Foreign Collusion, Naked Shorting (Counterfeiting) & Money Laundering — All Illicit Wealth
Actually the real father of the naked shorting conspiracy theory was a scam artist named Urban Casavant. He died in 2014. Here's his obit. https://t.co/m8xLpFfKdF That being said, I have no thoughts on $AMC except to observe that some of the shorts are worse than the longs. https://t.co/JmjioP22ht
— Gary Weiss (@gary_weiss) June 15, 2021
Shalini Nagarajan, 13 June 2021
Many people think bitcoin transactions can be anonymous or untraceable, but they’re misunderstanding how the process works, Ben Weiss, CEO of crypto ATM operator CoinFlip, said at a webinar on digital assets this week.
“It’s not anonymous. It’s pseudo-anonymous. You can’t buy any large amount of bitcoin without KYC or ID or driver’s licenses,” he said, referring to “know your customer” and similar identification checks. Continue reading “Article: Bitcoin anonymity is just a big myth – and using it to launder dirty money is stupid, a crypto ATM chief says”
DOJ Casts the FCPA Spotlight on Brazil-Related Enforcement
Kevin Roberts, Lex Urban, Duncan Grieve, Stephen Weiss, 12 June 2021
On May 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed an indictment charging two Austrian citizens, Peter Weinzierl (“Weinzierl”) and Alexander Waldstein (“Waldstein”), for their roles in a scheme to launder hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of the Brazilian construction conglomerate, Odebrecht S.A. (“Odebrecht”). The indictment alleges that Weinzierl and Waldstein helped Odebrecht funnel money to offshore accounts to pay bribes to government officials in Brazil, Panama, and Mexico. The announcement was timed to coincide with the arrest of Weinzierl in the United Kingdom; however, Waldstein remains at large.
This enforcement action is notable for a number of reasons:
(1) DOJ has used U.S. money laundering statutes to charge Weinzierl and Waldstein with bribery-related misconduct because both individuals likely fall outside of the ambit of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”); Continue reading “Article: DOJ Casts the FCPA Spotlight on Brazil-Related Enforcement”
Supreme Court to decide whether Goldman Sachs shareholders can bring suit in major fraud case
Tucker Higgins, 28 March 2021
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments from Goldman Sachs in a long-running case that could have major implications for shareholders seeking to bring securities-fraud lawsuits.
Arguments are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET Monday and will be streamed live as the court continues to meet remotely as a precaution against Covid-19.
The case, which dates to the Great Recession, concerns statements that the investment bank made while it was marketing “Abacus,” an investment known as a synthetic collateralized debt obligation. Continue reading “Article: Supreme Court to decide whether Goldman Sachs shareholders can bring suit in major fraud case”
Meet Patrick Byrne: Bitcoin Messiah, CEO of Overstock, Scourge of Wall Street
Cade Metz, WIRED, 18 February 2021
The problem with the modern economy, Byrne says, is that it rests on the whims of our government and our big banks, that each has the power to create money that’s backed by nothing but themselves. Thanks to what’s called fractional reserve banking, a bank can take in $10 in deposits, but then loan out $100. The government can make more dollars at any time, instantly reducing the currency’s value. Eventually, he says, laying down a classic libertarian metaphor, this “magic money tree” will come crashing down.
Gary Weiss is an American investigative journalist, columnist and author of two books that critically examine the ethics and morality of Wall Street. He was also a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. His Businessweek articles exposed organized crime on Wall Street and the Salomon Brothers bond trading scandal in the 1990s, and more recently he has covered the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath. Weiss received degrees from the City College of New York and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
5,000 Reasons Why the Overstock.com Saga is Crazier Than Ever
Gary Weiss
gary-weiss.com, 30 January 2018
It’s been a long time since the financial press has cast a skeptical eye on Overstock.com and its CEO, Patrick Byrne, Yet there are multiple reasons to do so. Five thousand to be exact. So I’ve dusted off my blog for an update on my favorite fraudulent stock.
As in all soap operas, its continuing story line is not new: Byrne wants the stock to go up. The stock has a history of manipulation, mainly through cooking the books, resulting in multiple restatements. But it takes an expert to sniff out accounting irregularities. All you need to detect the latest Overstock scam is a working pair of eyes and an Internet connection.
Fake New Impresario Patrick Byrne Gets Canadian Court Deadline
Gary Weiss
gary-weiss.com, 16 February 2017
Another setback for Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, as he fights the There’s been a victory in the struggle against fake news, and chances are you’ve never heard about it.
I’m referring to a legal battle involving a right-wing financier named Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com. A few months ago he was trounced in a Canadian court for outlandish lies that he published on his fake news website, “Deep Capture.”
Canadian Court Wallops Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne
Gary Weiss
gary-weiss.com, 19 December 2016
A Canadian appellate court has a lump of coal for the Christmas stocking of Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne: pay a libel judgment for lying on a fake news website, or your appeal will be kicked out of court.
Last May, Byrne was hit with a C$1.2 million judgment for outlandish lies about a Canadian stock promoter, Aly Nazerali, on “Deep Capture,” a website that retails fake news, conspiracy theories and personal attacks on journalists and whistleblowers. The court’s scathing decision found that Byrne and right-wing conspiracy theorist Mark Mitchell maliciously fabricated wild accusations against Nazerali.
Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne Loses ‘Deep Capture’ Libel Suit
Gary Weiss
gary-weiss.com, 7 May 2016
In a scathing decision released on May 6, a Vancouver court found Byrne and his “Deep Capture” fake news venture had fabricated lurid accusations of criminal conduct against a Vancouver businessman named Aly Nazerali. The damage award consists mainly of punitive and aggravated damages, and the judge found that the conduct of Byrne and his minions was so egregious that he slapped a permanent injunction on the defendants.
I’ve written about Byrne quite a bit in the past because he was the very worst of Corporate America, from his bizarre stock-market conspiracy theories to his well-documented accounting games, which he countered by vicious personal attacks on critics and the media. He is a kind of small-bore Donald Trump, a “born on third base who thinks he hit a triple” kind of guy. Byrne lies so frequently and with such gusto that it’s hard to say if he can distinguish fact from fiction. He is on indefinite leave from Overstock because of a Hepatitis C infection, a disease ordinarily caused by intravenous drug use—or, if you believe him, a wound sewn up by “barefoot doctor in China.”
The Lessons From Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne’s Gun Caper
Gary Weiss
gary-weiss.com, 4 February 2013
I was appalled (but not surprised) to learn about Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne’s latest escapade: a couple of weeks ago, he was arrested at Salt Lake Airport trying to carry a loaded Glock handgun onto an airplane.
I was even less surprised by the revelation, buried in a police report, that he sleeps with the gun every night, ready to drill any intruding “miscreants” with .40-caliber, bone-shattering hollow-point bullets.
Barron’s Gary Weiss Caught Plagiarizing Matt Taibbi, Find-Replaces Style With Spin
Patrick Byrne
DeepCapture, 7 August 2012
Two months ago a schlubby-but-savage Goldman lawyer named Joseph E. Floren made a mistake that caused some previously redacted information about Goldman Sachs to slip into the public’s hands. The event was ably covered by such globally-respected publications as Bloomberg, the Economist, and Rolling Stone.
Since May I have wondered, With the truth emerge at last in publications such as Economist, Bloomberg, and Rolling Stone, surely the Bad Guys must understand they have lost control of the narrative. Surely, I thought, they are working out some new damage control strategy to deflect or usurp the truth as it comes out.
And as always, Gary Weiss doesn’t let us down.
Gary Weiss, 04 August 2012
Naked short selling has long dwelled in the grassy knoll of the equity markets, denounced by crackpots, devotees of penny stocks, and troubled companies eager to divert attention from their failings. In other words, sightings of it often turn out to be bunk.
FINRA v Credit Suisse
13 December 2011
Pursuant to FINRA Rule 9216 of FINRA’s Code of Procedure, the Respondent submits this Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) for the purpose of proposing a settlement of the alleged rule violations described below. This AWC is submitted on the condition that, if accepted, FINRA will not bring any future actions against the Respondent alleging violations based on the same factual findings described herein.
PDF (22 pages): FINRA v Credit Suisse
THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?
