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Technology Stocks : Research Frontiers (REFR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Bill Wexler who wrote (1288)7/25/1999 9:56:00 PM
From: Bill Wexler  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 50038
 
On August 13, 1998 Research Frontiers issued a press release announcing "that it has been repurchasing its own shares". Corporations typically engage in share buybacks to lower the number of shares outstanding and thereby enhance shareholder value. in the case of Research Frontiers however, the "share buyback" announcement was simply another attempt to defraud investors by giving the false impression that the company was reducing actual shares outstanding. In fact, the stock was being massively diluted through the excercise of warrants and "back door" offerings at prices far below what retail investors were paying.

The following table lists the total shares outstanding for each fiscal year back to 1994. The information comes from the company's own SEC filings.

Year - Total shares outstanding
1994 - 8,768,801
1995 - 9,196,479
1996 - 9,924,875
1997 - 10,201,961
1998 - 10,878,141

In REFR's last 10-Q filing (3/31/99) total shares outstanding were 10,940,549.

This massive stock dilution is not surprising since REFR has no other source of income beyond selling stock to the public. unfortunately, REFR can't use legitimate underwriters to offer stock at prices at or near the current market, so it relies on highly dilutive schemes that offer warrants to vulture investors at deep discounts. Research Frontiers has not bothered to issue press releases explaining this stock dilution.



To: Bill Wexler who wrote (1288)7/28/1999 6:54:00 AM
From: Bill Wexler  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 50038
 
The REFR stock fraud - suspicious insider transactions.

Research frontiers has issued multiple press releases in the past claiming that insiders have been "buying stock". These claims were false. Insiders have exercised options at prices far below market by obtaining low interest loans from the company. These loans were then permitted to be collateralized with REFR stock. The loans were then paid back using the same shares - the only difference being that the shares would be counted at the market price. This would permit the insider to essentially sell his shares without filing a form 144 or form 4 as usually required by the SEC when insiders sell their shares on the open market. This deceptive and grossly unethical tactic was used to conceal insider sales while the company made false and fraudulent claims that insiders were buying. These stock-collateralized loans also destroyed shareholder value as these transactions would have the same net effect as a "floorless" convertible.

Currently, Research Frontiers has nearly $900,000 worth of these shady loans to officers still outstanding, accounting for an alarming 14% of total shareholder equity.

We believe that Research Frontiers has absolutely no economic value, and its stock has been artificially inflated through a series of fraudulent misrepresentations of its worthless "SPD technology". Research Frontiers has failed to commercialize a single product in its 35 year history.



To: Bill Wexler who wrote (1288)8/10/1999 7:07:00 AM
From: Bill Wexler  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 50038
 
The REFR stock fraud

On September 10, 1998 the Wall Street Journal did a small write-up on Research Frontiers. The article referred to CEO Robert Saxe as a "Harvard-educated physicist". A recent Newsday article also had a similar comment.

I conducted a degree check on Mr. Saxe and could find no record of his having attended Harvard (either as an undergraduate or graduate). I checked several sources including the Harvard registrar.

Perhaps I missed something? Has anyone else checked and if so, could I please get a contact that will independently verify Mr. Saxe's degrees?