Re: [HABE/ORXX] The Viciousness of the Message Boards
As we all know, at least I presume we do, the OTC marketplace is full of con artists. In the "old days", if you got cold-called about an OTC stock not only couldn't you easily check out that company, but it probably didn't occur to you to check them out in the first place. After all, brokers don't just call you up and lie to your face, what with the SEC watching and all, right? Ummm... not quite.
Sure the Internet and the investment message boards have led to spam, shills, and a whole new level of massive securities fraud. Sure there are those that will do or say anything to try to manipulate the price down as well as up. But there are also plenty of people who actually do good solid due diligence that one might never have thought of doing, let alone found on one's own.
I find it interesting that companies don't seem to give a darn if a tout sheet makes wildly misleading claims about the value and/or potential of their company, but often do everything in their power to shut up those that start to ask the hard questions. Sometimes they threaten to sue, sometimes they sue, and sometimes, as we've seen lately, they get their lawyers to throw their weight around on-line intimating certain naysayers are all but sued.
In the case below involving HABE and ORXX, sometimes they just figure posting someone's real name and address will shut them up. I salute the person known as pot_of_gold for not only not backing down, but for taking her story to a variety of agencies in an attempt to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
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By: pot_of_gold $$$
Reply To: 29077 by kpn99 $$$$ Saturday, 12 Aug 2000 at 11:30 AM EDT
Post #29102 of 29116
Ken
I was a big shareholder of Haber. I had been tracking it and invested in it because of EMP. When I heard the name Orex, I checked and there was a big reputable company called Orex which was a pharmaceutical company and it made sense and sounded good if they were in a joint venture with Habe.
Unfortunately I became aware of ragingbull for the first time and had no idea of the pump and dumps, the phony PR's, the collusion between management and profilers or promoters, etc. (I'm talking about the penny stock before the new SEC regulations last year). I always bought stock for long term and held it for years. Habe moved up fast to 60 cents and then crashed. I wanted to know why. I couldn't phantom why everyone was selling if the stock and licensing agreement was so great.
Then I found out that Orex was a gold mining company and they had only a licensing agreement and were going to market the process. There was no logical explanation why Orex's stock rose so high so fast and Haber's stock couldn't make it past 60 cents the second time.
Trying to make this story short, I started asking legitimate questions on the board, questions it seemed no one else knew to ask. You see I was elected to the board of a penny stock company to wind the company down for foreclosure. I was able to stop the foreclosure. I was then approached by a large broker from another country who had a lot of his clients in this company. He paid me as a consultant to go through the records to find out what happened, who caused the downfall and to try to revive the company. I learned a lot about the workings of a small unregulated penny stock company.
Since Doug Long was the biggest promoter of OREX on the Haber board, I asked him questions not only about Orex but about Haber. Doug became confrontational and would not answer my questions. You know the saying, call the company yourself. Well, this is not the way to do even half-a$$ DD. I am sure that now Doug and Warren can reflect on their reactions and realize that all they had to do was make up their answers not dodge them and attack me. I probably would have believed them and moved on. The more I pressed, the more panicky Doug got.
I then wrote two letters, one to Haber and one to Warren asking them some questions. Neither responded but within a week of Warren receiving my letter which had my name and address on it, Doug and his co-horts (or probably Doug's other alias) posted my name and address on the ragingbull board.
From what I read and was able to piece together, I was 99% positive that Warren was printing his own stock certificates. I tried to buy 100 shares of Orex but my broker talked me down to just 25 shares. This way I was a shareholder and Warren had to answer my questions. I told the broker I wanted the certificates in my name because I was sure that Orex did not have a transfer agent. After a reasonable time I called the broker and asked where my certificate was and was informed me that DTC told the broker that Orex had no transfer agent. It was this incident that resulted in the DTC putting a red flag on Orex. The broker called Orex and left a message on the answering machine and explained that a client wanted her certificate. Orex didn't return the call and the broker called again and again no response.
I then came on raging bull and told everyone that Orex did not have a transfer agent. Warren himself posted on the Orex board giving my full name and stating that I was lying and was not a shareholder. I sent the copy of the statment from the broker showing I bought the shares and the copy of Warren's post to DTC, SEC and Fl. Attorney General. Shortly after I got my certificate and it showed Old Mammouth as the transfer agent. I believe the date of issuance was about August 9th. I called DTC and was told that there was a red flag on Orex and they were without a transfer agent from June something until August 31. The DTC did not state that Orex was acting as their own transfer agent which is not illegal but not advised especially if that much stock is being issued. DTC said "NO transfer agent." I don't know if you are aware but once stock is released in the initial IPO, the company has no authority to issue any more free standing stock. Free standing stock increases when restriction is removed.
Company can sell or give restricted stock only.
I had stopped posting for a while and then came back when I saw GaBard trying to pump that stock back up. I couldn't believe him professing to be so smart in promoting other stocks and he was getting all his DD crap directly from Warren. It was obvious that it was a pump and dump. And if you look back when I came back, about 27 new posters registered within days and of course all bashed me and then I got a warning from Doug through a shill they planted who was sympathizing with me to get my confidence and asked for my email address. This person forwarded Doug's email to me.
I think you know the rest of the whole ugly story.
ragingbull.altavista.com
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Meanwhile, the CEO of ORXX has shut down the company and has devoted his time to a new venture -- one begun under his wife's name but using the same phone and fax numbers as ORXX -- that seeks to raise money for penny stock companies. One of their partners just happens to be a company that recently had been contracted by ORXX to raise money for them. The revolving door continues...
- Jeff |
