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Article: NAMASTE: CITRON HAS EXPOSED COMPLETE FRAUD THAT UNDERPINS THE ‘BUSINESS’ OF NAMASTE.

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NAMASTE: CITRON HAS EXPOSED COMPLETE FRAUD THAT UNDERPINS THE ‘BUSINESS’ OF NAMASTE.

Citron Research, 04 October 2020

Let us start by explaining to readers that in our 17 years of publishing, Citron has exposed more corporate fraud than any non-government agency in the world. Rarely in its history has Citron seen a fraud so blatant: for context, we honestly view Sean Dollinger as a walking securities violation. If Namaste was a US traded company it would be halted and Dollinger would probably face criminal charges. Citron hopes that in the best interest of protecting investors, the TSXV halts trading until questions can be answered relating to direct fraud that is illustrated in this report. This will most certainly reach the hands of Namaste’s new auditors (which have joined at an odd time).
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Article: Gold price manipulation is real; JPMorgan’s spoofing case explained

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Gold price manipulation is real; JPMorgan’s spoofing case explained

David Lin, 02 October 2020

JPMorgan settled a $920 million fine with U.S. authorities on charges of precious metals price manipulation last week. This is significant because rumors and speculation about metals manipulation is confirmed in such a large profile case for the first time, said Will Rhind, CEO of GraniteShares.

“Throughout my career, there have always been these kind of mutterings of manipulation of the gold market. A lot of people that were talking about that were really written off as fringe or conspiracy theorists [with an] extreme view, and those people have been right,” Rhind told Kitco News.

Spoofing entails putting in fake orders in the markets to buy or sell and then withdrawing those orders before they are executed with the intention of moving the price.

“I think it’s the largest fine that’s ever been paid for spoofing and market manipulation in this particular order and really sets a massive precedent,” Rhind said.

Regulatory changes are likely to follow after this case, Rhind added.

“Hopefully it doesn’t happen again. $920 million is not a small amount, even for a bank of the size of JPMorgan. I’m sure you will see wholesale changes made on the compliance side and all sorts of other controls put in place to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Rhind noted that the extent to which spoofing has significantly suppressed the free market movement of precious metals prices is “almost impossible to determine.”

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Article: JPMorgan Chase Fined US$920 Million For Market Manipulation

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JPMorgan Chase Fined US$920 Million For Market Manipulation

MSHERELYN GOH, 02 October 2020

Just like in an episode of Billions, only Bobby Axelrod would actually have to pay up, JPMorgan Chase has to fork out US$920 million to settle US civil and criminal charges over fake trades in precious metals and Treasury futures designed to manipulate the market,. The settlement comes as the largest bank in the US reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department to resolve criminal fraud charges over the long-running schemes.

In one of the schemes, JPMorgan traders in New York, London and Singapore between 2008 and 2016 commissioned tens of thousands of orders for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures that were placed in order to be cancelled to deceive other market participants, wrote the Department of Justice (DOJ), one of three agencies involved in the case, in a press release. Continue reading “Article: JPMorgan Chase Fined US$920 Million For Market Manipulation”

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Article: Problems at Celsius Holdings (CELH)

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Problems at Celsius Holdings (CELH)

Edwin Dorsey, 01 October 2020

Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH — $1.63 billion) is a company like no other. The company allegedly makes healthy energy drinks and its stock is up nearly 900% in the last five years. Its investors include indicted bankers involved in 1MDB, hip-hop producer Russell Simmons, and a shark from Shark Tank. The company uses an auditor not used by any other NYSE or NASDAQ listed company and has told the SEC it does “not expect that our disclosure controls or internal controls will prevent all error and all fraud.”

Celsius is in the business of development, marketing, sale and distribution of healthy fitness drinks under the Celsius brand name. The company, based in Boca Raton, Florida, is valued at roughly 16x its trailing twelve month sales of approximately $100 million. Part of the reason for this rich valuation has been incredible revenue growth. For its most recent quarter, Q2 2020, Celsius’s revenue grew 86% compared to Q2 2019. A major contributor to this growth was European revenue, which in Q2 2020 was approximately $8.8 million, up 595% from Q2 2019 revenue of $1.3 million.
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Article: JPMorgan pays $920 million to settle spoofing claims

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JPMorgan pays $920 million to settle spoofing claims

Bloomberg News, 29 September 2021

The New York-based lender will pay the biggest monetary penalty ever imposed by the CFTC, including a $436.4 million fine, $311.7 million in restitution and more than $172 million in disgorgement, according to a statement from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC said its order will recognize and offset restitution and disgorgement payments made to the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.

The accord ends a criminal investigation of the bank that has led to a half-dozen employees being charged for allegedly rigging the price of gold and silver futures for more than eight years. Two have entered guilty pleas, and four others are awaiting trial. Continue reading “Article: JPMorgan pays $920 million to settle spoofing claims”

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Article: CFTC & SEC: JP Morgan manipulated Treasuries market during flash crash period

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CFTC & SEC: JP Morgan manipulated Treasuries market during flash crash period

dan.barnes, 29 September 2020

US market regulators the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have fined JP Morgan over US$920 million in penalties and disgorgements for manipulative trading, or spoofing, in the US Treasuries, US Treasuries futures, and commodity markets, between 2009 and 2016. The CFTC noted that the bank also did not respond to warnings from the regulators or the CME and at points misled the investigation.

The bank’s behaviour during this period raises questions that neither the bank nor the regulators are prepared to answer, regarding its effect on market stability.

During the period in question, on 15 October 2014, the US Treasury market experienced a ‘flash crash’, which saw the 10-year treasury rate fall 34 basis points over a 10-minute period from 2.2% to 1.86%, a 52-week low, before rebounding for the end of day. Treasury futures volume reached nearly 1.6 million trades, an all-time record, having only broken the 800,000 trades a day barrier three times before.

A similar flash crash in the US equities markets in 2010 was attributed by the CFTC to manipulative trading by a lone trader on the CME via its E-mini S&P 500 futures.
Pinto
When asked whether JP Morgan’s activity had been reviewed as a potential trigger of the 2014 flash crash, both the SEC and CFTC declined to comment. JP Morgan also declined to comment.

The press office of the CME, which is also the market for US Treasury futures, declined to comment on how JP Morgan had spoofed on its markets for eight years without being stopped.

The CFTC found that from at least 2008 through 2016, JP Morgan, “through numerous traders on its precious metals and Treasuries trading desks, including the heads of both desks, placed hundreds of thousands of orders to buy or sell certain gold, silver, platinum, palladium, Treasury note, and Treasury bond futures contracts with the intent to cancel those orders prior to execution.”

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Article: JP Morgan settles massive market manipulation case

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JP Morgan settles massive market manipulation case

James Langton, 29 September 2020

Wall street giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. is paying US$920 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in manipulative trading in the U.S. Treasuries market and precious metals futures markets.

The firm entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve wire fraud charges stemming from alleged illegal trading in precious metals futures, U.S. Treasury futures, and in the cash market for U.S. Treasury notes and bonds.

Under the agreement, JPMorgan will pay over US$920 million, including a criminal monetary penalty, disgorgement and victim compensation.

According to the justice department, between March 2008 and August 2016, numerous traders on JPMorgan’s precious metals desks in New York, London and Singapore placed spoofing orders for precious metals futures.

A couple of those traders have pleaded guilty to criminal charges and several others are still facing charges.

Traders on the firm’s U.S. Treasuries desks in New York and London also engaged in spoofing in U.S. Treasuries markets.

Portions of the criminal penalty and disgorgement are to be credited against payments to be made to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission under separate agreements with the regulators.

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Article: Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA)

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Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA)

Spruce Point Capital Management, 29 September 2020

According to the complaint, throughout the Class Period, Defendants misrepresented and concealed that (1) ACM Research’s revenues and profits were diverted to undisclosed related parties, and (2) consequently, the company materially overstated its revenues and profits.

Investors allegedly began to learn the truth on Oct. 8, 2020, when J Capital Research published a report entitled “Dirty business,” bringing ACM Research’s reported financials into serious question.
More specifically, J Capital concludes ACM Research is a fraud, over-reporting both revenue and profit. According to the report, “ACMR reports industry-beating gross margins of 47%” but “[w]e believe the real gross margins are half at the best.” J Capital also concludes revenues are overstated by 15-20%, undisclosed related parties are diverting revenue and profit from the company, the key means by which ACMR tunnels over-reported profit out of the company may be through about $20 million in overstated inventory and through cash that is inflated or compromised, and warranty and service costs are understated by at least $11 million.
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Article: The Hidden Past At Enron Of Sunnova’s CEO, And Insights Into The Company’s Aggressive Current Financial Reporting And Accounting

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The Hidden Past At Enron Of Sunnova’s CEO, And Insights Into The Company’s Aggressive Current Financial Reporting And Accounting

Ben Axler, 29 September 2020

Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA). Believes Evidence Clearly Shows that Sunnova’s Senior Management has Obfuscated Ties to Past Failures and Fraud in SEC Filings, Including CEO William Berger’s Tenure at Enron. Contends Sunnova is Being Promoted As A Hot Play On Solar Energy, but In Reality Is A Specialty Finance Business Without Meaningfully Differentiated Offerings

Shows that Sunnova is Overleveraged and Dependent on Aggressive Financial Presentation, Accounting and Non-GAAP Metrics Overly Flattering Its Performance. Underscores that a Former Sunnova Executive and Industry Experts Agree that the Company Has an Undifferentiated and Misunderstood Business Model.

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Article: JPMorgan to pay $920 million for manipulating precious metals, treasury market

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JPMorgan to pay $920 million for manipulating precious metals, treasury market

Abhishek Manikandan, Michelle Price, 29 September 2020

(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to pay more than $920 million and admitted to wrongdoing to settle federal U.S. market manipulation probes into its trading of metals futures and Treasury securities, the U.S. authorities said on Tuesday.

The landmark multi-agency settlement lifts a regulatory shadow that has hung over the bank for several years and marks a signature victory for the government’s efforts to clamp down on illegal trading in the futures and precious metals market.

JPMorgan will pay $436.4 million in fines, $311.7 million in restitution and more than $172 million in disgorgement, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Tuesday, the biggest-ever settlement imposed by the derivatives regulator.

Between 2008 and 2016, JPMorgan engaged in a pattern of manipulation in the precious metals futures and U.S. Treasury futures market, the CFTC said. Traders would place orders on one side of the market which they never intended to execute, to create a false impression of buy or sell interest that would raise or depress prices, according to the settlement.

This manipulative practice, which is designed to create the illusion of demand, or lack thereof, is known as “spoofing.”

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Article: JPMorgan Admits Wrongdoing In Illegal Trading Allegations, Will Pay Record $920 Million To Regulators

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JPMorgan Admits Wrongdoing In Illegal Trading Allegations, Will Pay Record $920 Million To Regulators

Sergei Klebnikov,  29 September 2020

JPMorgan Chase will pay a record $920 million to resolve a criminal investigation by three federal agencies over its role in the alleged manipulation of precious metal and Treasury markets, federal regulators said on Tuesday.

JPMorgan agreed to a settlement that resolves investigations by the Justice Department, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As part of the deal, the bank will admit to wrongdoing and pay a record fine of $920 million, according to a statement from the CFTC on Tuesday. Continue reading “Article: JPMorgan Admits Wrongdoing In Illegal Trading Allegations, Will Pay Record $920 Million To Regulators”

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Article: U.S. Clamps Down on Market Manipulation Known as Spoofing as Two Former Traders at Deutsche Bank are Found Guilty

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U.S. Clamps Down on Market Manipulation Known as Spoofing as Two Former Traders at Deutsche Bank are Found Guilty

SWFI, 28 September 2020

A Chicago federal jury found two former employees of Deutsche Bank AG guilty of fraud charges for their respective roles in fraudulent and manipulative trading practices involving publicly-traded precious metals futures contracts. This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office. According to the DOJ press release, “After a two-week trial, James Vorley,

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Article: 5 things you should do if you suspect you were affected by the DoorDash data breach

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5 things you should do if you suspect you were affected by the DoorDash data breach

Megan Leonhardt, 27 September 2019

DoorDash, a popular food delivery app, announced Thursday that hackers accessed the company’s data system and stole the personal information of approximately 4.9 million customers, restaurants and delivery workers — including driver’s license numbers, partial bank and credit card information, as well as names and addresses.

Specifically, DoorDash said in a blog post that customers who signed up for the delivery app before April 5, 2018, potentially had a slew of personal details compromised such as names, email addresses, phone numbers and order histories, as well as the last four digits of debit and credit cards. Full credit card information was not accessed.
Continue reading “Article: 5 things you should do if you suspect you were affected by the DoorDash data breach”

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Article: Two Ex- Deutsche Bank traders found guilty of spoofing gold and silver markets

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Two Ex- Deutsche Bank traders found guilty of spoofing gold and silver markets

Neils Christensen, 27 September 2020

U.S. authorities, in an effort to clean up trading activity in the precious metals markets, won a major victory Friday after two former employees of Deutsche Bank traders were found guilty of manipulating gold and silver prices.

Friday, after a two-week court case a federal judge in Chicago found James Vorley, 42, of the United Kingdom, and Cedric Chanu, 40, of France and the United Arab Emirates, were convicted of three counts and seven counts, respectively, of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

“Today’s jury verdict shows that those who seek to manipulate our public financial markets through fraud will be held accountable by juries and the department,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a press release. Continue reading “Article: Two Ex- Deutsche Bank traders found guilty of spoofing gold and silver markets”

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Article: Former Deutsche Bank traders convicted of trying to manipulate gold and silver prices

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Former Deutsche Bank traders convicted of trying to manipulate gold and silver prices

Bloomberg, 26 September 2020

Prosecutors behind a sweeping US crackdown on market “spoofing” scored a big win on Friday when former Deutsche Bank traders Cedric Chanu and James Vorley were convicted of fraud for manipulating gold and silver prices.

A federal jury in Chicago, after three days of deliberations, concluded Mr Chanu and Mr Vorley made bogus trade orders between 2008 and 2013 to illegally influence precious metals prices. The week-long trial was the latest US prosecution of a “spoofing” case since the global market “flash crash” in 2010. Continue reading “Article: Former Deutsche Bank traders convicted of trying to manipulate gold and silver prices”