Pink alert. T3/f short alert on Starnet Communications SNMM....These folks are criminals and if prosecuted, stock will trade to zero.
Mr. P$nk
Starnet Investigation Expected to Result in Charges, Police Say
8/25/99 14:24
Starnet Investigation Expected to Result in Charges, Police Say
Vancouver, Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Police investigating
Starnet Communications International Inc., an Internet gambling
and pornography company, said they expect criminal charges to be
filed in connection with Friday's raid of the company's offices.
Starnet shares had risen as much as 34 percent this morning
after the company said no arrests had been made.
``Charges are definitely pending,' Vancouver Police
spokeswoman Anne Drennan said in an interview. ``Right now the
investigators are going over the information that's been seized
over the weekend.'
British Columbia's Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit is
investigating possible betting and bookmaking offenses by Starnet
and allegations that it distributed illegal pornography over the
Internet.
Executives at Starnet, who had downplayed the investigation
in a statement earlier today, couldn't immediately be reached to
comment.
`No Long-Term Effects'
``We do not expect this investigation to have any serious
long-term effects on our operations, our customers or our
business and financial relations,' Chief Executive Mark Dohlen
had said in a statement. ``Our plans to grow and expand our
business remain intact.'
Starnet rose 1 5/32 to 5 3/4 in midafternoon trading after
Starnet said there had been no arrests. Earlier, the stock rose
as high as 6 1/4.
Drennan said she didn't know when charges will be filed and
that they could be weeks or months away.
The Vancouver-based company said its legal counsel hasn't
been notified of any charges and that the company is cooperating
in the investigation. It also said its online gambling and
pornography businesses are now operating again, after police
searches caused ``minor interruptions' over the weekend.
Drennan said that 50 officers searched Starnet's
headquarters, from Friday through Sunday night. The homes of six
Starnet officers and directors were also searched. The Royal
Canadian Mounted Police and officers from the cities of
Vancouver, West Vancouver and Delta participated in the raid and
the 18-month investigation that led up to it.
Starnet today denied any association with child pornography.
``Certain media reports have stated or implied Starnet
involvement with illegal and reprehensible child pornography,'
Dohlen said. ``I state without fear of contradiction that our
company eschews this practice and has in place policy that
forbids such illegal commerce by this organization.'
Dohlen also said he doesn't expect any more searches of
Starnet headquarters, based on what police have told the company.
Internet Gambling
Starnet shares have risen more than eightfold over the past
year on expectations that millions of people around the world
will gamble on its Internet betting sites and on other online
casinos that license software developed by Starnet.
Because of legal restrictions in the U.S. and Canada, the
company has said it doesn't take bets from U.S. or Canadian
residents. It's also set up its gambling unit in Antigua, the
West Indies.
Starnet has said it plans to sell its pornographic Internet
sites to focus on its gambling business.
--Adam Steinhauer in San Francisco (415) 743-3517 and Anthony
Massucci in the Princeton newsroom (609) 558-5023/dl/pkc
Story illustration: For a graph of Starnet Communications
International shares' performance, type SNMM US <Equity> GP <Go>.
Company news:
SNMM US <Equity> CN Starnet Communications
Industry news: Regional news:
NI CNO Casinos, gambling NI CANDA Canada
NI ENT Entertainment NI BC British Columbia
NI LEI Leisure NI US U.S.
NI HWY Internet
Category news:
NI LAW Legal news
NI CRIME Crime
NI COS Companies
-0- (BN ) Aug/25/1999 14:24 |
