading “Article: Goldman Sachs to pay $15 million to settle SEC stock lending case”

01/14/201605/08/2020

Filing: SEC v Goldman Sachs

Filing

SEC v Goldman Sachs

14 January 2016

These proceedings arise out of practices engaged in by Goldman’s Securities Lending Demand Team (the “Demand Team”), between November 2008 and mid-2013, in providing and documenting “locates” to enable its customers to execute short sales.

PDF (8 pages): SEC v Goldman Sachs

01/09/201603/04/2021

Article: SEC settles with hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen

Article - Media, Publications

SEC settles with hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen

Renae Merle, 09 January 2016

Billionaire Steven A. Cohen has been in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors for nearly a decade. His hedge fund, SAC Capital, was once one of the most powerful on Wall Street, managing more than $15 billion for investors and producing stellar returns for years.

But prosecutors suspected that SAC’s success was too good to be true.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan once called Cohen’s hedge fund as a “veritable magnet for market cheaters.” When, in 2013, SAC agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle charges that it tolerated rampant insider trading it was one of the highest-profile successes in the government’s aggressive push against insider trading. Continue reading “Article: SEC settles with hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen”

01/08/201603/04/2021

Article: SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen ‘Failure to Supervise’ Case

Article - Media, Publications

SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen ‘Failure to Supervise’ Case

Bruce Carton, 08 January 2016

The SEC announced today that it has settled its high-profile lawsuit against hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen, founder of SAC Capital. Under the Order resolving the case, Cohen will be prohibited from supervising funds that manage outside money until 2018. The SEC had charged Cohen with failing to supervise former portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, who was convicted of insider trading while employed at SAC. Continue reading “Article: SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen ‘Failure to Supervise’ Case”