Re: 7/7/00 - Paid Bashers Accused Of Doing MMs Dirty Work
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Paid Bashers Accused Of Doing MMs Dirty Work
By Jack Burney
Published by OTCNN.com
07/07/2000 09:10 AM CST
(This is the latest in a series about MMM – Market Maker Manipulation, and related topics. If you have facts about MMM, please e-mail them to burney@ev1.net.)
If you have a nasty disposition, an undefined anger at the world in general, and a gift for venomous verbosity, here’s the perfect job for you: Paid Basher for the MMs.
Any illusion that such tactics are beneath the MMs was shattered recently when a Florida court issued an injunction again one of the defendants, "Cats3," in the lawsuit filed by QuestNet Corp. (OTCBB: QNET). "Cats3" turned out to be Jerome Rosen, senior trader with J. Alexander Securities (ALEX), a major market making firm.
Rosen was enjoined from "publishing any false and defamatory statements concerning QuestNet and its current and former officers, directors, and employees in any manner," and from "interfering with any contractual/business relationships between Quest Net and its employees, customers, suppliers, consultants, shareholders and/or investors."
Now, InvestAmerica (OTCBB: INVT) has subpoenaed Raging Bull to identify 14 INVT-bashers who posted on RB’s message boards, and is waiting for the response.
"Purpose of the suit," said Bryan Kitts, director and secretary-treasurer of INVT, "is ultimately to find out if any of these 14 bashers is employed directly or indirectly by a market maker or by a member firm of the SEC or the NASD."
If they are, as INVT expects, then ultimately, the next question is: "Is the entity that employed the bashers responsible for the actions of its employees?" If anyone is transmitting messages designed to enhance the position of his employer or influence the price of the stock to the employer’s advantage, what is the employer’s culpability?
The defendants, whose true identities are unknown to the company, are alleged to have posted false and defamatory messages on an Internet site located at www.ragingbull.com.
The INVT complaint asserts causes of action alleging violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization or RICO Act, the Massachusetts Consumer and Business Protection Act, and common law defamation. It alleges that the defendants have conspired to post statements on Raging Bull's "chatroom"' dedicated to InvestAmerica Inc. which malign the value of the company's capital stock and accuse INVT management of malfeasance.
InvestAmerica believes that some or all of the named defendants have posted these false statements in an attempt to manipulate the price of the Company's stock and cover "short'' positions taken by the defendants. It suspects that some of the 14 "John Doe"' defendants are not separate individuals, but instead aliases of the same person.
Other instances of court action against bashers have been reported by investors and OTCNN is seeking to verify them before bringing them to print.
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