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Article: A famed short-seller explains why he’s betting big against a Chinese tech stock that has seen a ‘crazy stupid’ 320% gain in 2020

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A famed short-seller explains why he’s betting big against a Chinese tech stock that has seen a ‘crazy stupid’ 320% gain in 2020

Saloni Sardana, 22 August 2020

Famed short-seller Andrew Left is aggressively shorting a “crazy stupid” Chinese stock that has gained more than 320% on the New York Stock exchange in 2020, as he believes it has exaggerated its earnings and will eventually be delisted. The activist short-seller and founder of Citron Capital, told Business Insider that he believes that the earnings of GSX Techedu are grossly inflated “anywhere between 50 to 80%.” GSX, which is an online education provider, has surged despite a number of claims by various short-sellers casting doubt on the company’s performance. Continue reading “Article: A famed short-seller explains why he’s betting big against a Chinese tech stock that has seen a ‘crazy stupid’ 320% gain in 2020”

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Article: Apple and Tesla distort S&P 500 performance, says Jim Cramer

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Apple and Tesla distort S&P 500 performance, says Jim Cramer

Ben Lovejoy, 21 August 2020

CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer says that strong performance by Apple and Tesla has led to a misleading impression of the performance of S&P 500 stocks.

Cramer said that the S&P has grown more than 50% since its coronavirus low in March, but this is mostly due to the performance of tech giants, with Apple and Tesla particularly influential …

Continue reading “Article: Apple and Tesla distort S&P 500 performance, says Jim Cramer”

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Article: Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE/TSX: GFL)

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Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE/TSX: GFL)

PRNewswire, 18 August 2020

Based on an extensive forensic analysis and holistic review of GFL’s accounting practices, financial controls and reporting, and corporate governance, Spruce Point believes that without access to new capital, the Company’s shares are worthless and likely uninvestable for institutional investors. GFL’s executives have not only fostered what appears to be an extremely aggressive and opaque business model, but they have either deliberately concealed, or inattentively omitted, past failures and questionable business connections. Our report’s textual and visual evidence shows that Chief Executive Officer Patrick Dovigi has obfuscated his connections to what some observers have dubbed “organized crime” figures. We have also discovered that former General Counsel and current Senior Vice President Joy Grahek has failed to disclose her role advising Philip Services Corporation (“Philip Services”), which was a dual-listed roll-up of metal and industrial businesses that collapsed, was pursued by the Ontario Securities Commission, settled $80 million in shareholder claims, and was described as a “house of cards” and “one of the great unprosecuted frauds in Canadian business history.”
Continue reading “Article: Spruce Point Capital Management Releases Report and Strong Sell Research Opinion on GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE/TSX: GFL)”

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Article: GFL Environmental, Inc.: Investment Research Report

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GFL Environmental, Inc.: Investment Research Report

SPRUCE POINT REPORT, 18 August 2020

After conducting a forensic financial and accounting review (inc. multiple former employees interviews), Spruce Point believes shares of GFL Environmental (TSX/NYSE: GFL), a cash degenerative North American roll-up of environmental service companies, are worthless. We find GFL’s CEO Patrick Dovigi has obfuscated connections to what some observers have dubbed “organized crime” – if true, making the stock uninvestable to institutional shareholders and putting its two deals to acquire Waste Management assets and WCA Waste at risk of not receiving Dept. of Justice approval in our opinion. GFL’s executive Joy Grahek fails to disclose her role advising Philip Services (NYSE/TSX: PVH), a dual-listed roll-up of metal and industrial services that collapsed, was pursued by the OSC regulators, settled $80m of shareholder claims, and was described as “one of the great unprosecuted frauds in Canadian business history”. In our opinion, GFL’s leverage is understated by aggressive reporting of revenue and EBITDA, and free cash flow burn is understated by ~60%; this is evidenced by financial restatements without explanation, and by minimizing a material weaknesses of financial controls. We believe GFL’s debt is understated by at least C$460m. We believe its staggering C$5.6bn total debt load, and financial losses make it reliant on new capital to sustain itself, nevermind its desire to grow via increasingly expensive acquisitions. With a meaningful portion of the stock pledged as collateral for loans, we believe there is a real risk that the stock collapses and the auditor fails to sign off on GFL’s financials after reviewing the evidence we’ve amassed.
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Article: Americas Gold and Silver Corporation Provides Encouraging Results From Initial Deep Level Drilling From The Galena Complex

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Americas Gold and Silver Corporation Provides Encouraging Results From Initial Deep Level Drilling From The Galena Complex

PRNewswire, 17 August 2020

Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (TSX: USA) (NYSE American: USAS) (“Americas” or the “Company”), a growing North American precious metals producer, today is pleased to provide an update on its Galena Complex, 60% owned by Americas and 40% owned by Mr. Eric Sprott.

We are extremely excited about the initial drill results from the 5500 level that has already yielded several bonanza grades,” stated Americas President and CEO Darren Blasutti. “The initial deep drilling is targeting the 72 Vein which historically was a major contributor of ore during the peak silver production years at combined grades of over 650 g/t silver. There are two additional systems which the Company is excited about at depth including the “triple point” and deeper extensions of the 360 Complex that will be drilled during the remainder of 2020 and into 2021.”
Continue reading “Article: Americas Gold and Silver Corporation Provides Encouraging Results From Initial Deep Level Drilling From The Galena Complex”

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Article: The Dark Side of Delicious: Decoding Food Delivery Fraud on the Dark Web

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The Dark Side of Delicious: Decoding Food Delivery Fraud on the Dark Web

Amarelle Wenkert, 17 August 2020

In more ways than one, scamming a food delivery service is gateway fraud. Remember when ordering pizzas to the address of an unsuspecting victim was a staple of youthful mischief? Some of the popular food delivery fraud MOs our analysts encounter these days are not far removed from childhood pizza pranks. But what some forms of food fraud lack in sophistication, they offset in the mounting losses they cause.

From the simple practice of ordering a meal, “disposing of the evidence,” and calling to claim a refund because your food never arrived, to more complex account takeover (ATO) scams orchestrated by seasoned fraudsters, food delivery often comes with a side of fraud. A lot of what we know about food delivery fraud we discover on the dark web, where fraudsters brag about their spoils and share tips on how to hustle a hot meal. In this blog post, I’ll explore why the sector is attracting so much fraudulent activity and how it is affected by the rising ATO trend. I’ll also share the most popular MOs Riskified analysts identified on the dark web.
Continue reading “Article: The Dark Side of Delicious: Decoding Food Delivery Fraud on the Dark Web”

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Article: Turkey’s 2nd Financial & Currency Crisis in 2 Years Blossoms. Heavily Invested European Banks Look for Exit. But Not the Most Exposed Bank

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Turkey’s 2nd Financial & Currency Crisis in 2 Years Blossoms. Heavily Invested European Banks Look for Exit. But Not the Most Exposed Bank

Nick Corbishley, 15 August 2020

As the Turkish lira logged fresh record lows against both the dollar and the euro on Friday, and is now down 19% this year against the dollar, attention is turning once again to the potential risks facing lenders. They include a handful of very big Eurozone banks that are heavily exposed to Turkey’s economy via large amounts in loans — much of it in euros — through banks they acquired in Turkey. And the strains are beginning to replay those of the last currency/financial crisis in 2018. Continue reading “Article: Turkey’s 2nd Financial & Currency Crisis in 2 Years Blossoms. Heavily Invested European Banks Look for Exit. But Not the Most Exposed Bank”

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Article: South Dakota man linked to Russian spy sentenced for fraud

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

Associated Press, 13 August 2020

A former conservative operative who was once romantically linked to a Russian agent was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison in South Dakota.

Paul Erickson pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering as part of fraudulent investment schemes he operated for many years, the Argus Leader reported.

Erickson was not charged in connection to his romantic relationship with Maria Butina, who was deported in October after admitting she sought to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups and promote Russia’s agenda. He came under the scrutiny of federal investigators who were monitoring Butina but her role in his downfall did not come up in court. Continue reading “Article: South Dakota man linked to Russian spy sentenced for fraud”

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Article: Is eXp Realty a Pyramid Scheme? MLM? Scam?

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Is eXp Realty a Pyramid Scheme? MLM? Scam?

Kyle Handy, 30 July 2020

Are you looking into eXp Realty but unsure if you should make a move because you think it might be a pyramid scheme or multi-level marketing? Did a fellow real estate agent just join the company, and now you see all sorts of recruiting messages coming from him or her?

Since around 2016, when eXp Realty started gaining momentum, they’ve created a stir amongst the real estate agent community. Regardless of whether you are for or against what eXp Realty represents, it’s essential to know the full picture of the business model so you can decide whether to investigate further.
Continue reading “Article: Is eXp Realty a Pyramid Scheme? MLM? Scam?”

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Article: Timbercreek Financial (TF) – a tenuous business model with hidden balance sheet risks (50% base case downside)

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Timbercreek Financial (TF) – a tenuous business model with hidden balance sheet risks (50% base case downside)

mariner_admin, 28 July 2020

We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the stresses already hidden in TF’s portfolio and expose TF’s underwriting and financing strategy. We believe that Timbercreek is grossly underprovisioned compared to its small-cap MIC peers – its current loan provision is 73% below the peer average – unusual to say the least. While its peers have taken actions to protect their balance sheets, TF has not, and we believe the dividend is at risk.
In this report, we unveil two large exposures that collectively account for 14% of book value today – we believe they were significantly underprovisioned and that investors were inadequately informed about the issues at these properties – these assets were “sold” in a manner that, in our opinion, allowed TF to avoid taking appropriate provisions (our diligence, presented below, shows these “sales”).
Continue reading “Article: Timbercreek Financial (TF) – a tenuous business model with hidden balance sheet risks (50% base case downside)”

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Article: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sells 5% of stake, raising $24m

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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sells 5% of stake, raising $24m

NICOLE PIPER, 27 July 2020

Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, sold $24.2m of stock in the company earlier this week. According to Bloomberg, Fink sold 41,706 shares at an average price of $580.29 on July 21, shedding about 5% of his stake in the world’s largest asset manager. The latest sale means that Fink has raised $74.4m from selling BlackRock stock this year. He still owns $457m in BlackRock stock. Continue reading “Article: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sells 5% of stake, raising $24m”

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Article: Executives are selling stock as the market experiences its epic rebound

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Executives are selling stock as the market experiences its epic rebound

Maggie Fitzgerald, 24 July 2020

Company insiders are dumping shares as stocks experience their epic rebound from the coronavirus recession. The sales are a major shift from the insider buying frenzy during the market bottom in March. Among the sellers are the heads of blue-chip companies like UnitedHealth and BlackRock. Continue reading “Article: Executives are selling stock as the market experiences its epic rebound”

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Article: BlackRock CEO Sold $24 Million of Stock as Insider Sales Up

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BlackRock CEO Sold $24 Million of Stock as Insider Sales Up

Donald Moore, 23 July 2020

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink sold $24.2 million of stock in the world’s largest asset manager, bringing his sales this year to $74.4 million. What’s moving markets
Start your day with the 5 Things newsletter. Fink disposed of 41,706 shares — about 5% of his stake in the business — at an average price of $580.29 on July 21, according to a regulatory filing. The filings didn’t indicate that his sales this year were made under a pre-scheduled trading plan. Continue reading “Article: BlackRock CEO Sold $24 Million of Stock as Insider Sales Up”

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Article: Wirecard’s Former Billionaire CEO Markus Braun Arrested Over Allegations Of Fraud

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Wirecard’s Former Billionaire CEO Markus Braun Arrested Over Allegations Of Fraud

Jack Kelly,  23 July 2020

On Monday, I reported that Markus Braun, the billionaire CEO of online payments company Wirecard, faced serious allegations over the company’s rapid growth and questionable business practices. Specifically, regulators and investors were concerned over claims that the FinTech company purported to have $2 billion dollars in a couple of Philippine banks. Investigations conducted by an outside auditor revealed that the money wasn’t there and possibly never existed. Continue reading “Article: Wirecard’s Former Billionaire CEO Markus Braun Arrested Over Allegations Of Fraud”

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Article: Fugitives arrested in I-CAN global anti-mafia operation

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Article: Fugitives arrested in I-CAN global anti-mafia operation

LYON, France: Coordination through the INTERPOL Cooperation Against ‘Ndrangheta (I-CAN) project – an INTERPOL and Italian initiative – has seen law enforcement round up six fugitives in Albania, Argentina and Costa Rica following intelligence gained in an earlier operation targeting the ‘Ndrangheta in November 2019.

Last year’s “Operation Magma 2007” targeted individuals wanted for association with the ‘Ndrangheta, as well as drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession. Conducted by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and Direzione Centrale Servizi Antidroga, and coordinated by the Direzione Distrettuale Antimafia in Reggio Calabria, the operation resulted in the arrest of 45 suspects across Italy.

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