| | Register
Who is Bob O'Brien?
Sanity Check Archive
Click Here to see Bob's Old Sanity Check articles.
About our Blogs

Blogs found on this website represent the opinion of the author. For more information please visit our terms of use.
Funny Bunny
Looking for something a little lighter?
Catch Bob's more irreverent and amusing pieces in his Funny Bunny Blog.

What's The Deal With Wikipedia?

Location: Blogs Bob O'Brien's Sanity Check Blog    
Posted by:   bobo 9/30/2006 5:23 AM

UPDATE: A series of edits to the Wikipedia entry "Naked Short Selling" were made over the last 24 hours by several posters familiar to us, and they were ALL abruptly deleted by our favorite Wikipedia censor, "Matanmoreland." Apparently he felt that Gary Weiss's SECOND book mention in the naked short selling article was vital to a reader's appreciation of the topic, and that any info that showed the prevailing agenda to be false and misleading should be removed immediately. This included references to the FOIA data here, which is verifiable fact, versus opinion as to how valuable NSS is to combat pump and dump. Don't take my word for it, go read the article, and then look at the history - the last one being the blanket deletions.

So Wikipedia deletes factual data in favor of 'lilGW's book touts, and rationalizations over how committing fraud can offset other hypothesized frauds - and the unsupported opinions of a few of the usual suspect "journalists" who have repeatedly been taken to task for completely one-sided, unfounded agenda-spinning merit prominent placement - versus the website of the organization which delivered the Amicus brief ACCEPTED by the court in the case where Wikipedia cites the SEC's Amicus as though the only one issued.

In short, NCANS is enough for the court to accept as an expert opinion, but Matanmoreland views that Amicus, and this site, as unfit for citation at Wiki.

But be sure to pick up Gary's SPECTACULAR BOOKS IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

Anyone confused as to how this works?

-------------

I got an email from an academic who was commenting on the naked short selling entry at Wikipedia, and how one-sided it was - essentially that it acted as a sort of propaganda arm for the interests of Wall Street, and by extension, the regulators/government. And how the Patrick Byrne entry was similarly skewed.

So I went over yesterday and looked at it, and was aghast at the complete takeover of the page by someone who apparently felt that the arguments that naked shorting offsets pump and dump were deserving of more real estate than the FOIA data we know to be reality.

Then I noted that there were several mentions of Gary Weiss, and his books. Gary, who as my readers know has never actually come up with ANY data to support his ill-informed beliefs, is apparently treated by Wikipedia as the last word on the topic.

Which I found rather strange.

Then I noted that "Matanmoreland" was responsible for most of the editing, and deletion of any data that conflicted with he SEC and DTCC party line, as well as Gary's mostly ignored take on things.

Which brings me to two sites I think we should all spend some time at: www.Antisocialmedia.net and www.wikipediareview.com

The first explains, rather credibly, why 'lilGW is thought of as some sort of savant by Matanmoreland. It apparently IS 'lilGW.

That would explain the neurotic touting of his forgettable books every few paragraphs, as well as the agenda against truthful and balanced editing. Ditto the Byrne bash thinly veneered as a balanced biography.

The second discusses the complete lack of fairness that typifies the Wikipedia process - and it ties in the agenda with a guy whose name should be known to my readers.

Michael Steinhardt.

You know. The mentor of David Rocker and Jim Cramer, to name a few. The guy who got Marc Rich his pardon from Clinton in his last hour of his presidency. Whose dad was an intimate familiar of the Italian mob out of NY.

That Michael Steinhardt.

I get the sense that the folks at the second site don't have the picture of how their bad guys relate to ours - but they are really working on exposing a different side of the same network.

I'm not going to go into to much detail here, but suffice it to say that there might be foreign bad guys in the mix. Call it a hunch.

And let's just say that all of it is related in some way.

Another hunch.

That's about the only thoughts I have on the topic, but I would think that the folks at those two sites would be well advised to come read here for awhile for a sense of how the economic side of their coin works, and then consider the strange confluence of players that feature in both arenas.

The world is small, but not that small.

Word.
Copyright ©2006 Bob O'Brien
Permalink  |  Trackback
Comments (21)
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By davidn on 9/30/2006 4:52 PM
I continue to be amazed at the "coincidences" and same names that keep coming up.

Bobo,

I like your idea of serial numbers on entitlements, but am not exactly how the process would work. They separate the delivery of shares from the printing and matching of trades.

It's hard to not be long winded when describing the process, but the bottom line is the entitlements often live outside the SEC's jurisdiction - and what is transferred is not even entitlements, but netted entitlements.

A little bit of fraud can make those net to zero, so sending zero entitlements with a serial number or zero entitlements without one is the same thing.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By gregcable2002 on 9/30/2006 6:07 PM
FBI Arrests 7 In Investment Scam

September 29, 2006

A so-called "boiler room" operation that scammed more than 200 people out of $6.5 million was shut down this morning when the FBI arrested seven people in Lower Manhattan.

Several others are still being sought.

The group would target mostly elderly people over the phone using high pressure sales techniques to offer investments in the currency market, according to the FBI.

"The investors, or victims, would get a statement every month showing basically a 5% increase on a investment every month and then at the end of about six months they got a statement showing a 90% loss," said FBI agent Andrew Arena. “Basically these individuals bust out the company, grab the money, return a small portion of the investment to the individual and then run."

The victims are scattered around the country.

And, officials are working to recover the stolen funds.



Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By gregcable2002 on 9/30/2006 6:12 PM
GRAND-MA THEFT Wonder if Gary knows these guys.
FEDS NAB 11 PERPS IN RUSSIAN BOILER-ROOM OP
By KATI CORNELL
RUSSIAN ROULETTE: David lozovsky led into custody yesterday was chargedin a stock scam, along with...
September 30, 2006 -- The feds busted seven members of a Lower Manhattan boiler-room operation that allegedly raked in $6.7 million in just six months - bilking many elderly victims out of their life savings.

The FBI rousted the alleged scammers from their beds early yesterday morning, charging them with wire and mail fraud for cold-calling victims and using high-pressure tactics to squeeze cash out of 230 investors in a foreign currency scam from 2002 to 2003.

In convincing potential investors to cough up their cash, the cold-callers - operating out of the fraudulent firm Holston, Young, Parker and Assoc. at 130 William St. - falsely claimed their client lists included CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and numerous celebrities.

A total of 11 ring members were charged in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, including Boris Shuster, 34, Larry Shuster, Alexander Dzedets, 31, and Victor Altman, 38, Boris Tager, David Lozovsky, Adam Lichtenbaum, Edward Sharov, and Vincent Armato, who allegedly operated and managed Holston as a boiler-room operation.

Victims throughout the U.S. initially received bogus monthly financial statements reporting 5 percent growth on their investments over the first several months, according to Andrew Arena, chief of the FBI's criminal division in New York.

All the while, the alleged scam artists were secretly sending cash from the operation overseas to Cyprus and Russia.

After approximately six months, investors were sent letters saying that 90 percent of their money had been lost after a year of unprecedented market losses, authorities said.

"It was basically a flat-out boiler-room operation," Arena said. "Over a six month period, they were able to generate $6.7 million. They grab the money, close the company down and they're gone."

Seven men were arrested in New York yesterday and an eighth man was nabbed in Croatia.

"Unfortunately, by far the majority of victims in these scams turn out to be the elderly," Arena said. "They get confused. They fall for the hard sell. They invest their money."

The cold-callers used false names and lied about the company's history, claiming to manage $10 million to $30 million in clients' money.

Holston advertised itself as having offices in London, Zurich and Tokyo.

The wire and mail fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By davidn on 9/30/2006 6:13 PM
The collapse of MJK Clearing gives a peek into how the unregulated "stock borrow" system doesn't protect investors.

$130 million was stolen directly and 200 employees of MJK Clearing in Minneapolis were put out of work. Many hundreds of millions were lost by investors who bought GENI. You'd think that would be something governments would care about. It makes you wonder why YOU never heard this story.


THE PLAYERS

Valerie Redhorse: Michael Miliken's former office manager and actress, founder of Florida based Native Nations Securities
Wayne Breedon: head of stock loan department at Deutsche Bank Securities
Adnan Khashoggi: Iran Contra arms dealer, wanted in Thailand for 1996 collapse BCCI, Elgindy friend
Rami El-Batrawi: CEO Genesis Intermedia
Ultimate Holdings: Adnan and Rami's Bermuda based holding company



THE STORY

Brokerages will only pay fees to borrow stock to other brokerages. Ultimate Holdings, secretly controlling most of the stock of GENI used a small brokerage, Native Nations to pretend to own stock which they lent to Deutche Bank in Toronto, Canada. At first, they lent the stock directly to Deutsche bank, but in time, they set up a chain of twelve brokerages that lend from one to the next in a long daisy chain, each taking a cut until it finally ended up at Deutsche Bank. Native Nations provided their auditors with forged documents claiming the stock loans came from a large clearing brokerage.

Collateral for loans is "marked to market". In a normal scheme, the goal is to counterfeit the stock into oblivion. The collateral for the loan goes ever lower. In this case, they did the opposite and did heavy investor relations and marketing of the stock, causes the stock to go up. This forces the collateral to go ever higher, with the proceeds being held by Native Nations.

To limit the supply and force the price ever higher, Breedon took the stock he borrowed out of circulation, refusing to lend it any further. Ultimate Holdings took the proceeds of the stock loans, then recycled them by buying out of the market, then using the new shares to lend even more stock to Deutsche.

The day before September 11th, the stock was trading at $17.03. By September 17th, it was trading a $5.90 and was delisted.

Ultimate Holdings decided to keep $130 million in profit, leaving the dozen brokerages in the daisy chain SOL.


THE PUNISHMENT

The bad guys mostly got to keep their money.

The SEC filed suit against Adnan and Rami, blaming them rather than the clearing system. This is despite the fact that you can google "144 stock loans" and find dozens of sites offering to facilitate the same scam. They give non recourse loans (you don't have to pay it back) for lending them shares. As far as I know, the suit has gone no where. http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2006/comp19655.pdf#search=%22mjk%20clearing%20sec%20complaint%22

Valarie Redhorse received a leadership award in 2004 http://www.pmc.edu/news/2004/redhorse.html

Adnan and Rami, considered get to continue their history of dirty dirty deeds.

http://www.questionsquestions.net/docs04/johngraydossier.html

MJK went bankrupt

http://www.mjktrustee.com/press_10-01-01.htm

And their "fail to deliver" and "fail to receive" obligations, which in the case of most clearing organizations cancel to zero were transferred with their business for free to Southwest Securities:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2001/10/01/daily11.html

Leaving $60 million for the SIPC to pick up - don't worry about them, though, they'll recoup it from you in trading commissions.

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:QMeGec1MzCEJ:www.sipc.org/pdf/SIPC_fitch.pdf+mjk+clearing&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=3
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By davidn on 9/30/2006 6:34 PM
Where the f_ were the regulators?

"MJK Clearing extended cash loans in excess of $200MM to Native Nations, a securities firmwith equity capital of approximately $5MM."

Why did MJK do it? Simple answer was the lender's compensation was based on maximizing loans, no matter what the risk to the firm was.

"With his personal compensation directly tied to the net income produced by his department, Mr. Brooks had strong incentives to generate the largest returns, regardless of the risks involved."

This is not an isolated case and loans are not properly collateralized. Note that the same shares were recycled down the daisy chain of twelve brokerages.

"The rapid erosion of market values for many firms has prompted increased lending/borrowing activities in a large range of securities and as a consequence, securities firms can no longer assume that
collateral provides full protection in the case of a counterparty default."

The SIPC thinks the politicians and regulators aren't doing their jobs:

"During an extended period of strong economic growth, regulators, market participants and politicians who supervise the Commission’s activities, may have
overlooked the significance of a firm regulatory framework."

They don't think the SEC is doing their job:

"The workload of Commission employees has increased excessively and has resulted in noticeable delays of regulatory decisions and proposed rule
changes. The current regulatory situation is challenging for SIPC from a risk management perspective. To manage its fund effectively, SIPC must rely on the
SEC to adapt its reporting and monitoring capabilities to address the increasing complexities of SIPC’s members’ activities.Given the inadequate resources
available to the SEC, SIPC cannot be certain that this is alwaysthe case. "

And the rules are riddled with exceptions:

"As relates specifically to the MJK Clearing case, Native Nations and other securities firms are considered non-customers and are
therefore excluded for the purpose of the Rule 15c3-3computation. Rule 15c3-1 requires that securities firms maintain a minimum level of liquidity. The firm’s
net capital is the basis for the computation. Net capital is affected by securities lending/borrowing exposures, which are entered as asset and liability
items on the firm’s balance sheet. However, as long as the transactions are fully secured and/or the positions are matched (e.g. lending and borrowings are
of equal size) the net capital number will remain unchanged."
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By davidn on 9/30/2006 6:51 PM
Has this DTCC letter to the SEC been posted already?

http://www.dtcc.com/ThoughtLeadership/keyissues/SECCommentLetter.pdf
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By Catfish on 9/30/2006 7:12 PM
Yeah, DTCC letter posted. 8 days after the deadline, but who's counting. SEC doesn't enforce squat, so why not run the comment period well beyond the "deadline," eh? Like into 2008 or so.....

http://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-12-06/lethompson8590.pdf
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By x. trapnell on 9/30/2006 7:17 PM
Hmm, Michael Steinhardt? Let's not forget the CNBC connection here.

"n June 1999 Bartiromo married Jonathan Steinberg, son of 1980s takeover maverick Saul Stenberg and socialite Gayfryd Stenberg. Bartiromo and Steinberg had been dating for years following a chance meeting at his birthday party. Today, Steinberg is co-founder with Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel and hedge-fund manager Michael Steinhardt of WisdomTree, a New York investment firm that manages 20 exchange traded funds."

http://www.successmagazine.com/article.php?article_id=2
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By InTheKnow on 9/30/2006 8:24 PM
So this Russain mob got arrested fro pump and dump... what is the difference between this mob and the silent brokerage houses dumping millions of so called FTD's on unsuspecting investors... is it the silence?
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By kevin on 9/30/2006 8:49 PM
The tone of the letter from the NSCC seems a lot more conciliatory. They are saying the criminal activity is separate from their job as a depository and they welcome the chance to reveal the fails without requiring an FOIAA request.

I'd say this is progress from a year ago when Larry Thomson first started posting his missives.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By bobo on 9/30/2006 9:55 PM
If you go back a bit you will find all sorts of interesting intersections between the Russian mob and all of the above. As well as with certain foreign state clandestine apparatus. We are really all peeling the same onion. It should be no surprise that the same names are common.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By ginger on 9/30/2006 10:22 PM
Short Sellers Swarming Avanir’s Stock, Driving Down Share Price

http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=59326477.4974481.1371305.5639721.2691243.876&aID2=105476
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By Pepe Le Peux on 9/30/2006 11:28 PM
Sounds like it was a done deal which didn't need any support to pass.

All of the attention Goldstein has received in the last few months hasn't changed his style. The man who took on and overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission's rule requiring hedge fund registration is as outspoken as ever, in fact he may even be more so.

.....

The 'skunk'
Unlike others who take up the flag for their cause, Goldstein doesn't look the part. The hedge fund world heaps lavish returns on managers, but Goldstein carries an everyman's briefcase and dresses nicely but not flashy. After all, a khaki sport coat stands out in a room of $2,000 grey and midnight blue suits.
But what distinguishes Goldstein from other industry leaders is the absolute lack of support behind him. In a trillion-dollar industry, he received a single $10,000 check to support his legal efforts against registration. This, despite a cause that was successful in unchaining a business about to succumb to government control.
"I don't want to take any Monets away from managers in Connecticut," he said adding that he was disappointed in the lack of support. "Maybe they get a 24 room mansion rather than 25 rooms."
It's obvious that industry leaders Goldstein is talking about, like SAC Capital's Steven Cohen or Eddie Lampert of ESL Investments, didn't back Goldstein because they didn't want to draw attention -- either from the public or the SEC. But there's more to Goldstein's cold reception from his peers.
After he filed suit against the SEC, Goldstein said that at industry events he was "like a skunk at a garden party." Few gave him a chance. When he asked the 400 or so gathered to hear him speak how many thought he would win only two people raised their hands.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BBD8D374F%2D014E%2D4100%2DBA7D%2DFD6BA877A001%7D&dist=rss&siteid=mktw&rss=1
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By InTheKnow on 10/1/2006 4:56 AM
So Bobo you are saying that "Wikipedia the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit" is actually a tool used by miscreants to spew their slant on eveything and anything and that the naked short portion of Wikipedia is controlled by Gary Weiss?
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By InTheKnow on 10/1/2006 5:01 AM
You asked in another blog about Steven Hicks:

http://www.rgm.com/articles/predatororprey.html
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By wiki on 10/1/2006 6:46 AM
I notice many of the editors didn't create accounts, instead just editing from their IP address.

If you set up a free account, you can edit lil gw's work and also start new topics.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By wiki on 10/1/2006 6:48 AM
You can also create a watch list that alerts you if lil gw changes it. Just go through the history and revert to a version one of us wrote. There more of us than him.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By short list on 10/1/2006 6:58 AM
The new short data is out. According to the data, Global Links is only short 23,315, which can be flattened in only one day. That's great news to hear the system is working with full transparent disclosure (dripping with sarcasm).

http://otcbb.com/dynamic/shortinterest/shrt200609.txt
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By wiki on 10/1/2006 7:01 AM
According to this data, USXP has a short of zero.
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By just me on 10/1/2006 7:32 AM
San Diego Business Journal covers Naked Shorting

http://www.sdbj.com/article.asp?aID=51921082.4065668.1371305.7741162.8261922.643&aID2=105476
Re: What's The Deal With Wikepedia? By msucog on 10/1/2006 9:18 AM
when will the sec require short positions listed on the 13F filings? what about total trades reported instead of a snapshot only on the reporting date? why not reported sooner than 45 days after the last day during the period?
why can't the index total short positions be reported on a daily basis? this is perhaps as or more important to the individual investor than the long positions...maybe the answer lies in that very statement. maybe the sec is not here to protect the individual investor but more to protect the big money which controls the market. i notice that those that control/protect/steal from the market have relationships closer than kevin bacon's sixth degree...from the sec, nasd, dtcc, market makers, analysts (and the stocks they cover), brokers, and media personalities to the business partnerships they seem to have between themselves. how the hell can there be anything such as "self regulating" anywhere in this scenario?

Your name:
Title:
Comment:
Please limit your comments to 500 characters. For longer comments, use our forums.
Subscribe via Email
Get This Blog via Email:


Powered by Squeet.com
Sanity Check Archive
Resources
Copyright © 2006 The Sanity Check   |  Privacy Statement  |  Terms Of Use