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Letter I Sent To USA Today Part 1
by: KVELEZ
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy 02/18/03 09:04 pm
Msg: 48468 of 48468
Dear Mr. Valdmanis
I am writing to you in reference to your article Short sellers sharply scrutinize companies. Parting from the premise that this article was not infuenced by any personal relationship you may have with Manuel P. Asensio I would like to clarify certain discrepancies.
You Stated:
“As PolyMedica general counsel John Stone toured his Liberty Medical subsidiary in Port St. Lucie, Fla., he noticed a man in a polo shirt and jeans taking photographs of the company's parking lot.”
Fact:
Mr. Stone and private investigator Manuel Asensio never met face to face. He came to try to find employees sympathetic to his agenda which is bringing the company stock to a value of $1.00 something investigations by the FBI, SEC and DOJ have been unable to do. It backfired.
You Stated:
For most companies, that is troubling news. Asensio is despised in boardrooms for his Dick Tracy snooping and bullhorn denunciations of businesses he believes are frauds.
Fact:
This is a low blow to Dick Tracy. Mr. Tracy was never accused or fined for defrauding a clients, securities fraud etc.
You Posted a Link To :
(Chart: Once highflying companies stumbled)
Fact:
Polymedica (PLMD) is not on that list so it is misleading to have a link to this page.
You Stated:
As he took photographs of PolyMedica's Port St. Lucie facility, the 48-year-old Cuban native and Harvard MBA soon came face to face with three PolyMedica security guards who tried to confiscate his digital camera.
Fact:
Manuel Asensio tried to take an unauthorized photograph of an employee that questioned his motive for being there and asked for identification.
You quoted Manuel Asensio as saying:
“The company is guarded like an army outpost. I wonder why," says the pugnacious Asensio, who, like other short sellers, tries to make money betting stocks will fall. "But it's nothing new. I've faced this kind of thing all my career."
Fact:
Liberty Medical Supply is located in a shopping center next to the Aegis call center and everything ffrom a Chineese Buffet to Albertson Supermarket, Radio Shack, Staples, weight watchers and many others. Not exactly an army outpost.
You quoted Manuel Asensio as saying:
Not amused, PolyMedica filed a complaint with Port St. Lucie police, accusing Asensio of misrepresenting himself as a "private investigator, conducting a fraud investigation."
Fact:
Manuel P Asensio is not licensed in Florida to act as a private investigator.
I would suggest you contact the city of port Saint Lucie police department for more details as to who filed complaints.
You Stated:
Whatever the outcome, the long-running Polyedica-Asensio battle is a prime example of the increasingly tempestuous wars of attrition being waged between companies and a small band of generally secretive stock-bashing traders who target them.
Fact:
Polymedica stock has nearly doubled and profits has steadily met or exceeded expectations since Manuel Asensio recommended shorting the stock.
You Stated:
But Asensio smells blood.
Fact:
I smell stock manipulation and shenanigans typical of people who make a huge mistake and have to make good on their promise. An investigation is a fact finding mission. In nearly two years none of Manuel Asensio’s predictions or accusations has proven true. Read on.
You Stated:
By speaking to local officials at Port St. Lucie and neighboring post offices, Asensio estimates that PolyMedica returns run at least 200 to 500 package shipments per day, with returns reaching 1,000 or more on some days. PolyMedica says it ships about 2 million packages a year to its 522,000 customers, with a return rate of about 300 a day, or 4%, in line with the industry average. Asensio calculates that the return rate is more than twice that and accuses PolyMedica of "cheating Medicare and taxpayers" by not properly reimbursing the government.
Fact:
This is preposterous. Do you believe for a moment that the Postmaster knows or even cares what is inside of every package shipped to Liberty Medical Supply? Even if he did it would be illegal for the Postmaster to disclose such information to anyone. Just call him 772-337-7504 and ask him. You should also be aware this is just that latest string Manuel Asensio is hanging from. He had previously stated that “Polymedica has incurred over $52 million of advertising expense that its auditors questionably-allowed PolyMedica to avoid writing-offwas.” Since the SEC cleared PLMD of these charges he must now find a new reason to justify his flawed investment advice.
You stated:
Everyone agrees he gets results.
Fact:
If doubling of a stock since he issues a short recommendation is results I’ll hand this one to you.
You stated:
Take his campaign against Turbodyne, once a hot small company on Wall Street thanks to pioneering turbochargers that would reduce emissions and boost the power of internal-combustion engines.
Fact:
This is ludicrous. This is a company with thousands of hundreds of thousands satisfied customers not a dubious technology company. Mntioning a company like Turbodyne and PLMD in the same article is playing into Manuel Asensio’s hands.
What you don’t want to hear:
Manuel Asensio normally uses his acquaintances in other mayor financial institutions to disseminate his skewed perception of PLMD. USA Today has never been his first choice. .Evidently none of them would believe him this time but to his credit he found someone who did. You have been used!
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Disclaimer: I am an employee of Liberty Medical Supply LMS however, I am not authorized to speak on behalf of LMS or PLMD or any of its divisions. The opinions contained in this letter are my own personal perspective and initiative. |
