Just when you think it can't get any worse, that we've seen a problem's full scope, and there is nothing more shocking to be revealed...it does, and there is.
Dave Patch had the following email exchange with the SEC over the last few days:
"From: David Patch
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 6:52 PM
To: Mandic, Frank; Taylor, Felecia; foiapa
Subject: FOIA #06-06551
Frank,
I have reviewed the information provided under this request and believe that a portion of this request is missing. My request for information pertained to the Aggregate Fails to Deliver for Global Links through the period of 2005 for which you responded. In the response there was a statement claiming that there were no fails to deliver for the period between January 1, 2005 and April 18, 2005. I believe this to be a mistake.
During the month of February and March of 2005 Global Links (GLKC) traded under their symbol but had an "E" attached to the symbol (GLKCE) to identify a corporate action underway. While trading with the modifier, Global Links had sufficient fails to deliver as reported by the DTCC to qualify for the regulation SHO threshold security list. GLKCE was identified on the list on February 10, 2005.
If you would, could I have the remainder of this information provided as this information falls within the boundaries of the originating request. I am forwarding the response I received as a reference.
Thank You,
Dave Patch
------------------------
Mr. Patch:
According the consulting office they only went by the ticker symbol you provided in your request "GLKC". Please note they can only search by the symbol you provided in your request. For future requests you may want to provide an alternate ticker symbol to avoid any confusion.
Thanks.
Frank Mandic
FOIA/Privacy Act Research Specialist"
And then they provided him with the numbers.
Here are the fails for Global Links, from February, when they only had 1.1 million total shares outstanding, to April, when Dave's other data begins. Note that at some point between February and end of March, the company issued 3.3 million shares, as previously discussed. I had speculated that those additional shares were used to reduce the FTD level, and that the 10 million in April was down from some higher number earlier. I was right, but I didn't know how much higher the number was.
In February, Global Links had 27 million fails on 1.1 million issued shares.
27 million.
Senator Bennett demanded that Donaldson investigate the trading in the company, and report back to him. He never reported back to him, but you can bet that the SEC looked into it.
So our top securities cop, the regulator who is arguing that they should be allowed to "handle" the FTD crisis, and not the states, allowed 27 times the issued shares to be failed deliveries - all the while assuring the public that there was no massive problem, that it was trivial, and that Reg SHO was "working."
Investors were being defrauded via MASSIVE dilution of breathtaking size, and the SEC knew about it, and covered it up, and did nothing to stop it or even slow it.
So I will say it again. How bad does this have to be shown to be before the Senate Judiciary will step in and appoint a special prosecutor?
I believe that the shareholders of Global Links have a massive class action suit against the brokers that defrauded them, as well as the individuals at the SEC who participated in this cover-up and breach of their duty. 27 million shares failed on issued shares of 1.1 million. That is pure fraud against investors by Wall Street, aided and abetted by individuals at the SEC, who chose not to abide by their charter in the 1934 Securities Exchange Act (to protect investors, and safeguard the public's interest) but instead to allow Wall Street to severely damage shareholders for financial gain, and do nothing, and then cover it up, while making false and misleading statements.
We heard nothing from the NY financial press last week, with the notable exception of Forbes. Everyone else just pretended that the data wasn't showing what the data clearly showed. I wonder if the brave freedom fighting journalists at the WSJ, or the NY Times, or Barron's, or the NY Sun, or Reuters, or AP, or TheStreet or Motley Fool, or even the NY Post, will take a moment out from their important work and comment on the largest financial fraud of our lifetime, and the proof that our securities regulator is assisting in covering-up the fraud? They were all there to say Patrick was crazy, and that we were a bunch of loons. I wonder if they will be here to break the news that we were right, and that there is a systemic problem, and that our regulators lied to us and participated in an organized fraud against investors and issuers?
Our worst fears were not bad nor ugly enough. Patrick has long been saying that insiders tell him that the ex-clearing fails in companies like OSTK and NFI are more like 15 to 20 times as bad as the in-system FTDs represented in the SHO data. Is there anyone out there now who doubts that could be true?
What is there to say?