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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lucretius who wrote (142287)	1/8/2002 1:09:31 PM
From: Box-By-The-Riviera™	Respond to of 436258

i didn't yet, today. but there's time.

To: Lucretius who wrote (142287)	1/8/2002 1:16:57 PM
From: Real Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Silver is toast. So is gold -ng-

To: Lucretius who wrote (142287)	1/8/2002 3:08:14 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 436258

Amended Complaint (S.E.C. v. Invest Better 2001, et al.) from FindLaw.com <http://news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/sec/secib200110702acmp.pdf> (Adobe Acrobat Required) Consent Order (S.E.C. v. Invest Better 2001, et al.) from FindLaw.com <http://news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/sec/secib200110702cord.pdf> (Adobe Acrobat Required) The Internet stock bubble may have burst, but the dream of getting rich quick lives on. How else to explain the success of Cole Bartiromo, a California teenager who raised more than $1 million from investors late last fall by guaranteeing returns of up to 2,500 percent? In less than two months, Mr. Bartiromo, 17, persuaded more than 1,000 people to send him money by promising to make risk-free bets on sporting events, according to a complaint yesterday from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Then he transferred much of the money to an account he held at a casino in Costa Rica. The high risks of investing in the Internet or biotechnology stocks were not for Mr. Bartiromo's financiers. They preferred the safe, sure riches promised by wagering on collegiate and professional sports. Through his Web site, Invest Better 2001, Mr. Bartiromo promised investors that he had a "team of bettors who were very good at what they did and only bet on sure things," said Alexander Vasilescu, senior trial counsel for the S.E.C. "It's fair to say that some people who invested weren't sophisticated." Some early investors did receive the promised returns, as Mr. Bartiromo paid off his first backers with money from later investors, Mr. Vasilescu said. But by early December, the scheme had begun to break down, and investors were complaining on a bulletin board on the Invest Better Web site that their money had disappeared. On the site, which proclaimed that "Invest Better 2001 is already the No. 1 investment service in existence," Mr. Bartiromo gave investors a choice of four investment packages. They offered returns that ranged from 125 percent for three days to 2,500 percent for six weeks - the "Christmas Miracle" package. On Dec. 13, the S.E.C. filed an enforcement action in federal court in Manhattan to stop Invest Better 2001 from raising more money, although it did not name any individuals in its complaint. Yesterday, the S.E.C. amended its action to identify Mr. Bartiromo, who lives with his parents in Mission Viejo, Calif., north of San Diego, as a principal of Invest Better. Mr. Bartiromo agreed to return profits from the fraud to investors, including $900,000 he had transferred to the casino account, Mr. Vasilescu said. The S.E.C. and Mr. Bartiromo have not reached agreement on how much money he will ultimately have to return or whether he will face fines or other civil penalties. The complaint does not name other defendants, and Mr. Vasilescu declined to say whether Mr. Bartiromo acted alone or had help. A lawyer for Mr. Bartiromo did not return calls for comment. Mr. Bartiromo did not return a message left at his parents' house. About two years ago, a 15-year-old New Jersey student, Jonathan Lebed, made almost $800,000 using the Internet to inflate the prices of penny stocks before the S.E.C. forced him to stop. In September 2000, Mr. Lebed settled an S.E.C. complaint and was allowed to keep almost $500,000 of his profits.