Bob Chapman and David Tice
Silverado has also had a strong supporter in the person of Bob Chapman, a high-profile gold "analyst" who puts out the International Forecaster newsletter. CEO Anselmo told WND that Chapman is a highly trusted figure in gold circles, adding that "the old folks just dote on him, and trust his every word."
Chapman told WND, "Silverado is one of the best junior exploration stocks in North America today. We recommended the stock at $0.08 and it has traded as high as $0.76." Silverado has been featured in some of Chapman's newsletters.
Bob Chapman
A Silverado advertorial lists Chapman as an "analyst."
SEC filings indicate that on Oct. 15, 2001, Chapman entered into a "consulting agreement" with Silverado.
The agreement was for a duration of eight months, and included the issuing of 675,000 common shares of the company to Chapman on Jan. 15, 2002, and 225,000 common shares of the company on the fifteenth day of each month of the term of the agreement thereafter, commencing Feb. 15, 2002, for an aggregate maximum of 1,800,000 shares.
WND asked Anselmo what type of consulting services Chapman provided, and if that included promoting that company. "No, not for promotions," said Anselmo. "It was introductions to groups in Europe, it's, um, uh, people who can assist Silverado. In um, the coal, low-rank coal water fuel industry, opportunities in other countries, uh, it was introductions to people here in North America, including David Tice, and he [Bob Chapman] writes us up in his reports to his very large e-mail list, and uh, supports Silverado’s efforts."
Indeed Tice's name has appeared in Silverado advertorials with tantalizing phrases such as, "What does a savvy investor like David Tice see in Silverado?" Anselmo maintains that Chapman and Tice are close, and that Tice respects Chapman's advice. According to the CEO, Chapman was instrumental in steering Tice towards Silverado: "Chapman told him to get off his ass and get after Silverado," Anselmo said.
He added, "They [Prudent Bear Fund] bought private placement for treasury stocks and they buy in the open market and he has warrants in the company that he'll exercise at some point."
But Anselmo also admits that Tice did not want his investment to be touted publicly, adding "I don't know what he’s waiting for."
Tice's Prudent Bear Fund was recently called the "No. 1 mutual fund in the country," by Fox News channel's Neil Cavuto. For the 6 months ended Sept. 30, 2002, the Prudent Bear Fund returned 58.89 percent while the S&P 500 lost 28.36 percent and the NASDAQ lost 36.49 percent. Consistent with their investment philosophy, the fund holds more short positions than long, and Tice is long on gold.
Tice also has a sterling reputation for sounding warnings on over-inflated stocks, and is known for his scathing research reports.
Early on in its investigation of Silverado, WND called the Prudent Bear fund and asked representative Rob Peebles to comment on Silverado's use of Tice's name, indicating that WND had found seeming contradictions in communications about Silverado.
Promising to call WND back shortly, Prudent Bear officials instead contacted Silverado, and within minutes WND received a phone call from CEO Anselmo, calling from a hotel in San Francisco: "I’m very upset," he said. "I understand WND is doing a hatchet job on Silverado."
A month later, a further call to Peebles was made, during which he stated that Prudent Bear does not comment on individual companies, and that David Tice had contacted Anselmo after the initial inquiry by WND. Peebles forwarded Tice's e-mail and indicated Tice would now be able to answer WND questions. WND never received a response from Tice regarding Silverado, or its use of his name to promote Silverado stock.
WND did obtain, however, an e-mail exchange between a professional stock trader and Peebles, asking him to comment on the same issue, and enumerating alleged misrepresentations made by Silverado of its business within advertorials mentioning Tice's name. Peebles responded, "As you can imagine, David did not authorize such marketing materials and has spoken to the firm about it."
Prudent Bear's Annual Report indicates the company purchased 1 million shares of Silverado stock and 1 million options. |
