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Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion

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Posted by:   bobo 2/2/2007 1:48 PM

I always liked Patrick Byrne. Smart, aggressive, honest, talented, doesn't back down from a fight.

I like him even more as of about 20 minutes ago, when the following article came over the wire.

OSTK is suing the prime brokers for collusive manipulation.

We have known that goes on for years, and it seems that everyone who watches the markets (except, of course, the SEC) has recognized it as SOP for years.

Now it looks like the brokers got some 'splainin' to do.

No doubt their defense will have lots of hyperbole about liquidity, and repo agreements, and the good of the market.

Can't wait to see 12 jurors listen to all that. "We had to sell tens and tens of millions of shares that don't exist, destroying thousands of investors, for the good of the markets!"

With RICO, that could easily go to $10+ billion.

I wish the attorneys would get NFI into the mix in that shareholder suit. Their damages are likely even larger. Could you imagine if this becomes the norm? Maybe we wouldn't see the kind of carnage that we have seen in NFI over the last month, and especially today, where the stock is throwing a 27% yield on no news, having been slammed down by over 30% in 20 trading days.

I wonder if the NFI attorneys can get that company into the mix? Wouldn't it be fun for the specialist (Banc of America) and the brokers to have to explain, with $3 or $4 billion on the line, why they sold this off and ruined the lives of countless retired investors, for the good of God and Country? Or get the options MM to explain why they were NSS millions and millions of shares on massive put buys from the same hedge funds, day after day, for months at a time, without the word "manipulation" coming up in passing?

Good going, Patrick. It's about frigging time that the crooks faced accountability via the courts. I wonder if their team will try the failed Federal gambit on this one? Probably. Stall, prevaricate, blame everyone else, and then try to settle before all facts become known.

Man I'd love to know how much of discovery goes to the DOJ. I bet a lot. It's one thing for a corrupt SEC to pardon this behavior with a wrist slap, another entirely for the DOJ to look at criminal implications of a cartel of miscreants defrauding investors, with a jury of 12 ordinary folks thinking it through, and contemplating what they would feel if it was their retirements on the line that had been stolen.

Triple damages may be too low.

 
Copyright ©2007 Bob O'Brien
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Comments (68)
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By tmg on 2/2/2007 2:14 PM
$3.48 billion over 20.65 million shares is $168/share. Of course it says some shareholders have joined in the suit, so they will get some of the billiions.

They should file one of these every day until they run out of Reg SHO companies or the primes run out of money.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By CHOKING ON COX on 2/2/2007 2:29 PM
I am surprised the lawsuit did not include the SEC. After all they are as complicit on this as the prime brokers. They are supposed to be the wall to prevent this type of criminal behavior but they are actively facilitating it.

Chris Cox and his crew of bandits need to resign immediately.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/3/2007 8:48 AM
Now that this suit has been filed, how is it different form the other 2 suits that was file from the 2 hedge funds and NFI? The reason why I ask is that these financial institutions are not phased by these actions and continue to commit the same crimes. I would not be surprised to see OSTK stock plunge even further on Monday!These guys just DON'T CARE!! How can we make them STOP and do the right thing?
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Mr. Wiggle on 2/3/2007 10:18 AM
As an investor I'm glad exposure of NSS might make our markets more fair.

However, I'm wondering about the consequences to the market. How will those consequences effect me as a shareholder?

Does an investor get out of the market completely and wait out the storm?

Is the mental attitude of the retail market and CEO's kind of like the Bush administration early in the Iraq war. They were shouting "Mission Accomplished!" and now in hind sight it may have been better to have left things alone.

What happens to the brokerages when they might be forced to cover naked shorts that they don't have the funds to cover? Where does that leave our markets? Where does that leave the price of my shares if I can't sell them to anyone.

And the ultimate in conspiracies - are all efforts such as this one (exposing NSS), veiled in altruistic virtue, nothing more than opportunity sharks smelling blood in the water positioning themselves for a great feed.

Bobo - are you circling, sharpening your teeth? And better yet, tell us what positions your taking.

Mr. Wiggle
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By old duffer on 2/3/2007 11:00 AM
Mr. Wiggle,

If not this what?

Bring the whole thing in the open !Hang the guilty and start up honest.

War can cost you your life but some things are worth dying for.

Used to be treason brought calls for the death penalty from those high in Government. Now days they all look the other way. Why is that? Are they all involved themselves in Treason or so close that they feel it is now ok?

What has happened to America?
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By old duffer on 2/3/2007 11:08 AM
Mr. Wiggle,

Never mind. I think I know what has happened to America. It has been taken over with the the selfish who only worry about what will harm themselves.

Fight evil.

Grow a backbone!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By jcline on 2/3/2007 11:15 AM
OSTK Complaint

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/13/131091/lawsuits/Complaint_Time%20Stamped.pdf
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Mr. Wiggle on 2/3/2007 11:49 AM
old duffer - so are you long OSTK now? You and your spine?

Like all wars there is profiteering going on . That was my point. Where are the profits in this war? Who will the profiteers be? Bobo - any hints?

Mr. Wiggle
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By cynabear on 2/3/2007 12:58 PM
anyone doubt this is war??? read on...this refers to NFI stk....found on an interesting blog sited on the IV NFI mb

Lee Adler/The Wall Street Examiner wrote:

While you guys are arguing fundamentals, the stock has broken down from a huge 4 year top this week.

Since 12/18 the stock has dropped from 30 to 23. The intermediate projection is 14. The long term price objective is zero. It’s well on the way.

So you can quit arguing. This stock is finished.

By the way, CFC broke that initial uptrend line I discussed in one of our podcasts.

Game over for the mortgage whores.

Game over.

Posted on 16-Jan-07 at 2:37 pm | Permalink | Quote
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By RTWAY on 2/3/2007 1:47 PM
Mr. Wiggle the people that will profit from this law suit are the very people that make this country work and provide the opportunity for all people to make what ever they want out of them selves. It sends a message to growing number of selfish, spoiled, lazy ass thieves that crimes is not the magic game plan for wealth but rather a ticket to a BK court or a cell with less than friendly neighbors. I for Investors has a great idea for You Tube. It would give the person giving the presentation the time and charts necessary to explain to the novices as well as the seasoned investor how the game is played.MOST IMPORTANT IN CAN SHOW PEOPLE IN ALL POSITIONS OF LIFE HOW THIS CAN AFFECT THEIR PENSIONS, IRAS, COLLEGE ACCOUNTS AND THEIR VERY FURURE. BRILLIANT IDEA.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By SickoftheSEC on 2/3/2007 3:50 PM
The SEC has committed countless crimes against the American Public by turning a blind eye to corruption in the financial markets..They have committed countless acts of Treason by allowing offshore Hedge Funds who pay no taxes to the USA to NAKED SHORT 1000s of companies.. These Hedge Scums have ripped off trillions of $$$$$$$ from our economy..I am involved in a stock (CVM) that has a cure for Head and Neck Cancer which is lethal in most cases which has a short I believe to be 3x the float at least...Who did the pipe financing for this company back in 2002 ...Mr Scum invested in 88 companies of which 86 our now defunct..By accident or by design you tell me..My 9 yr old could pick stocks better by throwing darts heck dirtbag Cramer does better than Mr Scum..The Naked Short sellers continue to sell unlimited amounts of stock in CVM ..As witnessesd yesterday when the stock was 90 cents and 15 minutes later it was 76 cents all because the SEC is a joke..They are a disgrace to Americans and should be in jail for their countless acts of Treason..The SEC is the most corrupt organization in the world led by spineless regulators who I believe are more interested in lining their own pockets with bribes etc rather than protecting the American Public..The day CVM recieved Phase 3 approval in January for their drug Multikine the stock traded up to 78 cents and by the next morning the stock traded back down to 66 cents all because naked shorts have no choice but to continually sell fradulent shares of stock to keep the price down..I personally have seen countless stocks naked shorted by the likes of UBS also known as The United Bank Of Scum and 100s of other corrupt Market Makers who allow this practice to line their pockets with commission dollars..The levels of Naked Shorting in our markets is astronomical and the good ole boys at the SEC are so immoral and unethical and corrupt they continue to allow innocent Americans to be decimated by Offshore non-paying taxpayers corrupt hedge funds..Its time to Investigate the SEC and to put them where they belong in JAIL ...There levels of greed and corruption is sickening ...Does any Senator realize that if they took up our cause they would easily become the next President of the USA..For one reason alone these hedge scums would have to cover their illegal shorts and the honest people who benefit from this would bankroll the Senator right into the Presidency because of his integrity and honesty..... Ive had enough of The SEC its time to get rid of these Crooks and clean house for the Average American Investors..
http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3128&cat=Opinion Express your opinion to Senator Dodd swamp him with views on Naked Shorting
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Catfish on 2/3/2007 4:11 PM
If you're looking to Christopher Dodd for help, note that hit top campaign contributor, both last election cycle and throughout his political career, has been the Securities & Investment industry:

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?cid=N00000581
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Dr. Jim DeCosta on 2/3/2007 4:28 PM
Mr. Wiggle,

In my opinion we continue the crusade on the macro level by amending Reg SHO and getting the 2 Congressional Oversight Committees educated. This is slow and frustrating as you well know. On a more pragmatic approach there are development stage corporations out there that really do “Have the goods in spades” as well as astronomically large naked short positions but there is a lot of work that needs to be expended to verify these facts. The 3 main parameters of interest are finding a victimized corporation with a significant chance of receiving a tender offer well above existing share price levels which sometimes isn’t that hard due to to the share price being manipulated so low. The second is finding a corporation capable of buying their undervalued shares back out of the market and cancelling them. The 3rd is finding a corporation with enough cash flow to periodically distribute cash dividends. These dividends can become very, very generous from a percentage point of view especially with victimized issuers trading at mere single digit percentage points of their “Book value”. With the JAGTTRA legislation providing tax rates of between 5 and 15% for cash dividends this modality provides a great way to transfer corporate assets into the pockets of the victimized shareholders no matter what the naked short sellers do. After a while the naked short sellers will get tired of matching these inordinately large percentage cash dividends with “PILS” or “Payments in lieu” of dividends. The approach needs to be to rescue 1 or 2 victimized corporations at a time. On the macro scene this problem is so far out of hand and the systemic risk is so high that there is no solution that won’t include the collateral damage associated with diminishing the already anemic levels of investor confidence as well as reveal the corruption in our markets. Since naked short positions are accretive by nature the best corporations are those that have survived the longest “Bear raids”. My 2 favorite corporations with these qualifying parameters are currently in their 8th and 9th years of their attack and trade at what my research deems to be less than 5% of book value. What I’ve found is that any corporation surviving a “Bear raid” for this long of a period of time almost BY DEFINITION “Has the goods” because you can’t fake it for that long. I’d recommend you look in the junior mineral exploration sector where the DTCC, the SEC, market makers, hedge funds, prime brokers and naked short selling cartels have the mindset that all of these companies are “Scams” until proven otherwise. About 1 to 2% of these companies do however make economic discoveries that attract the attention of a major mining firm interested in either doing a joint venture or sometimes tendering for their shares. What I’ve learned in the past is to split the due diligence fees amongst a dozen or so like-minded investors so that the quality (And quantity) of the due diligence can be impeccable. These dozen or so guys might have to nurture these victims and help them back onto their feet in order to get them to the point where they can meet the 3 parameters above. This modality converts what used to be an ultra-high risk and ultra-high reward proposition into a relatively low risk and ultra-high reward proposition. But it takes a heck of a lot of man hours of work. There is a very large amount of money out there sensing opportunity because they know that the DTCC and the SEC EVENTUALLY are going to have to either buy in these “Delivery failures” that have led to mere “Share entitlements” or forewarn prospective investors of their existence because the DOJ and the State Attorneys General aren’t going to sit on their heels forever while the blood letting continues. Best of luck!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Edgar on 2/3/2007 7:48 PM
After all these years Patrick still hasn't produced a shred of evidence of any illegal activity. Just a lot of allegations. Remember him telling us that he knew who the Sith Lord was? Later he admitted he was just blowing hot air.

After nearly four years the SCO vs IBM case hasn't gotten within a mile of a jury trial.

It's not likely to be any different this time, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By bobo on 2/3/2007 10:01 PM
Edgar: After all these years? I got him into this about 2 years ago. At that point he thought it was all horsepoop.

How do you explain the massive FOIA data on FTDs in NFI and OSTK? Legal activity? What kine would explain all that, praytell?

Answer: None.

Don't waste our time. If you can explian why 12% of NFI's OS was FTD a couple years back, legally, that is, knock yourself out. If you can explain under what rule it would be legal to sell Patick many tens of thousands of shares, and for months not deliver, super. Have at it.

Saying there was no holocaust or a round earth isn't quite as simple as confronting the evidence logically and refuting it. Knock yourself out. Flat earth, no genocide, no massive market manipulation....

Save it for the jury. Let the discovery begin. Why fight it if you aren't guilty?
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By oldfeller on 2/3/2007 11:35 PM
Interesting that a search of yahoo news friday evening had several hits covering the OSTK lawsuit. Including some with some schoolteacher saying that ostk had bit off more than they can chew. I can`t find those articles now, even using an advanced search with those exact words.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By gjw46 on 2/4/2007 3:43 AM
You know, if in 30 years or so the lionshare of the population speaks spanish has a darker skin tone and prays to the east every morning...so what. So long as the constitution remains intact America will still exist. The greatest threat to our country is not Islamofacism its corruption. The thirst for money and power has gutted this country and the corporation has become its god. The laws are in place, they're simply outweighed by the corporate goal which is "defended vigorously" by the lawyers who stood by and let the rot walk right past them. Oh..could I have some more of that cake?
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Where are those Bills! on 2/4/2007 3:58 AM
The State representatives should know that when their constituants find out how they have been screwed by naked shorting, and their State has suppressed the bill to stop it, they will be out of a job!

No Relief, No Job!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By antny@singsing on 2/4/2007 5:07 AM
Dr DeCosta, please look at BTVL. The bear raid took place over just 30 days. from 3+ to .17. there is just 2.6 mil shares in the float and mgmt has NOT issued any free trading stock. There are 55 mil restricted shares (1-2 years). The company did a 1:1000 reverse so the avg position of the float is miniscule. 1000 shares is a VERY large position. The transfer agent can confirm this. Volume spiked to 80k+ on Dec 28 and the stock has not seen the light of day since. That was 4x avg volume. Vast majority of volume at SBSH. Firms like VCPros out of Cali calling non stop as the price declined to "help" with an equity financing. A few out of NY as well. ALL calls are logged by mgmt. Mgmt will NOT do an equity financing. Rather they're seeking a more traditional route via a bank leveraging their assets. once financed, the company intends to start up its travel booking engine. Mgmt built the booking engine of viajo.com which was sold to Despregar. very profitable business. 1 that could sustain dividends. Shareholders have lost approx $175 mil in the last 30 days. RICO would mean $500 mil claim. I imagine this is very comprable to Citi's exposure in the OSTK case. if not larger. again, no pouring over months or years of data. just 30 days worth.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By stryker-ny on 2/4/2007 7:24 AM
Does anyone know the approximate date when the O'Quinn lawsuit will begin...tia
Dr.Jim DeCosta By bryedge on 2/4/2007 10:44 AM
Dr. DeCosta, you are on the Advisory Board of a particular company, DTMG.

DTMG was listed on the SHO List three different times. Does this evaluate to "having the goods"?

Do you think that DTMG should file a similar suit as has Overstock.com?

TIA

PS Steady On, Patrick Byrne!!! The World is watching!! Some with a great deal of fear.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By wikiwatcher on 2/4/2007 11:00 AM
some idiot named "samiharris" on wikipedia just vandalised an well-written and cited edit about the ostk lawsuit in the "naked shorting" entry in wikipedia.

"sam" edited down to one line about ostk and nfi among others' lawsuits having "no success".


Duh. They are just getting started.

Someone ought to spank these idiots on wikipedia.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Garbage on 2/4/2007 12:57 PM
The site is a piece of crap anyway so who cares. You have to be braindead to use it as a reference for anything important except for a receipe and then again you may suffer from diarrhea!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By jcline on 2/4/2007 4:21 PM
US courts to decide on ‘scheme liability’
By Brooke Masters in New York and Patti Waldmeir in Washington

Published: February 4 2007 18:37 | Last updated: February 4 2007 18:37

US courts are considering on Monday whether to bless a new legal theory thought up by plaintiffs’ lawyers that could put banks, lawyers and business partners on the hook for billions of dollars when a public company goes bust because of fraud.

The fifth circuit federal appeals court in New Orleans will take up the issue of “scheme liability” when it hears arguments on whether Enron’s shareholders can pursue a class action against Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and lawyer Vinson & Elkins.

Banks and lawyers have traditionally been protected by a 1994 Supreme Court decision that says shareholders cannot recover money from firms and people who simply “aided or abetted” securities fraud. But the recent corporate scandals prompted plaintiffs’ attorneys and angry investors to look for a way around that rule. They argue that the banks and lawyers participated in a “scheme” to hide Enron’s losses from investors and should be held “primarily responsible” for the company’s collapse.

Scheme liability “is almost indispensable. There would have been no way to hold the big banks responsible in Enron without scheme liability,” said Bill Lerach, the plaintiff’s attorney who represents Enron shareholders.

But Greg Markel, a lawyer for banks, warned that the theory “creates uncertainty for financial institutions and that uncertainty increases the costs of doing business.”

The trial judge in the Enron case initially agreed with investors, but other US courts have divided in cases involving fraud at Dynegy, Parmalat and HealthSouth. The Securities and Exchange Commission favours a limited form of scheme liability that could increase the number of companies targeted by such lawsuits.

“The scope of scheme liability is the single most important issue being litigated in securities class actions today,” says Bob Giuffra, an attorney with Sullivan & Cromwell, which defends companies against securities lawsuits.

The US Supreme Court is also considering whether to hear two scheme liability cases. One includes companies allegedly involved in sham transactions conducted by Homestore, the online estate agents site. The influential ninth circuit federal appeals court found that business partners can be held liable if their transactions with a company had “the principal purpose and effect of creating a false appearance of fact in the fur­ther­ance of a scheme to defraud” even if they did not directly mislead investors.

If that ruling stands, “lawyers will begin naming as defendants all manner of companies [particularly those with ‘deep pockets’], merely because they engaged in significant transactions with issuers who allegedly accounted for the transactions fraudulently,” claim papers filed by Cendant and Time Warner, targets in the Homestore case.


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b66d9af0-b478-11db-b707-0000779e2340.html
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/4/2007 6:02 PM
The domino effect???

Top US prosecutors ‘forced out’

"Senator Patrick Leahy, the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will hold a hearing next week on whether the justice department is politicising the hiring and firing of top federal prosecutors."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5deb91f0-b169-11db-b901-0000779e2340.html

-------------
IMO...this is not just about installing top prosecutors without Senate confirmation. It is about a massive cover up of egregious fraud once again. They ( the ones being removed) are getting the goods on these fraudsters...and taking them out and replacing them with less knowlegable prosecutors obviously slows the process down and may even give some time to obstruct justice... which seems to be the going fad these days.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By antny@singsing on 2/4/2007 8:22 PM
The OSTK suit has been filed. The State's hve seen it. Christian says this is a 1 TRILLION DOLLAR class action. watch them jump on board. no going back. as with ALL previous scandals (like market timing) the first settlement is the cheapest. never used to be like that. But the DOJ is so politicized, any obstruction brings down the hammer. Just because it HAS to in a political environment. who's first?
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Kuma on 2/5/2007 7:39 AM
Any truth to this?

.."now with the advent of the executive order signed by the pres bush 1/18/07 that tells the sec that they do not have the right to legislate anything because they are not part of the legislative arm of the government ,but rather the sec is the enforcement arm of the government ,the exec order demands and mandates that all outstanding shorts will be covered ,starting feb 5 using the arms soft ware system developed and incorporated within the dtcc and the broker dealer firms starting feb 5 to ferrat out all nss and foia's and make them cover or be force covered at the end of the time limit which i believe was 60 days from feb 5 2007..."
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By hedgie on 2/5/2007 7:59 AM
I suspect whoever did the 55 million share private placement. You can use 144 shares as collateral for a short outside of America. Effectively, you can sell the 144 shares the next day (or even prior to the placement).
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/5/2007 8:36 AM
Look at what they are doing to NFI, OSTK and USXP this a.m. these guys are above the law and they know it. There is no fear in their eyes. By now I think we should be used to this but I still can't believe it!!!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Zimmer on 2/5/2007 8:51 AM
Been watching CNBC all morning, not a mention of this story .... not a surprise ... but how obvious can it get, that this story is purposely kept under the radar?

Seems much more important to me, than Payton Manning's advertising worth, a story they've run 3 times already, this morning. Nice.

Which reminds me, any thoughts on why this type of news, may have been better announced in the middle of a trading day, instead of after hours on a Friday? Would think in the middle of a trading day, would force them to at least acknowledged that it happened.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/5/2007 9:56 AM
Zimmer to answer your question OSTK did not put out their news during the trading day as to not be accused of Market Manipulations by the beings that be. Thus the post trading day announcement!! Smart move on their part!!!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/5/2007 10:30 AM
John O'Quinn and His Legal Team File Complaint Against Major Financial Institutions on Behalf of Overstock.com, Inc. and Certain Shareholders
PR Newswire - February 05, 2007 1:15 PM ET


Related Quotes
Symbol Last Chg
BK Trade 41.34 +0.57
BRD Trade 13.19 0.00
C Trade 54.99 +0.33
OSTK Trade 14.80 -0.31
Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes

The Legal Consortium of The O'Quinn Law Firm and Christian Smith & Jewell, both of Houston, Texas and Stein & Lubin LLP of San Francisco, California (the Firms) announced today they filed a Complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco against Bank of America Securities LLC, Bank of New York, Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse (USA) Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, UBS Financial Services, Inc., and Does 1 through 100 (the Defendants) on behalf of Overstock.com, Inc. and certain of its shareholders. The Complaint accuses the Defendants of conversion, trespass to chattels, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, violations of California Corporations Code sections 25400, et seq., and violations of California Business & Professions sections 17200, et seq. and sections 17500, et seq.

Lead attorney John O'Quinn commented: "For the good of the American economy, it is imperative that that there be full faith in the fairness of our financial markets. Naked short selling, "fails to deliver", counterfeiting stock and other manipulative tactics are a stain on the execution of our exchanges." The Complaint alleges that the Defendants, who control over 80% of the prime brokerage market, participated in a massive, illegal stock market manipulation scheme. It further alleges that the Defendants had no intention of covering such orders with borrowed stock, as they are required to do, causing what are referred to as "fails to deliver". The Complaint also alleges that their actions caused and continue to cause dramatic distortions with regard to the nature and amount of trading in Overstock stock which have caused Overstock's share price to dramatically drop.

The Complaint states that a persistent large number of "fails to deliver" creates large downward pressure on the price of a company's stock. It also states that "fails to deliver" lists are prepared and published daily detailing each company for which there has been a substantial number of failures to deliver stock within the 'national clearance and settlement system' at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and its subsidiaries. The Complaint goes on to state that Overstock has been on these lists consistently since they were first published in January 2005.

Overstock.com is a leading "closeout" retailer. It offers customers the opportunity to shop conveniently online for brand name merchandise at heavily discounted prices and offers its suppliers an alternative means of inventory liquidation distribution. Overstock launched its first website through which customers could purchase products in 1999. Since that time, Overstock's overall business and gross revenues have grown steadily and consistently each year. Patrick Byrne, Chairman and CEO of Overstock, commented: "I have a fiduciary duty to defend the company. These manipulative activities have caused tremendous damage to Overstock," said Patrick Byrne, chairman and chief executive officer of Overstock.com "I believe that this conduct is harming our company and our shareholders deeply, and that investors have been failed by those who have a duty to protect them. The best way to address and solve the problem is to get in front of a jury of 12 Californians. With John O'Quinn at my side, I have full confidence that we will prevail." John O'Quinn added: "We realize that we are taking on a mighty task. Patrick Byrne and I are a perfect combination in that we are not afraid of taking on the big boys. Our cause is right and we won't back down."

SOURCE Christian Smith & Jewell

Ivan Kronenfeld of Koerner Kronenfeld Partners, LLC, +1-212-448-9141 x1,
ikronenfeld@kkpnyc.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
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Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By I'm Sick on 2/5/2007 11:42 AM
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-02-05T190027Z_01_N05404771_RTRIDST_0_TRIAD-MERGER-UPDATE-4.XML


Guess Whose Buying Our Hospitals

CCMP Capital is a private equity firm recently spun off from its former parent, investment bank JP Morgan. GS Capital Partners is the private equity arm of investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile , Research).
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/5/2007 12:34 PM
Fidelity brokers, traders found by NASD in violation

by Murray Coleman

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Four brokers connected to Boston-based Fidelity Investments and its related units have been fined a total of $3.75 million for a variety of electrontic recordkeeping breakdowns, the NASD announced Monday. In addition, the NASD said it has found that Fidelity Distributors Corp., the chief underwriter of the Fidelity family of mutual funds, failed to "supervise certain registered individuals for compliance with Fidelity's ethics and conflicts of interest policies." James Shorris, the group's head of enforcement, added in a statement: "It is inexcusable that four affiliated brokerage firms would fail to comply with essential registration, supervision and email requirements."
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By davidn on 2/5/2007 2:15 PM
OSTK / Mary / et al should be careful they don't let the weasels out on a technicality. I read the statement of claim.

Technically, only your brokerage has the contractual obligation to give you shares in exchange for your money. You don't have a contract with the party that owes your brokerage the shares.

Ideally, the lawyers won't argue this as a contractual obligation, but more of a systemic racketeering problem where the claimant is a victim.

IE. they had no contractual obligation to deliver anything to you, but your brokerage was unable to meet their contractual obligations to you because of their collusion with repurchase agreements and netted obligations to each other.

The prime brokerages may be colluding to fail to deliver to each other, net, repo, etc., but they don't have a direct contractual obligation to deliver to the buyer.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By tmg on 2/5/2007 2:50 PM
Connecticut Hedge Fund Bill Proposed (from DJ)

Various proposals to oversee hedge funds are percolating in Connecticut, a state with a heavy concentration of the investment vehicles.

One bill would require some hedge funds to report to the state’s banking commissioner investments of more than $10 million from pension funds. The bill was introduced by the Connecticut representative who previously co-sponsored a bill to create a state hedge fund anti-fraud unit.

In addition, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office is working on a set of proposals that states might want to consider relating to hedge funds.

Hedge funds are lightly regulated investment pools, typically used by the wealthy and institutions. More and more pension funds are dipping their toes into the pools. Many hedge funds are based in Connecticut, and the state has been home to several high-profile hedge fund failures, including Amaranth Advisors and Bayou Group.

A bill proposed by Republican state Rep. John Stripp of Weston, Conn., would require that hedge funds receiving a cumulative total of more than $10 million from a pension fund must report that to the state’s banking commissioner within 30 days. Such reports would include the name of the pension fund, who it is managed for, the address of its manager and the total amount of funds under management for each such pension fund. Failure to provide the report would result in a fine or penalty, not to exceed a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to a year in prison or up to a $2,000 fine or both.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By JLB on 2/6/2007 1:15 PM
Gee, herb and kramer are still talking shit about OSTK .
I hope to see their time come.

http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070205/26103_id.html?.v=1

http://secure2.thestreet.com/cap/login/rm_mbp_yho_cramerbook_ads.jsp?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=PREMIUM&cm_ite=003190&flowid=f70589d38f&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestreet.com%2Fp%2F_yahoo%2Frmoney%2Fjimcramerblog%2F10337207.html
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/6/2007 8:15 PM
This is very interesting!!

SEC Asks 10 Firms to Turn Over Stock-Trading Records (Update3)

By Otis Bilodeau

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requested 10 securities firms turn over stock-trading records for the last two weeks of September, opening a review of how Wall Street handles confidential information.

The examination is aimed at determining whether details about trades big enough to push a stock price up or down were leaked to other firms, Lori Richards, director of the SEC's office of compliance inspections and examinations, said today in an interview.

The review may be the first to target a specific period of time for a group of the biggest firms, and is focusing on possible insider trading at brokerages that cater to the most profitable customers, including hedge funds, Richards said. She declined to name the firms. The New York Times reported earlier today that they include Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG.

``This is a fact-finding effort, not an examination based on specific tips about misconduct at any particular firm,'' Richards said. The agency is acting on complaints from investors such as mutual funds that information about their trades may be leaking from, or exploited by, Wall Street firms that execute the transactions, she said.

Spokesmen for Merrill, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Enforcement Cases

Richards's unit conducted about 2,400 examinations of brokers, mutual funds and other financial advisers during the SEC's last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, according to the agency's annual report. Her team referred evidence of potential violations to the SEC enforcement division in 223 instances.

About 15 percent of the reviews of brokers led to enforcement referrals, Richards said.

By looking at several companies at once, the SEC may be able to detect cases in which information about a trade at one firm resulted in an improper trade being placed at a separate firm, Richards said. If the review uncovers evidence of insider trading, it will be turned over to the SEC's enforcement unit for possible legal action, she said.

The agency may also expand the inquiry to seek trading data from more firms if the first round of requests unearths widespread trading abuses, Richards said.

``In view of the size of trading by hedge funds, it's inevitable that the SEC would look at this,'' said Stephen Crimmins, a former SEC trial lawyer now in private practice at Bingham McCutchen LLP in Washington. The SEC in recent years has tried to focus ``on areas where there is likely to be a problem, and this is a likely area,'' Crimmins said.

30 Percent of Trades

While hedge funds have about 5 percent of the assets under management in the U.S., they account for about 30 percent of the country's equity trading, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox told a Senate panel in July.

The Senate Judiciary Committee at hearings last year grilled officials from the SEC and U.S. market watchdogs including the New York Stock Exchange about their efforts to detect and stop insider trading. Linda Thomsen, the SEC's enforcement chief, said the agency would look to the Wall Street firms that act as brokers for hedge funds.

``The prime brokers provide the SEC with a window into the trading activities of the hedge funds they serve,'' Thomsen told a Senate panel in December. ``The enforcement division remains optimistic about prime brokers as a source of leads regarding unlawful insider trading.''

Hedge Fund Loans

Wall Street's prime brokers lend securities, process trades and hold assets in custody to help managers run their hedge funds. The prime brokers split annual fees of about $10 billion in total, according to Tabb Group, a Westborough, Massachusetts- based consultant.

Regulators are also trying to gauge whether brokers are making large loans to hedge funds without demanding enough collateral to cover potential losses. The SEC, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Financial Services Authority in London met with some of the biggest lenders in December to find out how they guard against the risk of market-rattling defaults.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, generated about $1.5 billion of revenue from securities lending in the year through May 30, data compiled by consultants at Vodia Group in Concord, Massachusetts, show.

Morgan Stanley, Wall Street's No. 2 firm, gets more than $2 billion a year in revenue from providing prime brokerage services to hedge funds, according to estimates by Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York.

``To the best of our knowledge, we have not received a letter from the SEC,'' Ed Canaday, a Goldman spokesman, said.

Hedge funds are private pools of capital that let managers participate substantially in the gains on the money invested. Hedge funds worldwide manage about $1.3 trillion and bet on everything from interest rates to weather patterns.

To contact the reporter on this story: Otis Bilodeau in Washington at obilodeau@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: February 6, 2007 17:28 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a141iyM8qrYI&refer=us
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By oldfeller on 2/6/2007 9:54 PM
I have to take this opportunity to thank Patrick Byrne. I`m sure he did not expect to be where he is now when he started OSTK. Few people would wade into a fight like this when they already "had it made" so to speak. There are certainly very few politicians willing to stick their necks out to stop what is obvious malfeasance. He has my respect and that of everyone I know who understands the sacrifices he has made. Thanks Patrick, and let us know how we can help clean up this mess.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Phx on 2/7/2007 7:31 AM
Herbies chop job this am on squawk box was interresting to say the least. Does he normally studder like that? Never noticed before.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/7/2007 12:17 PM
Some thoughts!!

Here is something fairly well thought out. When might we see an end to the federal reserve?

Posted by ibaft2006

Just think about this analysis for a minute and you will not only be enraged and shocked, but truly ready to take up arms against these criminals.

The United States has an annual Gross National Product of approximately 12 trillion dollars. Consider the tax base of approximately 25% and you get income tax revenues (it is really tax theft) to the government itself of about 3 trillion annually.

We know that well in excess of 50% of the government's budget which is spent each year goes simply to pay the interest on the national debt. The national debt we know is a scam because the Federal Reserve is nothing but well dressed foreign bankers who bought a few key senators to call an unannounced, late-night session in 1913 to give them control of our money supply, AGAINST THE MANDATE OF THE CONSTITUTION! The power to coin money is with congress and although they may charter banks, they must be under Congress' control, not foreign-owned and independent from any audit. The Fed merely prints money and loans it to us for interest. What logical reason, other than corruption, gives a bunch of foreign bankers the right to control and steal our money?

In any case, since the national debt is a scam then the interest we pay for it is also a scam. However, for the purpose of my explanation, let us continue.

Although the interest paid on the national debt is well in excess of 50% of the government's annual intake of approximately 3 trillion dollars, the federal government annual intake is reduced to 1.5 trillion dollars. Now prepare yourself for this one...

There is extensive naked shorting alleged in the lawsuit commonly identified as Electronic Trading Group vs. B of A, Bank of NY, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros, Merryl Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith, Morgan Stanley and UBS, also known as NY Southern District Court Case No. 06-CV-2859. This case is a lawsuit by the Hedge Funds against the named banks for selling them counterfeit shares. The plaintiff is an LLC, but the owner is a man by the name of Robert Kanter, a hedge-fund biggie. Seems like the rats are all abandoning the sinking ship and each is trying to point the finger at the other on the way out. So, the hedge funds lost money due to naked shorting and they are trying to recover it, such is my take on the case at this time.

Now, consider the allegations in the lawsuit. Since the plaintiff consists of experts in the field who work it everyday, I assume their allegations are both accurate and provable. After all, they would have both the personal knowledge of market operations and the proof to substantiate their claims. Guess how much this plaintiff alleges it can prove is naked shorted or counterfeited on a daily basis? Are you ready? Try $6 billion per day! That means that the remaining intake to the government of $1.5 trillion, if balanced out against the naked shorting/counterfeiting, subtracting the $6 billion per trading day (x 250 trading days = $1.5 trillion) and you basically have those criminals stealing out of the economy 100% of the taxes the government in takes every year.

Do you now understand why the United States is going broke? Do you now understand why our military, border patrol, intelligence agencies and all other needed federal agencies are severely underfunded? Do you now understand why our intelligence agencies were stretched so thin that they could not step in and prevent 9-11 from happening? Do you now understand why the degenerate federal government must charge huge and ever-increasing gasoline taxes, social security taxes, inheritance taxes, taxes for using the roads, taxes for everything from A to Z?

People, the government in America seriously need an enema or the emerging cancer will kill us. Our enemies are certainly happy about these developments, our crooked officials care less, seeking to rob us at an unprecedented pace. Just look at the new trading system imposed on February 5, 2007 of this year? It creates total transparency in the markets and with the implementation of RegSHO, one might think the criminal shorters would cover. Think so? Well, the answer is absolutely not! These criminals are being whisked out of the candy store like a bunch of thieving children. They are lining their pockets at an unprecedented rate because they know the fall is coming. More illegal naked shorting now than ever before.

When will our public servants pull their heads out and do their jobs? This is the pressing question of the 21st century.

Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Sean on 2/7/2007 4:06 PM
Here we go, the dominoes have begun to drop!!

Class Action against Hedge Funds

Seeger Weiss LLP Announces a Class Action Lawsuit On Behalf of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited Shareholders Against Various Hedge Funds -- FFH
Wednesday February 7, 5:18 pm ET


NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm Seeger Weiss LLP announces that it filed a class action lawsuit today in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all sellers of common stock of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (NYSE:FFH - News) over the New York Stock Exchange (``NYSE'') between December 18, 2002 and July 25, 2006 (the ``Class Period''), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Exchange Act'').

The Complaint filed states that the case ``arises from a massive, illegal stock market manipulation scheme that has targeted and severely harmed ... shareholders of Fairfax, and has resulted in immense ill-gotten profits for defendants S.A.C. Capital, Exis Capital, Third Point, Rocker Partners and other extremely powerful hedge funds.'' The Complaint further alleges that Defendants ``launched a manipulation scheme ... which was an abusive short selling strategy coupled with a public relations campaign chock full of false and misleading statements about Fairfax, its executives, its business, and its common stock price designed to drive down (Fairfax's) stock price.''

Seeger Weiss LLP is a New York-based firm that is active in major complex litigations and class actions pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Seeger Weiss has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers and others and has recovered millions of dollars for clients and class members.

If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than 60 days from today move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as ``lead plaintiff.'' Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Seeger Weiss LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact us:

More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at http://www.primenewswire.com/ca



Contact:
Seeger Weiss LLP
(877) 541-3273

------------------------
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/070207/113344.html

Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.48 Billion By Dr. Jim DeCosta on 2/7/2007 4:09 PM
In re: the above comments regarding NSSers going after companies with potential cancer cures and new drug breakthroughs, my 26 years of research in NSS shows it to be extremely common. Why? Because of the high monthly "Burn rate" of these companies and the long timeframe involved in receiving FDA approval. Once the share price falls out of bed from the initial wave of NSSing, these companies are forced to raise enormous amounts of funds below artificially depressed levels due to the theoretical "Hold time" which by the way is nonexistent yet the reason proffered for needing a severe discount to the current market prices. The high burn rate leaves these companies constantly in need of financings done at severe discounts to constantly decreasing levels. This goes for years on end due to the inherently slow FDA approval process which the naked short sellers are very well aware of. For any surviving companies by the time approval is reached there are so many “Real” as well as “Fake” shares (Mere “Share entitlements”) in the system that even if the drug or biomed company had awesome sales from this cancer cure then the earnings would be divided by a gazillion shares such that the EPS remains low and the EPS determines share price via the customary “Multiple” involved in any financial sector. As time passes by soon the only financiers willing to touch these astronomically diluted start-ups are the predatory PIPE financiers oftentimes co-conspiring with previous financiers. When the ink dries on one of their “Death spiral convertible” financings then it truly is “Game over” for both the young company and the cancer cure or wonder drug being developed. To add gasoline to the flames most researchers and physicians don’t know Jack diddley about Wall Street and are the perfect prey. Thus the combination of a high monthly burn rate, a slow FDA approval process and financially naïve researchers and physicians creates the trifecta for these predators. Naked short selling is a totally heinous form of securities fraud. The premeditated annihilation of potential cancer cures and wonder drugs affords us a view of the mindset of some of these criminals. Hopefully the reality just described can provide an incentive to amalgamate U.S. investors as well as ethical Wall Street participants and regulators into ridding the landscape of this fraud. dr. d
Hi, I'd like to introduce myself By DrDentist on 2/10/2007 2:45 PM
I am a dentist, which is similar to a vet except the clients aren't as nice. Since our profession doesn't get much respect I would appreciate it if you all call me Doctor.

Thanks in advance
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By bbhindyou on 2/2/2007 2:31 PM
I like it.
I REALLY like it.
More please!
Every company being manipulated by naked short selling needs to stop running ,turn and FIGHT.
I like it.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By rtway on 2/2/2007 2:39 PM
A big round of applause and thank you's to you Patrick. Been a long time coming and a long fight to go but the light is at the end of the tunnel, to quote a very knowledgable person. Another round of applause for you Bob, a tireless job well done.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By Mister_Optimistic on 2/2/2007 2:41 PM
The best immediate result of this announcement is that we finally may get some decent press about 'failure-to-delivers'. Way to go, Patrick!
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By rtway on 2/2/2007 2:44 PM
TMG I bet as we speak there are lawyers with the gears in motion. It don't take much to motivate a lawyer.
Re: Overstock Sues Prime Brokers For $3.8 Billion By tmg on 2/2/2007 3:02 PM