- OT - Death threats on SI!
From todays WSJ:
Trading Halt by SEC Roils Mountain Energy Debate
By JASON ANDERS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE EDITION
When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission halted
trading of tiny Mountain Energy on Wednesday, it intensified what
was already one of the most heated and controversial on-line
debates.
Since being formed through a reverse
merger in June, the Houston oil
company has been a hot topic on the
Silicon Investor Web site's
(www.techstocks.com) discussion
forums. More than 7,200 messages have been posted about the
stock, which is quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board.
The SEC ordered the trading suspended until Aug. 12, it says,
because of questions raised about some information Mountain
Energy distributed about its land holdings and the value of that
land -- issues that message board participants have been
debating for weeks.
And it has been an ugly debate, says Silicon Investor.
"Dealing with this message board has been an absolute
nightmare. It's the worst I've ever seen," says a spokesman for
the discussion forum. "At its worst we were getting flooded with
about 200 complaints a day. That went on for about two weeks. It
took so much time to read through them, it made it impossible to
get anything else done."
For its part, Mountain Energy
concedes that some press
releases may have contained
inaccurate information, but says
those releases were issued by
the management of the shell
company, International Casino
Cruises Inc., into which
Mountain was merged.
Mountain Energy says the
releases were issued without
its approval.
"Anything before June 24 was
written by them, and we had
nothing to do with it," says Jack Uselton, president of Mountain
Energy. "We were flabbergasted when [the SEC] halted trading. I
don't know what the hell is going on, but I know we haven't done
anything wrong." Mountain Energy has filed a lawsuit against the
management of International Casino Cruises, and some financial
firms it alleges improperly received stock from the prior
management. The defendants couldn't be reached for comment.
Mr. Uselton says he wants the company to disclose additional
financial information to investors, but says he can't do that
because the former directors haven't turned over some key data.
He also says that neither he nor anyone else affiliated with
Mountain Energy has sold any stock, as some on the message
board have alleged.
The SEC declines to elaborate on its
investigation into Mountain Energy, but
that hasn't stopped message board
participants from weighing in with their
own theories. The stock's supporters say the SEC's investigation
will once and for all clear Mountain Energy's name. Many critics
believe the stock will never trade again.
Both sides have pointed fingers at the other, claiming stock
manipulation and citing the stock's wild ride as evidence. Shares
of Mountain Energy climbed from six cents a share at the
beginning of May to $1.53 in early June, only to fall back steadily
to 18 cents a share before trading was halted. Silicon Investor
says the bulk of the complaints it received seemed to be part of
an organized campaign by some message-board participants to
expel certain "bashers" -- a person who makes derogatory posts
on message boards in an effort to drive down a stock's price.
At its height, the bickering included death threats. Silicon Investor
says a few users posted messages in public and in private
hinting that harm could come to some of Mountain Energy's
critics if they didn't keep quiet. "I don't know if the threats were
legitimate, but I know we took them seriously," says the Silicon
Investor spokesman. Some Mountain Energy supporters have
suggested that some of the stock's critics authored the threats
themselves.
"A lot of things are coming to light that we've been saying for a
long, long time," says Janice Shell, one of the most active
participants on the Mountain Energy message board. "These
people go on and on about the need for due diligence or
research, but their idea of due diligence is calling up the
company and believing everything handed to them."
Ms. Shell and others have been accused by other board
participants of being paid to attack the stock on behalf of
"shorters" -- investors who make bets that a stock will fall in price.
She says she has never held a position in Mountain Energy, and
has no financial interest in the stock. But Mountain Energy
supporters say something just doesn't add up.
"They say they're there to save us from
the pump and dumpers. However, pump
and dump time is long gone on this
stock, and they're still harping on it.
There has to be a reason," says Eric
Deaver, a frequent participant on the
message board.
Mr. Deaver, who says he has faith in the management of
Mountain Energy, says the so-called bashers have ruined what
was a good message board -- and a good investment. "I don't
have a problem with someone raising an issue. I think that's
responsible. I have a problem with these people who do nothing
but bash the stock all day long," he says.
Mountain Energy took a shot at its on-line critics in a press
release at the beginning of the week, where it said: "It is human
nature to wish for quick returns on an investment, and this drives
a need for positive information ... . However, if the management
moved quickly to give out unproven information, they would be as
guilty of irresponsibility as those sources of misinformation, who
are currently so active on the Internet."
Mr. Uselton says he questions the motives of the message board
participants who have attacked Mountain Energy. "This stuff is
coming from people who know nothing about the company. I just
don't understand why they are there, why they keep at it," he says.
Ms. Shell, who says she invests in several stocks but none
quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board, admits that she is "completely
obsessed" with unraveling what she calls "the Mountain Energy
story." And, she says, the story isn't over yet. "I'd like to believe
now that this board will calm down, and then I will depart," she
says. "But I just know that as soon as trading reopens, there are
going to be a lot of posts saying 'this baby is going to the moon.'
And then I'll be back."
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