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Non-Tech : Binary Hodgepodge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ~digs who wrote (232)	8/8/2001 7:22:49 PM
From: ~digs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6763

Emulex hoaxer gets 44 months in jail LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly a year after sending the stock of the high-tech firm Emulex plummeting by issuing a phony press release via the Internet, a 23-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 44 months in prison. Mark Jakob admitted in December that he issued a fake press release in August 2000 that sent Emulex stock tumbling — costing investors nearly $110 million. Jakob stood straight, his hands clasped in front of him, and spoke in a soft voice as he told U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian he had read letters from investors who lost millions because of his actions. "It was not until I saw what some of these investors went through that I realized what I really did cause," he said. Jakob said he was especially moved by a letter from a disabled woman who lost her life's savings. "I want you to know I read these statements and I really am sincerely sorry for what I did," he said. "I'll try to do everything possible in the future to pay back these investors I made lose money." Jakob's attorney and prosecutors agreed Jakob acted out of panic rather than executed a carefully planned scheme. "I don't think he planned this ahead of time," said U.S. Attorney Pamela Johnstone. "I think this was a spur of the moment activity." But Tevrizian said Jakob should pay a stiff penalty for his crime because of its impact on investors. "It's like he dropped an atomic bomb on the financial markets of this country," Tevrizian said. "People invest their future, their savings, their retirement in the stock market. He caused these people a great deal of harm. "He stole more than Jesse James. This is a big time heist." In a letter filed with the court, Valerie Caproni, Pacific regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, echoed the judge's concerns. "This loss was the single most devastating in the short history of the Internet," she wrote. Outside the courtroom after his sentencing, Jakob embraced his tearful mother. A number of his family members also were in court. Jakob was ordered to surrender to start his sentence on Sept. 5. Tevrizian waived any fines because of Jakob's inability to pay. He ordered that Jakob serve three years of supervised release after his prison term and be confined in a prison that has a drug treatment facility. Jakob faced a prison term of up to 51 months for the three counts of securities and wire fraud, all felony offenses. Jakob's attorney, Joel Levine, said his client was under treatment for depression and anxiety at the time of his crime. Last month, the SEC settled its civil suit against Jakob. According to the agreement, Jakob will turn over the $241,000 he made trading Emulex stock, plus $97,000, plus interest, which represents the potential trading losses he hoped to avoid by sending the company's stock price tumbling. Jakob will also pay a penalty of $102,642. The total represents the amount of money frozen by the government after Jakob's arrest. That money will be held by the court and paid to defrauded investors who have filed a class-action suit in New York state. On Aug. 24, 2000, Jakob faced a potential loss of $97,000 from trades he made in Emulex's stock and a demand from an online brokerage that he deposit $20,000 in his account. Jakob had sold 3,000 shares of Emulex stock short. A short sale involves selling borrowed shares of a stock in anticipation that the price will decline. But instead the shares rose in value To cover his losses, Jakob crafted a phony press release stating that the chief executive of Emulex had quit and the company was restating its quarterly earnings from a profit to a loss. Jakob was able to send the release through Internet Wire, a Los Angeles company that distributes corporate announcements to news organizations and on its Web site. Jakob had worked for Internet Wire for over a year and had left on good terms the previous week. Within minutes of the release becoming public on Aug. 25, Emulex's share price plunged until trading was halted on the Nasdaq. Jakob covered his short position and bought additional shares which he later sold. Emulex's stock recovered most of its value by the end of the day. The government charged that Jakob made more than $241,000 from his trades. usatoday.com

To: ~digs who wrote (232)	8/30/2001 10:02:13 PM
From: ~digs	Respond to of 6763

Person of the Day Ayn Rand, 1905 - 1982 Writer, founder of Objectivism "If a life can have a 'theme song' -- and I believe that every worthwhile one has -- mine is [best] expressed in one word: Individualism." - Ayn Rand Born in Russia, Ayn Rand taught herself to read at age six and decided to be a writer of fiction at age nine. She studied at the University of Leningrad, then fled to the United States where she became a citizen in 1931. Rand's first novel was published in 1943. Within two years "The Fountainhead" became a best seller through word of mouth, and it is still in print. In it and her second novel, "Atlas Shrugged," Rand began developing her original philosophy of Objectivism, which placed great value on individualism, reason, and egoism. She further explored Objectivism in a series of nonfiction works. Through her important works of fiction and philosophy, Ayn Rand created a new vision of humanity's place in the universe. Her passionate, brilliantly argued views continue to affect the lives of millions of readers. The Ayn Rand Institute: aynrand.org A ring of web sites about Ayn Rand and Objectivism: bomis.snap.com ----------- Copyright (c) 2001, The Learning Kingdom, Inc. learningkingdom.com