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Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Druss who wrote (61935)	11/4/2000 10:41:33 AM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 122087

Internet shopping mall A2Z USA runs afoul of Canadian regulators DON BAUDER November 4, 2000 Embattled A2Z USA, the Internet shopping mall with a slew of unhappy store owners losing money, has run afoul of the British Columbia Securities Commission. The commission has alleged that A2Z USA defied British Columbia securities laws by setting up a team of unregistered individuals in Vancouver to sell securities over the phone. The securities were interests in limited liability companies (LLCs) that sold goods through a virtual shopping mall. The A2Z employees were not registered to give advice in securities, and A2Z had not filed a prospectus with the commission, the Canadian regulators alleged. A2Z has been hit with civil suits from its store owner/investors, and several have told me that they have been interviewed by the San Diego Boiler Room Task Force. The Canadian action "would not have any adverse impact on inquiries by the Boiler Room Task Force," says Jan K. Caldwell, spokesperson for the FBI, which coordinates the task force. A2Z "has shut down and moved out," says Dean Pelkey of the British Columbia commission. "A2Z was in the process of closing down that operation in any event," says the company's attorney, Kennan Kaeder. The company will challenge the allegations. Employees may have been selling LLCs from the office, "but they were not selling stock," Kaeder says. A2Z is trying to get its store operators to take stock in a company called A2Z Commerce. Bidet, G'day Superior Court Judge Charles R. Hayes this week granted a preliminary injunction to Rancho Bernardo-based bidet maker Hydrogiene Corp., which had sued its former chief executive, Charles W. Kallmann, alleging trespass, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty and other transgressions. Hayes instructed the company's counsel to draw up a proposal for a preliminary injunction that would ban Kallmann from entering the premises; writing checks on the company; terminating employees; removing company money; engaging in financial transactions on behalf of the company; issuing securities of the company; and issuing press releases on behalf of the company. The last proposed sanction is important, because on Oct. 19, after directors had tried to oust him and had filed the suit against him, Kallmann issued a press release saying that the board had been removed. Henry Leonard, Hydrogiene's director of finance, says that John Bailey has temporarily taken over as chief executive. "Over five years, there have really been no sales; the only funding was from stockholders," says Leonard. "Once we have a modicum of sales, we will try to get a new CEO." Kallmann had sent out news releases boasting that the company was ready to ship, anticipating an "influx of orders" for its bidet products. He also diversified the company into food-related products, and sent out bullish news releases. Kallmann could not be reached for comment. Such news releases titillated investors. The stock hit $2.64 in February of this year, but closed yesterday at 16 cents, up 1.5 cents. "Disgruntled stockholders are out for blood," says Leonard. An upcoming audit will provide more information, he says. Cubic's cards Cubic Corp.'s fare collections systems have worked so flawlessly that they are now 60 percent of the company's sales. But in the wee hours of the morning the day before the New York Yankees ticker-tape parade, there was a minor breakdown. The self-service vending machines that issue cards for the New York Metro mysteriously went out of service early Sunday at 1:40 a.m., but were back in service by 8:30 a.m. Traffic was quite light at those hours, so the glitch didn't interfere with movement of the Metro, says Abe Wischnia, Cubic spokesman. There were booths where people could buy tickets, and people who owned fare cards had no trouble. It's not known what caused the problem. Don Bauder's e-mail address is don.bauder@uniontrib.com