SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Pastimes : Investment Chat Board Lawsuits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (2171)11/30/2001 8:40:29 AM
From: StockDung  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 12465
 
RE: Michael M. Markow ->Tiller and QualcommTel -- A closer look

Tuesday July 17, 8:02 am Eastern Time

Press Release
SOURCE: MerchantOnline

Qualcomm Telecommunications, LTD and MerchantOnline, Inc. Announce Digital Payment Alliance

BOCA RATON, Fla., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Tel, a leader in wireless services, the Tiller Group, a privately held investment and technology firm, and MerchantOnline (OTC Bulletin Board: MRTO - news), a digital payment products and services provider, announced today a strategic relationship to provide digital payment mechanisms to the global wireless marketplace. The relationship includes the purchase of a long-term license for MerchantOnline's (MOL) NewCash(TM) technology, resulting in significant immediate revenue for MOL as well as an ongoing transaction-based revenue flow.

Qualcomm Tel, working with other Tiller Group affiliates, will use NewCash as their base payments product, planning to add additional functionality to offer consumers and businesses a global, wireless suite of financial services which will enable them to pay anywhere, at anytime. These products and services will meet the needs of both the online and physical worlds, wireless as well as traditional POS, P2P as well as B2C, and B2G in addition to B2B consumer, business and government markets. Through the combination of cutting edge digital payment technologies, such as micropayments and ecash, with today's existing global financial infrastructure, NewCash provides Qualcomm Tel the ideal financial product set to meet market demand and provide clear market differentiation.

``NewCash's ability to support smart cards, wireless, stored value, ecash and additional functions provides us the flexibility for online and offline functionality through a single payment instrument,'' said Qualcomm Tel's Chairman, Anthony Georgiou. He continued to state, ``By using NewCash's functionality as the core for our global financial product suite, we envision a vast array of technologies and services that will provide uniquely valuable financial services.''

The NewCash system allows instant accessibility to transfer money online from or to anyone anywhere in the world 24/7/365 to family members, business associates or any other individual possessing a card. The NewCash system will allow instant use at millions of point of sale locations wherever an ATM debit card is accepted via the STAR(TM), PLUS(TM) and MAESTRO(TM) networks and online merchants that accept VISA.

``MerchantOnline is excited to find a partner who has the vision and global presence to realize the potential of the NewCash system. Physical POS (point of sale) or the Internet, Beijing or San Francisco, this alliance will have a significant impact in the wireless and smart card arena,'' said Jim Degracia, President and CEO of MerchantOnline.

About Qualcomm Telecommunications, LTD

Qualcomm Telecommunications, Limited is a 70% owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM, Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM - news).

About the Tiller Group

Tiller International Limited is a privately held company with offices in Moscow and London with diversified operations including telecommunications, data communications and financial services. Qualcomm Telecommunications is 30% owned by the Tiller Group.

About MerchantOnline

Founded in December 1997, MerchantOnline (www.merchantonline.com) dba NewCash Technologies, Inc. provides a secure transaction network that enables businesses and consumers to use one payment system for both their real world and virtual world needs utilizing credit cards, ATM/debit cards, stored value cards, electronic cash and other payment technologies. Except for historical matters, the matters in this press release are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements reflect assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that might affect the Company's business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, including those risk and uncertainties detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended October 31, 2000 filed with the SEC.

SOURCE: MerchantOnline

biz.yahoo.com

Scroll down to the 17th on the Qcom News from Yahoo......

biz.yahoo.com

quote.yahoo.com

Look at the 20 cent spike from 7.5 cents and the volume on the morning of the 17th

Of Course, No news about MRTO on the Qcom website....QCOM never announced anything!

AND ITS Qualcommtel not Qualcomm Tel (convenient misleading mistake in PR)?

qualcomm.com

It gets even better

bloomberg.com

thesubway.stockpoint.com\199b6956.xml&Symbol=MRTO

ragingbull.lycos.com

ragingbull.lycos.com

This poster seems correct.....Leap Wireless took a 70% stake in QualcommTel

FROM Leap Wireless International Inc · 10-K405 · For 8/31/98

QUALCOMM TELECOMMUNICATIONS LTD., RUSSIA

The Company holds a 70% interest in two companies which both have the name
QUALCOMM Telecommunications Ltd. The first of such companies is a company
organized under the laws of Cayman Islands ("QUALCOMMTel Cayman") and is a joint
venture partner in Metrosvyaz Ltd. ("Metrosvyaz"). Metrosvyaz was formed to
develop joint ventures with local Russian telecommunications operators (the
"Joint Ventures") for the formation, development, financing and operation of
wireless local loop (fixed) telephone services in the Russian Federation.

IT SEEMS QUALCOMMTel is in Russia

QUALCOMM TELECOMMUNICATIONS LTD., RUSSIA

The Company holds a 70% interest in two companies which both have the name
QUALCOMM Telecommunications Ltd. The first of such companies is a company
organized under the laws of Cayman Islands ("QUALCOMMTel Cayman") and is a joint
venture partner in Metrosvyaz Ltd. ("Metrosvyaz"). Metrosvyaz was formed to
develop joint ventures with local Russian telecommunications operators (the
"Joint Ventures") for the formation, development, financing and operation of
wireless local loop (fixed) telephone services in the Russian Federation. Many
local operators are currently licensed to operate wireless systems in Russia.
Partnerships are being used to facilitate the implementation of such operations.
Metrosvyaz expects to partner with local operators to offer the regional
telephone companies and other licensed telecommunications operators a local
solution, including financing, for the delivery of wireless telecommunications
systems in their regions. Metrosvyaz hopes to obtain approximately 10 million
new wireless local loop lines through the Metrosvyaz Joint Ventures during the
ten years following the Distribution. There can be no assurance that Metrosvyaz
will successfully obtain such wireless local loop lines. Fourteen such Joint
Ventures have been formed or are in the process of being formed as of November
10, 1998. Metrosvyaz expects to own 50% of each such Joint Venture. Three of
QUALCOMM's original customers who are in the process of implementing CDMA
wireless local loop services with equipment provided by QUALCOMM have agreed to
transfer their current operations, including their telecommunications licenses,
to a Joint Venture. Long distance and international traffic are expected to be
carried by Tass Loutch Telecom, a company organized under the laws of the
Russian Federation and the holder of licenses for international and long
distance telephone services in Russia. Tass Loutch Telecom currently has
agreements in place to transmit long distance traffic. Tass Loutch Telecom has
agreed to represent Metrosvyaz as its agent in connection with establishing the
Joint Ventures and is being paid a commission based upon subscriber lines sold
to the Joint Venture.

In addition, Leap Wireless holds an interest in QUALCOMM Telecommunications
Ltd., an Isle of Man company ("QUALCOMMTEL Isle of Man"), which in turn owns a
50% interest in Orrengrove Investments Ltd. ("Orrengrove"). Orrengrove currently
holds a 60% interest in three related companies (the "Transworld Companies") one
of which is the 50% owner of Tass Loutch Telecom. One of the Transworld
Companies, through a subsidiary, intends to implement a long distance network in
Russia consisting of earth stations deployed in various regions of Russia. The
long distance network has been designed to work in conjunction with satellite
services being provided by another Transworld Company to Tass Loutch Telecom.
This network is intended to be used by Tass Loutch Telecom to offer long
distance and international telephone services in Russia to local operators.

The Company contemplates that the Transworld Companies and the Joint
Ventures will enter into cooperative arrangements in the future, pursuant to
which Tass Loutch Telecom will carry long distance and international traffic
generated by the Joint Venture's wireless local loop operations.

Market Opportunity. The Company believes that the Russian Federation market
represents a significant CDMA service market opportunity. Russia currently has a
population of approximately 149 million people with a teledensity of only 18%.
Recently, the Russian telecommunications authorities announced that they intend
to add 30 million additional subscriber lines of fixed service over the next
10-year period. To that end, more than 50 CDMA licenses have been granted to
existing Russian PTT's and some private carriers. Russia's current population is
approximately 73% urban. Russia's real GDP per capita in 1997 was $2,128. The
cellular penetration was only 0.5% at the end of 1997 with very little wireless
local loop service.

Strategic Partners. The 50% of Metrosvyaz and the 50% of Orrengrove not
owned by the respective QUALCOMMTel organizations are owned by Teletal Limited,
a holding company affiliated with Itar Tass, the official news agency of the
Russian Federation. The 30% of each of the QUALCOMMTel entities not owned by the
Company are held by Tiller International Ltd. ("Tiller"), a private investment company, with telecommunications interests in Russia and significant contacts with Russian telecommunications regulators and regional operators.
google.com

Busy Week for Carnegie

This has been a busy week for Carnegie, with three major international announcements made:

On December 8 its wholly-owned subsidiary, Profit Thru Telecommunications (PTT) of Sheffield, U.K., announced an agreement with Precitel of Neuchatel, Switzerland. Farkas said the agreement was worth in excess of $2 million (U.S.) over the next several years, with Precitel
integrating and distributing MAVIS with French and German language modules from Lernout & Hauspie (NASDAQ: LHSPF - news);

On December 9, Carnegie announced an agreement with Tiller International of Monte Carlo, Monaco, to license, market and distribute MAVIS in Russia and other Eastern European countries including Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Farkas said the license agreement is for $3.7 million (U.S.), and included 1,000 copies of MAVIS software in English and Russian, noting that the transaction, which will be recorded in the fourth quarter of 1998, will substantially reduce the balance of Carnegie's long-term debt; Yesterday Carnegie announced an agreement to license, market and distribute the MAVIS platform in Italy through Tiller International. Farkas said the agreement has a minimum sales requirement of 100 MAVIS units in 1999, 500 in 2000, and 750 in 2001, with an estimated minimum revenue to Carnegie of
$6.5 million over the next three years in addition to the $3.7 million previously announced. Tiller is a founding partner together with the Russian Ministry of Telecommunications of Metrosvyaz, which is developing a national wireless local loop network using CDMA technology developed by Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM - news). The current commitment investment is $500 million (U.S.), and is expected to exceed $5 billion over the next 10 years. The operating company for Metrosvyaz is Qualcomm Telecommunications Ltd. (QUALCOMMTE), a joint venture formed by Qualcomm, Inc., and Tiller International. The Qualcomm share in Qualcomm Telecommunications is held by Leap Wireless International (NASDAQ: LWIN - news), a company formed by Qualcomm, Inc., to hold its equity interests in operating companies worldwide. Leap Wireless was spun-off by Qualcomm in September of this year. Farkas also said terms have been agreed to for exclusive rights to market MAVIS to the 20 million subscribers of Eudora, the world's largest e-mail service provider (ESP)

Introduced earlier this year, MAVIS (for Multi-Language Automated Voice Independent System) is an entirely voice-activated auto attendant that communicates intelligently with the caller. Using advanced, proprietary voice recognition software, it answers incoming calls and, upon the caller's verbal instruction, recognizes the name or department requested and directs the call accordingly. The MAVIS interface is available in English and all foreign languages supported through licensed Lernout & Hauspie software and Dialogic CPU telephony cards. It can be used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or implemented after hours, on weekends, or when incoming call volume requires support for ``only-human'' operators. It runs on Windows 98® or Windows NT®, and can be easily modified to meet the needs of any business or organization. MAVIS runs on any existing business telephone system, and supports voice messages, faxes and e-mail.

Carnegie International Corporation (OTC: BB CAGI) is a holding company specializing in Internet, telephony and telecommunications products, services and distribution. Carnegie's primary wholly-owned subsidiaries include: RomNet Support Services, Inc., an Internet, e-business and technical support services company based in Boston; Profit Through Telecommunications (Europe) Ltd. (PTT), a telecommunications software company providing business solutions utilizing proprietary speech recognition, touch tone and bar code responses to send and/or receive information; Talidan, a reseller marketing telephone time and information at discounted rates in Europe, South America, and other emerging markets, ACC Telecom of Columbia, Maryland, a leading reseller of equipment and business telephone systems from Comdial (NASDAQ: CMDL - news), SONY® (NYSE: SNE - news), and Sprint® (NYSE: FON - news), and Voice Quest, Inc., of Sarasota, Florida, a developer and provider of speech recognition and voice mail technologies and products. For the first half of fiscal 1998 ended June 30, Carnegie reported total income of $8.9 million and after-tax basic earnings per share of $0.075. For fiscal 1997, Carnegie reported total income of $6.9 million and after-tax basic earnings per share of $0.07.

SO THIS TILLER INTERNATIONAL OF MONTE CARLO CERTAINLY SEEMS TO BE THE SAME ONE as THE TILLER GROUP THAT HAS THE OFFICES IN LONDON AND MOSCOW

google.com

qualcomm.com

BALTIMORE-, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Carnegie International Corp. on Wednesday said it has entered into a definitive agreement worth $3.7 million with Tiller International of Monte Carlo, Monaco, to license, market and distribute its proprietary MAVIS voice-activated platform in Russia and other Eastern European countries.

MAVIS(TM) is marketed through Tiller International Corporation ("Tiller International"), a registered company of Monte Carlo, Monaco, in the former Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and other countries of the Eastern Block (the "Eastern Block"). To date Tiller International has not reordered additional MAVIS(TM) units for the original 1,000 as part of a Distributor Agreement entered into in December 1998. There is no assurance that additional units will be sold during 2000. google.com

In addition, Tiller International acquired for nominal consideration non- exclusive rights to sell MAVIS(TM) in Italy, subject to minimum sales requirements. There have been no sales to date of MAVIS(TM) resulting from the agreement with respect to Italy. The Company expects MAVIS(TM) to be marketed successfully by Tiller International, but can give no assurance that such efforts will result in a material source of revenue. google.com

Here is the Class Action lawsuit CGYC Carnegie International (colorado)

It is quite interesting that there is Tiller Holding Limited, an Anguilla company .

google.com

(The lawsuit is very interesting)
complete with touting of an Amex Listing that lasted one day!and restated earning and refiling of 10sb's.

In the Lawsuit it was stated that:

The Corporation acquired Talidan in a transaction brokered by Tiller Holdings Limited, an Anguilla company ("Tiller Holdings"). As a part of the transaction, Tiller Holdings received four-year options to purchase shares of the Corporation's Common Stock, which options contained certain put rights. To the extent that these options were not fully exercised within three years, the holders could thereafter exercise for a period of 30 days the remaining options in whole or in part and require the Corporation to purchase the resultant shares at the then-market price of Common Stock (the "put rights"). In December, 1998, the Corporation entered into a Distributor Agreement designating Tiller International (which to the best of the Company's knowledge is not an affiliate of Tiller Holdings) as the exclusive authorized distributor of MAVIS in the Eastern Block. The Company provided a master disk from which the distributor was permitted to produce 1000 copies of MAVIS software in exchange for the relinquishment of the put rights which had been acquired by Tiller International from the prior holders of put rights. As a result of the transaction, the Corporation canceled a liability of the discounted value (utilizing a 10% discount rate) of the obligations represented by the put rights in the amount of $3,107,564 which had been recorded at the time of the Talidan acquisition.

SO TILLER INTERNATIONAL AND TILLER GROUP ARE THE SAME WHAT ABOUT TILLER HOLDINGS ?

On September 29, 1997, the Company acquired all of the outstanding
stock of PTT and Talidan from Tiller Holdings, a broker, for $4,670,000 and
$10,006,637, respectively. The consideration was comprised of an aggregated

secinfo.com

The Corporation will also market MAVIS(TM) in the former Soviet Union,
Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and other countries of the Eastern Block (the
"Eastern Block"). The Corporation acquired PTT and Talidan in a transaction
brokered by Tiller Holding Limited, an Anguilla company ("Tiller"). As a part of
the transaction, Tiller and the stockholders of PTT and Talidan (collectively
the "Tiller Group") received certain options to purchase additional shares of
the Corporation's Common Stock. To the extent that these options were not fully
exercised by the third anniversary of the date of issue, the holders could, for
a period of 30 days thereafter, exercise the remaining options in whole or in
part, and require the Corporation to purchase the resultant shares at the then
market price. On December 8, 1998, the Corporation sold the rights to sell
MAVIS(TM) exclusively in the Eastern Block to a designee of the Tiller Group, in
exchange for the relinquishment of the put rights of the Tiller Group under the
options. As a result of the transaction, the Corporation recognized income in
the amount of $3,107,564. In addition, Tiller acquired for nominal consideration
non-exclusive rights to sell MAVIS(TM) in Italy, subject to minimum sales
requirements and to subscribers of Eudora (an Internet service provider).

google.com

Come on Now!!!

QUALCOMMTel
During October 1997, QUALCOMM formed QUALCOMM Telecommunications Limited,
("QUALCOMMTel"), a Cayman Islands corporation. QUALCOMM holds a 70% ownership
interest in QUALCOMMTel. The minority 30% interest is held by Tiller
International Limited ("Tiller"), a private investment company.

QUALCOMMTel is
intended to be an intermediate holding company to facilitate the company's
business prospects in the Russian Federation.

In February 1998, QUALCOMMTel entered into an agreement with a Russian
company, providing for their participation, subject to terms and conditions, in
the development of wireless communications networks in the Russian Federation.
Pursuant to the agreement and subject to terms and conditions, QUALCOMMTel and
the Russian company will become 50/50 joint venture partners in Metrosvyaz
Limited ("Metrosvyaz"), a Cyprus corporation, which intends to invest in joint
ventures with local Russian telecommunications operators for the formation,
development, financing and operation of CDMA based wireless networks.

google.com

QUALCOMMTEL, RUSSIA

General. SpinCo holds a 70% interest in QUALCOMM Telecommunications Ltd.
("QUALCOMMTel"), which is a joint venture partner in Metrosvyaz, Limited
("Metrosvyaz"). Metrosvyaz was formed to develop joint ventures with local
In addition to its agreements with Tass Loutch to provide long distance
service, SpinCo and QUALCOMMTel are currently in negotiations to acquire a
controlling interest in affiliates of Transworld Communications, Inc., one of

Strategic Partners. The 50% of Metrosvyaz not owned by QUALCOMMTel is owned
by Tass Telecom, an affiliate of the ITAR TASS, the official news agency of the
Russian Federation. The 30% of QUALCOMMTel not owned by the Company is held by
Tiller International Limited ("Tiller"), a private investment company, with

SpinCo Rights and Interests. SpinCo holds a 70% interest in QUALCOMMTel.
QUALCOMMTel owns a 50% interest in Metrosvyaz, organized in 1997 as a joint
venture with Tass Telecom.

secinfo.com

SpinCo was the name of the "spinoff" of QUALCOMM INC before SpinCo was named Leap Wireless

From the Real QualcommInc/DE · 10-Q · For 6/28/98

QUALCOMMTel

During October 1997, QUALCOMM formed QUALCOMM Telecommunications Limited,
("QUALCOMMTel"), a Cayman Islands corporation. QUALCOMM holds a 70% ownership
interest in QUALCOMMTel. The minority 30% interest is held by Tiller
International Limited ("Tiller"), a private investment company. QUALCOMMTel is
intended to be an intermediate holding company to facilitate the Company's
business prospects in the Russian Federation.

THEN In February 1998, QUALCOMMTel entered into an agreement with a Russian
company, providing for their participation, subject to terms and conditions, in
the development of wireless communications networks in the Russian Federation.
Pursuant to the agreement and subject to terms and conditions, QUALCOMMTel and
the Russian company will become 50/50 joint venture partners in Metrosvyaz
Limited ("Metrosvyaz"), a Cyprus corporation, which intends to invest in joint
ventures with local Russian telecommunications operators for the formation,
development, financing and operation of CDMA based wireless networks.

google.com

METROSVYAZ SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A FAILURE?

google.com

google.com

BTW, WHO IS Anthony Georgiou?

google.com

ragingbull.lycos.com



To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (2171)12/1/2001 3:39:21 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell  Respond to of 12465
 
Re: 10/5/01 - [CGYC] 'Plan B' in plot to kill

'Plan B' in plot to kill

4 accused of scheme had abduction backup, prosecutors tell judge; Bails of $1 million each set; Defendants belong to space-alien cult in Carroll County
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Sheridan Lyons and Dan Fesperman
Sun Staff

Originally published October 5, 2001

Suspects in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme had a backup plan if an intended hit man failed: kidnap a granddaughter of a target, according to prosecutors and charging documents in the case against the reputed leader and three members of a Carroll County space-alien cult.

"This was Plan B," said Deputy State's Attorney Tracy A. Gilmore, who asked that the defendants be held without bail during a hearing yesterday in county District Court in Westminster.

Judge JoAnn M. Ellinghaus-Jones then set bail at $1 million each for Scott Caruthers, 56, his wife, Dashielle Lashra, 42, and Dulsa Naedek, 42, all of the 500 block of Scott Drive in Westminster, and for Westminster lawyer David Stuart Pearl, 46, of the 100 block of Masters Court.

All were charged Wednesday with conspiring to murder David Gable, 51, of Baltimore County, a former business associate, and with solicitation of Amir Tabassi, a sometimes bodyguard for Caruthers, to commit the murder.

Tabassi went to the FBI after receiving a gold bracelet with diamonds and emeralds as an alleged "down payment" on promises of receiving stock valued at $110,000, according to the charging documents.

The other men targeted in the alleged plot, according to charging documents written by Sgt. Steven Hohner of the Maryland State Police, are Lewis Dardick, 42, a former law partner of Pearl's whose former wife is a close friend of the defendants; Timothy Hackerman, 41, who is Naedek's former husband; and Michael Tulkoff, 38, who helped mobilize family efforts to investigate the alleged cult.

Hohner's report also mentions the possible kidnapping plot against the granddaughter and alludes to possible plans to take action against an unnamed Delaware attorney.

The four suspects have been charged by Maryland State Police with conspiring to kill Dardick, Hackerman and Tulkoff.

State police arrested the suspects early Wednesday on charges involving Gable and the three other intended victims.

All four of the men targeted are in danger because other unknown cult members may be willing to carry out the killings, according to Gilmore and court documents.

"The state believes that there is a significant threat to the intended victims," she told the judge.

William H. Murphy Jr., an attorney for one of the targeted men named only as John Doe, filed an unsuccessful motion to seal the court file, saying his client fears other followers of Caruthers and has gone into hiding with his family at the urging of the police.

The four defendants, handcuffed and dressed in orange jumpsuits from the Carroll County Detention Center, said nothing at the bail review hearing as their attorneys sought their release and mocked the allegations.

"This is a well-devised plot against these four people," said Richard L. Gershberg, an Owings Mills attorney and the brother of Naedek, who represented her, Caruthers and Lashra yesterday. Gershberg said he is not a criminal defense attorney and would not handle the case at trial.

Gary S. Bernstein of Towson, Pearl's attorney, said Tabassi, the supposed hit man, "was running a scam on us. ... There are two ways to read this."

Bernstein said the defendants want Gable alive and happy. Carnegie International, a Hunt Valley telecommunications business co-founded by Caruthers and Gable, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is in the midst of a lawsuit in Baltimore against its accounting firm, he said.

Killing Gable "guarantees that the stock drops from 6 cents to zero. They should keep him fat and happy, and make sure he's available to testify," said Bernstein, calling Gable and his testimony "the goose that will lay the golden egg."

Gershberg said he agreed with Bernstein, saying several times that Gilmore was "absolutely incorrect."

"Mr. Caruthers has been a controversial person in this county," he said, noting previous articles in The Sun that detailed the accusations that Caruthers led a space-alien cult, communicating with mother ships through his cats. "There's been a lot of fog that's being created by a lot of people.

Caruthers is an author and an artist, Gershberg said, and was honored in Philadelphia during a July 1999 exhibition with a mayor's proclamation of "cyber art month."

Gershberg said he has known them for a long time. "These people did not in any way intend to or actually make a plan to kill anyone," he said. "These are not the kind of people that take out a contract on anyone."

He also mentioned that he is a co-defendant with Caruthers, Pearl and others in a civil lawsuit filed in Baltimore by investors who lost money in a past business venture headed by Caruthers.

At the bail hearing, Gilmore called the defendants substantial flight risks, saying that Caruthers may have millions in bank accounts, real estate and about 20 companies, mostly off shore, and that he travels often to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. He also told a police officer he plans to move, she said.

Gershberg said: "Everything they own at this point that has any value is a function of the stock in [Carnegie]." He said that Caruthers is an ambassador to Ukraine for the tiny island nation of Dominica.

The judge ordered the four defendants to stay away from Gable, to surrender their passports and not to leave the state without notifying the court, if they do post bond. By 6 p.m. yesterday, none had.

"If this turns out to be true, it's extraordinary," said Ellinghaus-Jones, noting that she is obligated to take the state's case at face value for purposes of bail review.

Copyright © 2001, The Baltimore Sun

sunspot.net



To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (2171)8/8/2002 11:02:45 AM
From: Arcane Lore  Respond to of 12465
 
From the NY Times site:

Suing the Accountants: Vitriol and Paperwork

By JONATHAN D. GLATER

Who's to blame when a company runs into trouble because of concerns over its accounting?

A court battle involving a small telecommunications company and its auditor over that question offers a preview of the wave of disputes expected in the aftermath of a series of corporate scandals over the last year, from Enron to WorldCom.

The telecommunications company, Carnegie International, lost its listing on the American Stock Exchange and could not hold on to a number of clients after the Securities and Exchange Commission raised concerns about misleading accounting. Carnegie says its accounting firm, Grant Thornton, conducted an incompetent audit that caused the exchange to end trading in its stock, then tried to cover up its mistakes and delay issuing revised financial statements.

"I didn't believe an accounting firm would stoop to what they did," said Lowell Farkas, Carnegie's chief executive.

Grant Thornton responds that Carnegie concealed fraudulent transactions that left its accountants in the dark about the flaws. To lawyers for the accounting firm, Carnegie is making a brazen effort to shift the blame for its own misdeeds.

"It's the ultimate in chutzpah to misrepresent the books, misrepresent the facts, and then turn around and sue your auditors for not discovering that you lied to them," said Larry K. Elliott, a lawyer at Cohen & Grigsby, a Pittsburgh law firm representing Grant Thornton.

Carnegie's suit seeking billions in damages has dragged on for more than a year. But even though the dispute long predates the collapse of Enron, both sides are eager to draw parallels from the two cases. Carnegie's lawyers compare Grant Thornton to Arthur Andersen, which was convicted in June on charges that it destroyed documents related to its audit of Enron. Grant Thornton, in turn, likens Carnegie executives to Enron's management, which has been accused of inflating revenue and hiding losses to pump up its stock price.

"We'll take our chances on proving they're Enron before they prove we're Andersen," Mr. Elliott said.

The Carnegie case shows how difficult it will be to sort out the issues in the lawsuits that more and more companies are expected to file against their auditors. Companies want to pass on the blame — or at least the cost of settling shareholder suits — and so many will inevitably sue their accountants, said Daniel J. Kramer, a lawyer at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York.

"The environment is one where one would expect more such claims to be brought," Mr. Kramer said, either in court or in arbitration proceedings. Bankruptcy filings will only worsen the situation, as creditors also decide to go after auditors. "This is the worst environment that I can remember," he added.

Shareholder suits are to be expected for companies and auditors, but suits brought by clients pose greater risks for both sides, said Dan L. Goldwasser, a lawyer at Vedder, Price, Kaufman, Kammholz & Day, who often represents accountants.

For an auditor, "those suits are particularly dangerous because they're based on a negligence standard as opposed to fraud standard." It is easier to prove negligence than fraud.

And from the company's perspective, Mr. Goldwasser said, "it's not a move that you take lightly because if you sue your auditor, then your auditor's independence is impaired, you've got to get a new auditor," and business will suffer in the meantime.

The dispute involving Grant Thornton and Carnegie gives an idea of how risky and costly these suits are for both sides. Carnegie, which seeks more than $2 billion in damages, spent more than $5 million on lawyers to defend itself against shareholder suits. Its lawyers in the case against Grant Thornton are working on a contingency fee basis.

The trial, which began last November, was sidetracked in its first week by a disclosure that Grant Thornton had prepared a set of duplicate work papers. Previously, an executive for the firm testified that he had deleted some of his Carnegie files. The firm's lawyers discount the document destruction as minimal and harmless, and say the second set of audit papers differs very little from the copies provided for trial.

But that is just the kind of embarrassment an accounting firm wants to avoid. Kaye Allison, the Maryland state court judge presiding, appointed a special master to investigate the newly discovered documents. The master's report is expected any day now, and the trial is expected to resume in the fall.

Carnegie's central contention is that Grant Thornton conducted a sloppy audit of its 1997 and 1998 financial statements. As a result, the Securities and Exchange Commission raised concerns about Carnegie's accounting the day after its stock began dealings on the American Stock Exchange, which promptly halted trading. That was April 30, 1999, and trading in Carnegie's shares never resumed on the exchange. Since May 9, 2000, the shares have traded through the over-the-counter bulletin board.

The company's shareholders sued, it lost business, and its revenue fell; last year, Carnegie reported a loss of about $2 million after a much bigger loss of $45.5 million in 2000. Carnegie filed its lawsuit against Grant Thornton in May 2000.

The dispute turns on whether Grant Thornton improperly accounted for transactions undertaken in previous years by Carnegie, as Carnegie contends, or whether current and former Carnegie executives engaged in shady, fraudulent schemes using overseas affiliates to enrich themselves and inflate Carnegie's revenue, as Grant Thornton argues.

In late 1998 or early 1999, depending on whom you believe, Carnegie transferred the rights to sell its voice recognition software, called Mavis, to Tiller International, which Carnegie says is a holding company based in Monte Carlo.

In exchange, Tiller pledged to obtain and return to Carnegie previously acquired options to sell Carnegie's stock back to the company. Carnegie treated the proceeds of the deal as operating income because after the deal, the options would no longer constitute a future liability.

That is what set off alarms at the S.E.C., lawyers on both sides say. Before transferring the options, known as puts, back to Carnegie, some of the companies Tiller represented exercised call options, to purchase Carnegie stock. At that point, the lawyers for both sides agreed, the put options should have been treated as worthless.

By exercising the call options, investors were indicating that the market price was higher than the price under the option, leaving the puts with no value because there would be no reason for a buyer to force Carnegie to buy shares at a price lower than that set in the market, explained Julia Grant, who teaches accounting at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University. "You would never put them back," she said.

Mr. Elliott, Grant Thornton's lawyer, said that the auditors did not know the call options had been exercised, and therefore they approved — erroneously — treating the transfer of the puts as revenue to Carnegie. Carnegie executives say that the auditors did know the call options were exercised, and that Grant Thornton was trying to hide that its team had made a mistake.

In September 1999, five months after the S.E.C. raised these concerns, Carnegie fired Grant Thornton and hired Merdinger, Fruchter, Rosen & Company as its auditors. The new accountant approved revised 1998 financial statement and the company's 1999 statement.

Carnegie says that Grant Thornton refused to discuss the matter during that period or revise the 1998 financial statements. Grant Thornton in turn says Carnegie would not disclose information about the Mavis deal and other transactions that it needed to determine the correct accounting treatment.

In that same period, Mr. Farkas, Carnegie's chief, says his company lost hundreds of millions of dollars as big clients like Electronic Data Systems took their business elsewhere. The company is seeking $600 million in compensatory damages from Grant Thornton, and $1.5 billion more in punitive damages.

nytimes.com
(Free registration required)