Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

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.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Snowshoe who wrote (23015)	8/26/2002 10:04:34 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

Where the money went We realise that you're no longer surprised when you see the words "fraud" and "executive" in the same sentence. You may even be suffering from post-Enron ennui, in which case you avoid stories of corporate malfeasance and turn to the comics. (Here at the Post, we have conveniently placed them on page one, disguised as political news.) But some cases of greed are too breathtaking to go unreported. Step forward, Znetix Inc, a Seattle company whose affairs have become as tangled as the spelling of its name. Znetix raised money from 5,000 investors, claiming it was going to build a health and fitness services company that would make its investors happy and wealthy. So where did the IPO funds go? According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, nearly $100 million when into the pockets of Kevin Lawrence and his pals, who spent like drunken sailors on fancy toys for themselves and their friends and families. Mr Lawrence has been arrested and faces 560 years in prison if convicted on all the charges he faces. Meanwhile, the authorities have been attempting to make the best of it by auctioning of some of the goods seized from Znetix. Here's a partial list: Two Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicles, a Dodge Viper, three E-class Mercedes Benz sedans, a BMW M3, two Rolex watches, a Cartier watch with diamonds, diamond-studded earrings, a Sony high-definition TV, 360 Cranium games, dozens of fitness machines, 14 leather office chairs, Compaq and Dell desktop and laptop computers, leisure boats, motor homes and ... a cotton candy machine. "On the first day of the auction some of the investors showed up," said Terry Moore, a spokesman for the auctioneers. "They were not too happy." Well, at least they finally had a chance to see where their money went.

To: Snowshoe who wrote (23015)	8/26/2002 10:49:42 PM
From: EL KABONG!!!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Hi Snowshoe, More anecdotal information obtained simply by shopping... Today I had gone to CostCo for some shopping, a trip I almost always procrastinate on because I hate waiting in the long lines, and I almost always get the line where some guy is buying supplies to be retailed elsewhere, and those people always take much longer than everyone else in line... So to make a long story short, I simply bit the bullet and went there. Shocking! CostCo had maybe 6 lines open (out of a possible 15 to 20 or so). There was maybe 1 customer in each line. I took my purchases to an empty line and was in and out of the store in under 10 minutes, including the length of time it took me to park the car. The aisles were completely empty. There may have been about 25 customers in the store, and perhaps twice that many working by stocking shelves, cashiering, customer service and stuff like that. The parking lot didn't look that empty to me, but the store sure was empty. It usually takes me a while (10 minutes or so) to find a parking spot that isn't out in left field somewhere. Add about 1/2 hour to do the actual shopping and close out with another 20 minutes in the checkout line. An hour or so, even on a Monday, is not an unusual amount of time to allot for shopping at CostCo (formerly Price Club). So, in and out in under 10 minutes, while a blessing for me as a customer, might seem to be further anecdotal evidence of problems surfacing in the discount retail sector. Just an observation, but I think that Joe Six-Pack may indeed be watching his pennies now... KJC