Article: More smoking guns will be revealed about Aphria, says short-seller

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More smoking guns will be revealed about Aphria, says short-seller

Jayson MacLean, 06 December 2018

Recently emerged fraud allegations concerning marijuana company Aphria Inc (Aphria Stock Quote, Chart TSX, NYSE: APHA) may have already trashed the stock, but the worst could still be forthcoming, says short-seller Gabriel Grego, who claims there’s likely a lot more damning evidence to be revealed in the company’s documents.

A report released on Monday and co-authored by Hindenburg Research and Grego’s Quintessential Capital Management alleges that Aphria paid “vastly inflated” prices for essentially worthless assets in Latin America, in particular the $193-million purchase of LATAM Holdings, a subsidiary of Scythian Biosciences which has assets in Jamaica, Colombia and Argentina.
Continue reading “Article: More smoking guns will be revealed about Aphria, says short-seller”

Article: Aphria fallout: 5 takeaways on the report that sent this cannabis stock plunging

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Aphria fallout: 5 takeaways on the report that sent this cannabis stock plunging

Lisa Bernard-Kuhn and Matt Lamers, 06 December 2018

The blows to Aphria’s stock continued Wednesday as the Canadian cannabis giant’s share price tumbled in the wake of a scathing short-seller report. Aphria’s stock (Nasdaq: APHA) closed Wednesday at $4.51 – down more than 25% for the day. The company has been on the defensive since Monday, refuting claims lobbed by short sellers Quintessential Capital Management and Hindenburg Research that Aphria’s management is a part of a shell game controlled by insiders raiding company coffers to line their own pockets. Aphria, in a statement issued Monday, called the allegations “malicious.”
Continue reading “Article: Aphria fallout: 5 takeaways on the report that sent this cannabis stock plunging”

Article: The marijuana producer Aphria is crashing after short seller alleges it’s a ‘shell game with a cannabis business on the side’ (APHA)

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The marijuana producer Aphria is crashing after short seller alleges it’s a ‘shell game with a cannabis business on the side’ (APHA)

Ethel Jiang, 03 December 2018

The marijuana producer Aphria slumped as much as 30% — to a low of $5.60 a share — after a firm alleged the company’s business was full of overvalued buyouts and fraudulent financial reporting.
“Aphria is part of a scheme orchestrated by a network of insiders to divert funds away from shareholders into their own pockets,” short seller Quintessential Capital Management’s Hindenburg Research said Monday morning in a report titled “Aphria: a shell game with a cannabis business on the side.”
Continue reading “Article: The marijuana producer Aphria is crashing after short seller alleges it’s a ‘shell game with a cannabis business on the side’ (APHA)”

Article: HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages ACM Research (ACMR) Investors with Losses to Contact Its Attorneys, Securities Fraud Case Filed

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The marijuana producer Aphria is crashing after short seller alleges it’s a ‘shell game with a cannabis business on the side’ (APHA)

Ethel Jiang, 03 December 2018

The marijuana producer Aphria slumped as much as 30% — to a low of $5.60 a share — after a firm alleged the company’s business was full of overvalued buyouts and fraudulent financial reporting. “Aphria is part of a scheme orchestrated by a network of insiders to divert funds away from shareholders into their own pockets,” short seller Quintessential Capital Management’s Hindenburg Research said Monday morning in a report titled “Aphria: a shell game with a cannabis business on the side.” Aphria responded Monday afternoon in a press release, referring Hindenburg Research’s report as “a malicious and self-serving attempt to profit by manipulating Aphria’s stock price at the expense of Aphria’s shareholders.”
Continue reading “Article: HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages ACM Research (ACMR) Investors with Losses to Contact Its Attorneys, Securities Fraud Case Filed”

Article: Goldman Sachs Fined 7.5 Bil. Won for Naked Short Selling of Stocks in S. Korea

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Goldman Sachs Fined 7.5 Bil. Won for Naked Short Selling of Stocks in S. Korea

Yoon Young-sil, 29 November 2018

South Korea’s financial authorities have imposed the biggest ever fine on Goldman Sachs Group for its naked short selling activities.

The Securities & Futures Commission (SFC), an investigative body of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), decided on Nov. 28 to impose a 7.5 billion won ($6.65 million) in fine on Goldman Sachs Group’s subsidiary Goldman Sachs International for violating the short selling rules. Continue reading “Article: Goldman Sachs Fined 7.5 Bil. Won for Naked Short Selling of Stocks in S. Korea”

Article: Goldman Sachs hit with £5.2m fine for short selling

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Goldman Sachs hit with £5.2m fine for short selling

James Booth, 28 November 2018

South Korea’s financial regulator has hit Goldman Sachs with a 7.5bn won (£5.2m) fine for breaking rules on short-selling.

The fine is for short-selling without securing underlying assets, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement. Continue reading “Article: Goldman Sachs hit with £5.2m fine for short selling”

Article: (LEAD) Goldman Sachs fined 7.5 bln won for illegal naked short selling in S. Korea

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(LEAD) Goldman Sachs fined 7.5 bln won for illegal naked short selling in S. Korea

Yonhap News Agency, 28 November 2018

South Korea’s financial regulator said Wednesday it decided to fine the Seoul branch of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 7.5 million won (US$6.66 million) for carrying out naked short selling, which is illegal here.

It marked the largest fine against a financial institution for violating the rules that ban such short selling in South Korea.

Market watchers had expected the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to slap a fine of up to 1 billion won against Goldman Sachs for naked short selling, which was carried out in late May. Continue reading “Article: (LEAD) Goldman Sachs fined 7.5 bln won for illegal naked short selling in S. Korea”

Article: S.Korea’s regulator fines Goldman Sachs 6.7 mln USD for naked short selling

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S.Korea’s regulator fines Goldman Sachs 6.7 mln USD for naked short selling

Shi Yinglun, 28 November 2018

South Korea’s financial regulator said Wednesday that it fined the Seoul branch of U.S.-based Goldman Sachs Group 7.5 billion won (6.7 million U.S. dollars) for the naked short selling that is illegal in the country.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said the fine was imposed as the U.S.-based investment bank violated the local rules that ban financial institutions from making a sell order without borrowed stocks.

Short selling, which is legal here, refers to the sale of borrowed stocks on expectations for a price fall. The borrowers are required to return back the borrowed stocks by buying back the stocks when the price falls, making a profit of the price gap. Continue reading “Article: S.Korea’s regulator fines Goldman Sachs 6.7 mln USD for naked short selling”

Article: Goldman Sachs fined for illegal naked short selling by mistake in S. Korea

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Goldman Sachs fined for illegal naked short selling by mistake in S. Korea

Lim Chang-won, 28 November 2018

South Korea’s financial watchdog slapped the local branch of Goldman Sachs, an American multinational investment bank and financial services group, with a fine of 7.5 billion won ($6.6 million) for naked short selling. It’s the biggest fine against a financial institution for naked short selling.

Short selling refers to the sale of borrowed shares in the hope of making a profit from a price fall by buying the shares back at a lower price. Naked short selling, a practice of short selling without borrowing shares, is illegal in South Korea.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Wednesday that Goldman Sachs issued a sell order of stocks worth 40.1 billion won without borrowing stocks for two days on May 30 and 31. As a result, the commission said that about 145 million shares were not delivered for settlement. Continue reading “Article: Goldman Sachs fined for illegal naked short selling by mistake in S. Korea”

Article: Overstock’s Founder Bets on Blockchain, Not Bedsheets

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Overstock’s Founder Bets on Blockchain, Not Bedsheets

Paul Vigna, 23 November 2018

In August 2015, Overstock.com Inc. Chief Executive Patrick Byrne rented out Nasdaq Inc.’s Times Square broadcast studio for a lavish party to unveil his newest project, a blockchain-based trading system called tZero.

Three years later, tZero still hasn’t launched commercially, and it is burning through millions of dollars a month. Yet Mr. Byrne is staking his company’s future on it and more than a dozen other blockchain startups. Continue reading “Article: Overstock’s Founder Bets on Blockchain, Not Bedsheets”

Release: Investor Alert Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Notifies Futures Contract Investors of an Investigation Involving Possible Violations of the Commodity Exchange Act by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Release

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Notifies Futures Contract Investors of an Investigation Involving Possible Violations of the Commodity Exchange Act by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP

AP News, 20 November 2018

Levi & Korsinsky announces it has commenced an investigation of JP Morgan Chase & Co. on behalf of investors who purchased or sold any NYMEX platinum futures contract, NYMEX palladium futures contract, COMEX silver futures contract, COMEX gold futures contract, or option on these contracts between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015.

On November 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release announcing that two former JP Morgan Chase traders pleaded guilty to “commodities fraud and spoofing conspiracy that was perpetrated through the U.S. commodities markets. One of the traders also pleaded guilty for his participation in a second commodities fraud and spoofing conspiracy at another financial services firm based in Chicago, Illinois.

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Fined: Melvin Securities, L.L.C. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Melvin Securities, L.L.C. Fined by FINRA

19 November 2018

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $15,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to make and keep current an accurate trial balance, general ledger and net capital calculation by failing to timely accrue liabilities for certain invoices.

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Article: Meet the New York investor who’s making all the right calls in shorting Canadian stocks

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Meet the New York investor who’s making all the right calls in shorting Canadian stocks

Victor Ferreira, 19 November 2018

Ben Axler is used to being alone on his stock calls. In August, the New-York-based short seller released a report criticizing Canadian space tech juggernaut Maxar Technologies Ltd., raising questions about some of its accounting practices and warning that the company’s shares could lose more than half their value. Continue reading “Article: Meet the New York investor who’s making all the right calls in shorting Canadian stocks”

Article: CORRECTED-S.Korea fines Goldman Sachs’ unit $6.7 mln for naked short selling

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CORRECTED-S.Korea fines Goldman Sachs’ unit $6.7 mln for naked short selling

Reuters Staff, 18 November 2018

SEOUL, Nov 28 (Reuters) – South Korea’s financial regulator said on Wednesday it has imposed a 7.5 billion won ($6.66 million) fine on Goldman Sachs Group’s subsidiary Goldman Sachs International for violating short-selling rules.

The fine is for its short selling activities without securing underlying assets, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement, noting the U.S.-based international investment bank’s unit conducted short sales worth 40.1 billion won in May.

Naked short selling, which occurs when an investor sells stock that has not yet been borrowed, is illegal in South Korea. ($1 = 1,126.5500 won)

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