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Technology Stocks : FBN Associates: A Perfect Company -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (2114)	12/28/2000 3:23:07 AM
From: EL KABONG!!!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2117

Anyone remember Westergaard? interactive.wsj.com December 28, 2000 SEC Sues Analyst John Westergaard, Two Related Firms for Stock-Touting By JOHN CONNOR Dow Jones Newswires WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission sued analyst John Westergaard and two companies he controls, alleging that they touted stocks on the Internet and through news releases without revealing they had been paid to publish that analysis. The two corporate entities -- Westergaard.com Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Westergaard Broadcasting Network.com Inc. -- settled the SEC's charges without admitting or denying wrongdoing, consenting to an order that permanently enjoins them from violating federal securities laws. Lawrence Ginsburg, the attorney representing WCI and WBN, said the consent agreement speaks for itself. He declined to comment further. Mr. Westergaard is fighting the charges, which include an allegation that he violated antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. During the period covered by the SEC's complaint, Mr. Westergaard was chairman, publisher and editorial director of WCI, and chairman of WBN. He also was WCI's majority stockholder. Mr. Westergaard, who resides in New York City, called the SEC's case against him "bizarre" and accused the agency of conducting a "three-year vendetta" against him. "This is a stock-touting case," said the SEC in its complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District, in Manhattan. The agency is seeking a permanent injunction against Mr. Westergaard to bar him from further violations of federal securities laws, as well as unspecified civil penalties. The SEC's complaint alleged that the defendants charged small-cap publicly traded companies as much as $48,000 to publish positive reports about them that were disseminated through press releases, an Internet radio show and an Internet Web site. The complaint alleges that Mr. Westergaard misled prospective investors by falsely claiming his analysis was "independent." The SEC staff previously concluded an earlier investigation into the sufficiency of Mr. Westergaard's disclosures of compensation received in connection with stock recommendations without recommending an enforcement action against him. Write to John Connor at john.connor@dowjones.com