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Pastimes : Investment Chat Board Lawsuits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (16)	5/26/1999 8:52:00 AM
From: Dean Dumont	Respond to of 12465

Saturday May 22 1:30 AM ET Raytheon Drops Internet Chat Suit By TOM KIRCHOFER Associated Press Writer BOSTON (AP) - Raytheon Co. (NYSE:RTNa - news) has dropped a lawsuit against a group of people it believed were spreading company secrets in an anonymous Internet chat room - after the defense contractor obtained their names. Most of the 21 chatters were employees, and critics say the company used the court's power to chill free speech. ''It seems that the sole objective of Raytheon was to identify these individuals,'' said David Sobel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based research group. ''It raises questions about the legitimacy of the way the court's discovery procedures were used.'' Four of the workers quit, and Raytheon says the rest entered corporate ''counseling.'' ''We felt like our internal investigation had accomplished what we wanted it to accomplish. It was time to put the matter behind us,'' David Polk, a spokesman for the Lexington-based company, said Friday. ''We are committed to protecting proprietary information from being communicated on a public forum. We think we've done that to a certain extent.'' In February, Raytheon filed suit against 21 ''John Does,'' accusing them of discussing such matters as rumored mergers and acquisitions, impending divestitures and possible defense contracts on a public Internet site. The company asked the court on Thursday to drop the case. The chatters used aliases to conceal their identities. Raytheon obtained subpoenas against Internet services, and Polk said the company eventually learned all 21 names. Sobel said the situation illustrated the need for standards to ensure that online anonymity is not too easily compromised. ''I'm not prepared to say that it's the responsibility of the Internet companies to fight these efforts, but they do need to make sure that their subscribers are given notice of these subpoenas,'' he said. In the Raytheon case, America Online received subpoenas. Under AOL policy, whenever it receives a subpoena in a civil case, the customer is notified and given 14 days to try to block the subpoena. Only after that time has expired will the company turn over the information, said AOL spokesman Rich D'Amato. However, he said targets of criminal investigations are not given such a luxury. Earlier Stories Raytheon Said Dropping Chat Suit (May 21) RaytSaid Dropping Chat Board Suit (May 21) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (16)	5/27/1999 2:22:00 PM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 12465

Hitsgalore.com Takes a Stand Against "Cybersmear" Defamation Campaign Business Wire - May 27, 1999 14:10 RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 1999--Steve Bradford, CEO of Hitsgalore.com, Inc. (OTC BB:HITT) today announced that the Company plans to file a lawsuit in federal court against anonymous posters on the Internet using aliases and pseudonyms to camouflage their true identities in a nationwide campaign to destroy the reputation and undermine the business affairs of the Company by posting false, defamatory, and malicious messages on the Raging Bull and Silicon Investor Message Boards about the Company and certain current and former officers and directors. Steve Bradford, CEO of the Company, believes that the posters may have embarked on this negative Cybersmear campaign in an apparent attempt to drive the price of the Company's common stock down and to otherwise destroy the Company's business. Bradford said, "The Company has an obligation to its customers, shareholders and the public in general to take appropriate action to curb malicious activity, expose the posters who are hiding under the shroud of anonymity, and hold them fully accountable for their actions. To assist the Company in prosecuting this matter, the Company has retained Carl F. Schoeppl, Esq., of Schoeppl & Burke, P.A., a former senior federal prosecutor with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, to investigate and pursue a federal action on behalf of the Company against all responsible parties. If you have any information which you believe would be helpful to the Company in prosecuting this matter, please contact Schoeppl & Burke, P.A., 4800 North Federal Highway, Suite 210-A, Boca Raton, Florida 33431-5176, Telephone: 561/394-8301, Facsimile: 561/393-6541, and e-mail: Schoeppl@aol.com. Hitsgalore.com operates a search engine at hitsgalore.com. Hitsgalore.com gives away free lifetime banner placements and generates sales from its sponsorships, Keyword Bid & Rank program and Local City Editions featuring local content. Hitsgalore.com strives to provide porn-free searching and does not accept or encourage any porn or adult-content listings on its site. The company believes this compares favorably with other Internet portals and search engine companies such as Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq:LCOS), Excite, Inc. (Nasdaq:XCIT), Infoseek Corporation (Nasdaq:SEEK) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO). CONTACT: Hitsgalore.com, Inc., Rancho Cucamonga Danny Gavin, Investor Relations 800-300-5388 investor@hitsgalore.com go2net.newsalert.com - Jeff

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (16)	10/11/2000 6:08:07 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

Re: 10/5/00 - [WADE] State and Feds Settle Case Against Wade Cook Financial State and Feds Settle Case Against Wade Cook Financial SEATTLE - Oct. 5, 2000 - Two Seattle-area companies that allegedly sold "get rich quick" investment advice not backed up by results will discontinue deceptive practices and pay millions of dollars back to consumers. Those terms were agreed to by Wade Cook Financial Corporation and Wade Cook Seminars Inc., in consent decrees signed with Washington state and the Federal Trade Commission. The agreement was announced today by Attorney General Christine Gregoire, Washington state Department of Financial Institutions Director John Bley, and FTC Regional Director Charles Harwood. The consent decrees are part of a series of legal settlements being negotiated between Cook's companies and 14 states, including Washington. The settlement with Washington was filed in King County Superior Court and incorporates a separate consent decree filed this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle by the Federal Trade Commission. Under terms of the decrees, Cook's companies will stop using deceptive practices and pay restitution to as many as 13,400 Washington consumers who paid a total of $53.8 million to participate in Wade Cook seminars. Further, Wade Cook Financial will pay Washington state $136,000 for consumer education and to reimburse the state for its investigative costs. Wade Cook, the founder of the companies, is a former Tacoma cab driver turned stock market guru. "Cook made his millions selling seminars, not playing the stock market as he has advertised. He either deceived consumers or he didn’t follow his own trading advice," Gregoire said. "This case is not about good or bad advice. It is about Cook's failure to be truthful in his presentations," Bley pointed out. "He should have to tell the truth about his success, just like everyone we regulate. We hope our actions will ensure that he does so from now on." The complaint filed simultaneously with the consent decree alleges that Cook’s companies made false claims about the wealth he acquired and told others they could duplicate his financial success if they followed the trading formulas taught in the seminars. The complaint also alleged that Cook’s companies manipulated claims of financial success by not disclosing losing transactions; and that the companies falsely reported trading transactions. The two companies, headquartered in Tukwila, made $110 million from the sales of financial seminars and other products last year. Cook personally made $18 million in royalties during the same time period. "Our staff reviewed the stock market trades by Cook’s companies over a period of several years, and found that his annual returns ranged from plus 3.3 percent to a 5.3 percent loss," said Bley. "All this while he was claiming triple-digit returns for his stock and options strategies." Consumers are lured to free financial seminars, say regulators, with promises they will gain wealth and riches by following Cook’s investment formulas. The seminars are actually three-hour sales pitches for a two-day Wall Street Workshop that costs between $3,000 to $5,000 and teaches consumers the formulas to Cook’s trading "success." In 1998, the corporation held 3,733 seminars in more than 379 U.S. cities. The defendants also tout the benefits of the Wealth Information Network (WIN), an online subscription service given free for six months to those who sign up for the Wall Street seminar. WIN allegedly provides up to the minute, detailed information on "all" trades made by the corporations, using the Wade Cook formulas. After the six-month trial, consumers are charged for the service. The subscription service costs $2,995 for the first year with a $1,995 per year renewal fee. "People see the trades Cook wants them to see," Gregoire said. "Investing in the stock market is risky enough. The investment world can do without those who use a façade of success to lure the unsuspecting." wa.gov