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.

Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (10561)	10/16/2002 6:18:02 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

checks in the mail->Judge ups monthly fine to $100 mln for Telsim clan CHICAGO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A federal judge drastically boosted to $100 million a monthly fine faced by the owners of Turkey's No. 2 wireless operator, Telsim, who were sued for fraud by cell-phone makers Motorola Inc. <MOT.N> and Finland's Nokia<NOK1V.HE><NOK.N>. Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court in New York late Tuesday said he was raising the fine faced by the Uzans, one of Turkey's wealthiest families, if they did not deposit disputed shares in Telsim with the court registry, according to court documents. In August, Rakoff had ruled the Uzans in civil contempt. On Tuesday, Rakoff said little action by the Uzans led him to raise the fine, starting in November, to $100 million, doubling every subsequent month, according to court documents. The initial fine had started at $1,000 in June and doubled every month thereafter. A spokesman for the Uzans said the family is making efforts to have injunctions in several Turkish courts lifted in order to allow the transfer of the disputed Telsim shares. The matter was expected to take several weeks, he said. Rakoff, who set a Nov. 26 deadline to comply with his order, said the Turkish injunctions do not stop the Uzans from posting a bond with the court equal to the value of the shares, according to court documents. In January, Motorola and Nokia sued several Uzan family members, alleging they borrowed almost $3 billion from the companies with no intention of paying the money back. In their lawsuit, the firms allege fraud under U.S. anti-racketeering laws and seek repayment of the loans plus damages. Rakoff also warned Tuesday that the Uzans' continuing contempt would be admissible at trial and the jury could draw an adverse inference from that, according to court documents. A trial date of Feb. 10, 2003, has been set. In August, Rakoff said he would lift the contempt rulings if the Uzans reversed a Jan. 4 action to create new Telsim shares and deposit the disputed shares with the court. 10/16/02 17:02 ET

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (10561)	10/16/2002 6:20:14 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

NY indicts 9 for $27 mln theft from bankrupt firms NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nine men and four companies were indicted Wednesday on racketeering charges stemming from the theft of $27.7 million from businesses being liquidated in bankruptcy, New York officials said. In unsealing an 82-count indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said the joint investigation with the New York Police Department revealed massive fraud and thefts from companies least able to afford it. "These were distressed companies facing financial hardship, restructuring and bankruptcy," he said. Michael Sherman, Oleg Ostrofsky and Frank Carone, also known as Frank Bari, and six associates were charged with enterprise corruption, grand larceny, possession of stolen property, falsifying business records, commercial bribery, insurance fraud, false filings, antitrust violations and perjury. They face up to 25 years in state prison on the most serious charge of enterprise corruption. Bari Restaurant & Pizzeria Equipment Corp., a major supplier of pizza ovens in the area, was among the four indicted companies. Morgenthau said the men stole cash that belonged to the victims, lied to companies and creditors about the proceeds of auctions held to sell inventory and equipment, and failed to disclose assets to creditors. The men also wrote checks to companies they had previously liquidated and whose bank accounts they controlled, he said. Among the 13 companies named as victims in the indictment were Balducci.com, a Manhattan-based specialty foods Web site, Ames Department Stores, a Connecticut-based general retailer, and Jamesway Corp., a retail and general merchandise chain headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey. 10/16/02 18:11 ET