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   Strategies & Market TrendsAnthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony,


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To: scion who wrote (110172)4/22/2010 11:19:54 PM
From: anniebonny
1 Recommendation   of 122082
 
hmmm...so is that the final confirmation it is indeed a scam? LOL!

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To: Kevin Podsiadlik who wrote (110167)4/23/2010 7:45:32 AM
From: Madharry
   of 122082
 
what do you expect from a guy who managed to sell a lot of his country's gold when it was at a decade bottom of $275. That's just the guy I want making financial decisions for me. Generally with people like that you just want to take the opposite point of view. Do deal with Goldman because now you can probably get them to do it for less.

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From: StockDung4/23/2010 7:57:22 AM
   of 122082
 
GunnAllen May Be Gearing Up For Chapter 11
By: Thomas A. Hargett Thursday, April 22, 2010 2:36 PM

Broker/dealer GunnAllen Financial may be getting ready to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to an April 21 story in Investment News. If that happens, hundreds of investors with pending arbitration claims against the embattled company will have to get in line for GunnAllen's remaining assets, including any insurance policies.

In late March, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) closed the doors on GunnAllen because the company had fallen below minimum capital rules set by federal regulators. GunnAllen's financial troubles, however, have been ongoing for some time because of lawsuits from investors who say they were defrauded by various GunnAllen brokers.

Many of the lawsuits concern former GunnAllen broker Frank Bluestein, who allegedly operated a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

GunnAllen also faces lawsuits tied to sales of private placements in Provident Royalties LLC. In March, FINRA expelled Provident Asset Management, LLC for allegedly marketing a series of fraudulent private placements offered by Provident Royalties in a massive Ponzi scheme.

As reported in the Investment News article, if GunnAllen does, in fact, file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the value of its insurance policies will be critical to any investor suing the broker/dealer.

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To: Francois Goelo who wrote (79096)4/23/2010 7:59:13 AM
From: StockDung
   of 122082
 
Ex-SEC lawyer faces prison for pump-and-dump fraud
© 2010 The Associated Press
April 23, 2010, 5:21AM

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former enforcement attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission could get up to 17 years in prison as he faces sentencing for his role in a pump-and-dump stock scheme.

Prosecutors allege that Dallas-based attorney Phillip Offill Jr. aided schemes that by conservative estimates cheated more than 1,500 investors out of at least $2.4 million. The fraudsters would pump up the value of dubious penny stocks and then sell the shares at inflated prices to unwitting buyers.

A jury convicted Offill earlier this year. Eight other coconspirators have already been convicted and sentenced.

Prosecutors at U.S. District Court in Alexandria are seeking a term of at least 14 years at Offill's sentencing on Friday. Defense attorneys say he should serve no more than 3 years.

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From: StockDung4/23/2010 8:01:42 AM
1 Recommendation   of 122082
 
GEOFFREY EITENS LATEST PROMOTION GETS HELP FROM PUMP AND DUMP NEWSLETTER. PROMOTER PAID 425 GRAND/

HOW HIGH CAN THEY MAKE IT GO?

Brazil Gold Corp. (BRZG) is at ground zero!!!!!!!!

---------------------------------

Dear Newsmax Reader:
Please find below a special message from our sponsoring advertiser, Fundamental Value Report. They have important information to share with you. Thank you.
Newsmax.com


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On the rare occasion that I am lucky enough to make one of these incredible discoveries before the street jumps all over the story, I jump in head first - because I KNOW that once the street catches on to my discovery, great trading profits are ALMOST GUARANTEED!
Well today I have made my most incredible discovery yet, and I am issuing an URGENT PROFIT ALERT to all of my subscribers, so you too can quickly buy a position in this company's stock before it soars!
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Earlybird Recommendation: Strong Buy to $3.25

In my Special Situation Report I’m going to introduce you to Brazil Gold Corporation, a brand new gold company that is about as FAR FROM BEING SPECULATIVE as you can get - the properties it has acquired already have twenty four producing or previously producing gold mines within their borders!
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Led Royalstar Resources to be acquired by KINROSS GOLD (NYSE: KGC)
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Made GAMMON GOLD (NYSE: GAM) Mexico’s 2nd largest producer.
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Found half a million ounces of gold and thirty million tons of Manganese.
The legendary prospector and mining industry executive behind Brazil Gold Corp. (BRZG), whose discoveries total some 13 million ounces of gold worth in the neighborhood of 15 billion dollars - believes that the new gold properties he’s just discovered will far outshine all of the deposits he’s ever found, dwarfing them all!
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THE HOTTEST GOLD REGION IN THE WORLD
Brazil Gold Corp. (BRZG) is at ground zero in the world’s best gold region. Many mining experts describe the "Guiana Shield" in South America’s Amazon Basin as home to the world’s largest untapped gold reserves.
This "shield" is half of the corresponding gold rich area in Africa; in fact, the two were once formed a single outcropping when the two continents were connected roughly 115 million years ago. The outcropping in Africa is largely responsible for the gold and platinum wealth of South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Together, these regions make up a great percentage of the planet’s remaining precious mineral wealth, and BRZG is dead center!
In the late 1970s, vast quantities of gold where discovered in the Guiana Shield. This sparked off the largest single gold rush in history, which is still going on today.
However, while gold is being mined by both large scale industry and individual wildcat miners called "garimpieros", much of the region remains extremely underexplored – likely leaving many of the regions largest deposits simply undiscovered!
BRZG’s properties are ideally situated in the southwest part of Brazil's famous Pará State, which has reportedly produced between 30 million and 50 million ounces of gold!
Brazil Gold Corp.’s activity in the area has already sparked a staking rush by both juniors and major international mining companies alike, as industry players scramble to follow BRZG’s lead!
The upshot of all this activity is you can expect to see major news flowing out of this RED HOT area soon!
There is absolutely no question that significant amounts of gold lie buried in multiple deposits within BRZG’s claim areas – REMEMBER - there is not one, two or even ten gold mines on BRZG’S Amazonia claims – there are 24!

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hottest gold belt, put together by one of the most famous mine developers.
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Earlybird Recommendation: Strong Buy to $3.25
Successful Investing,

Founder, Editor-In-Chief
Fundamental Value Report




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To: anniebonny who wrote (110174)4/23/2010 11:07:03 AM
From: scion
   of 122082
 
There is no such Spongetech filing on the NY Court site. It would seem that the document is the product of some people who made some egregious errors in composing it, and they put it on ZOHO, and then posted the link on IHub.

Document Info - File Name: spongetechnypostsandc04222010.pdf
Uploaded date: Apr 22 2010 17:47:53
Last Accessed date: Apr 23 2010 10:18:56
Expiry date: No expiry
No. of views: 4692

viewer.zoho.com

0 RECORDS FOUND

Search for:

iapps.courts.state.ny.us

0 RECORDS FOUND
Advanced Search:
iapps.courts.state.ny.us

siliconinvestor.com

SPNG sues NYP Holdings (NY Post), Kaja Whitehouse, Timothy Sykes, Teri Buhl, David Patch and John Does.

viewer.zoho.com

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To: StockDung who wrote (110177)4/23/2010 11:25:20 AM
From: scion
   of 122082
 
The contempt of court citation came after Bruteyn, along with disgraced attorney Phil Offill, cooked up a scheme to swap a Picasso painting – later judged to be fake – for cash among family members to give Offill money to help defend Bruteyn. Offill has been convicted of securities fraud and will be sentenced next month.

Former Amerifirst executive guilty of fraud in investing scheme that targeted senior citizens

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 15, 2010
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
etorbenson@dallasnews.com
dallasnews.com

A federal jury has convicted a former Dallas resident on nine counts of criminal fraud for a scheme that targeted mostly elderly investors, including many from Texas.

Jeffrey C. Bruteyn, who ran Amerifirst Funding and Amerifirst Acceptance Corp., faces up to 180 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines after Wednesday's convictions.

Bruteyn was already in prison for attempting to flee the country by falsely filing a lost-passport application, and he had been found in civil contempt of court for trying to hide assets from a court-appointed receiver.

Bruteyn, 40, once owned a large house in Dallas' Lakewood neighborhood and drove luxury cars. His lifestyle attracted the attention of regulators, who seized the assets of his businesses in 2007.

Bruteyn and others ran a scheme that targeted mostly elderly investors. The investments were falsely advertised as safe and fully insured against losses. Bruteyn also lied about his education and didn't disclose his disciplinary history as a stockbroker, according to the indictment filed against him last year.

Bruteyn served as his own lawyer for the weeklong trial in front of U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn in Dallas. He will be sentenced July 23; each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million.

Bruteyn was sued earlier by the Securities and Exchange Commission over his sale of unregistered investments. The SEC also said he and his sales force made false claims.

That lawsuit alleged he raised $55 million from older investors by advertising high returns – 8 percent a year or more – for secured debt obligations backed by loans on cars sold from used-car lots linked to Amerifirst.

"I suppose betrayal is the word that comes to mind," said Amy Miglini of Minneapolis, Bruteyn's former girlfriend and one of his victims. "The emotional betrayal and damage is understandably often overlooked and overshadowed by the financial betrayal in situations like this."

The contempt of court citation came after Bruteyn, along with disgraced attorney Phil Offill, cooked up a scheme to swap a Picasso painting – later judged to be fake – for cash among family members to give Offill money to help defend Bruteyn. Offill has been convicted of securities fraud and will be sentenced next month.

Former Denton resident Vincent John Bazemore, 35, previously pleaded guilty for his role selling the investments. He is serving a five-year sentence and has been ordered to pay $16 million.

dallasnews.com

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From: scion4/23/2010 6:23:29 PM
1 Recommendation   of 122082
 
Probe Turns to Buffett Deal
Government Suspects Goldman Director Told Galleon of Berkshire's 2008 Investment

APRIL 23, 2010
By SUSAN PULLIAM
online.wsj.com

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director tipped off a hedge-fund billionaire about a $5 billion investment in Goldman by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. before a public announcement of the deal at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, a person close to the situation says.

The revelation marks a significant turn in the government's case against Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge-fund titan at the center of the largest insider-trading case in a generation. Mr. Buffett's investment in Goldman in September 2008 was a watershed moment in the financial crisis. One of the world's savviest investors, Mr. Buffett helped allay fears about the instability of the financial system by backing America's leading investment bank.

The new disclosure stems from a government examination into whether the Goldman director, Rajat Gupta, gave inside information to Mr. Rajaratnam. In a court filing March 22, the government alleged that Mr. Rajaratnam or "co-conspirators" traded on non-public information about Goldman. In a filing last week, the government provided more details about the information it alleges Mr. Rajaratnam received, including advance notice about the Buffett transaction with Goldman.

That information came from Mr. Gupta, a person familiar with the matter says. Federal prosecutors notified Mr. Gupta in a letter that they had intercepted phone conversations between him and Mr. Rajaratnam. Mr. Gupta told Goldman last month he wouldn't seek re-election as a director.

Mr. Gupta hasn't been charged in the case, and denies any wrongdoing in the matter. The government's examination of him was first reported last week in The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund, is fighting criminal insider-trading charges in the case. He declined to comment on any discussions with Mr. Gupta. Goldman also declined to comment.

"Rajat has neither violated any law nor done anything else improper. He has always conducted himself with integrity in his business, philanthropic and personal life," says Mr. Gupta's lawyer, Gary Naftalis. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.

The Buffett investment buoyed Goldman's shares. In the days leading up to the deal, the firm's stock had slid more than 40%—to $86 intraday on Sept. 18. By the time the deal was announced, on Sept. 23, its shares surged 45% to $125. On Thursday, Goldman's shares were up 12 cents to $159.05.

The investment, preferred shares in Goldman paying a 10% dividend, has been lucrative for Mr. Buffett: Berkshire has reaped profits totaling $750 million.

In papers filed in a New York federal court late last week, the government disclosed for the first time details about inside information Mr. Rajaratnam allegedly obtained regarding Goldman. Prosecutors said this included non-public information about the Berkshire investment in Goldman in September 2008, as well as Goldman earnings before their release to the public between June and September 2008, a time of market tumult.

Mr. Gupta wasn't mentioned in the filing. A person familiar with the matter says that Mr. Gupta spoke with Mr. Rajaratnam about the non-public data regarding Berkshire. Goldman has made no public disclosures about the U.S. notification received by Mr. Gupta in the insider-trading probe.

The firm says Mr. Gupta will remain on as a director until next month, when his term ends. Since 2006, he has received a total of $1.7 million in compensation as a Goldman director. Goldman's in-house lawyers interviewed Mr. Gupta about the matter, and he denied wrongdoing, a person familiar with the matter says.

Mr. Gupta didn't participate in a Goldman board meeting this Monday after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm in a separate civil case with fraud over a derivatives deal it arranged; Goldman denies wrongdoing in the SEC case.

Mr. Rajaratnam is one of 21 people who have been charged in the Galleon insider trading case. Of those, 11 have pleaded guilty while Mr. Rajaratnam and former hedge fund consultant, Danielle Chiesi, have vowed to fight the charges.

Mr. Gupta was told by prosecutors in a letter that his conversations with Mr. Rajaratnam were intercepted through wiretap recordings by the government of Mr. Rajaratnam's phones. It couldn't be determined whether wiretap recordings include discussion between Mr. Gupta and Mr. Rajaratnam of the Berkshire investment. Such wiretap recordings are at the center of the government's case against Mr. Rajaratnam.

Under the federal statute governing wiretaps by the government, prosecutors send letters to some of the individuals whose conversations are captured in the recordings. Not everyone who turns up on the government's recordings receives such a letter, however, unless the conversation in question is of interest to the government.

In order to bring charges against Mr. Gupta, prosecutors would need to believe that they could prove that Mr. Gupta knowingly provided Mr. Rajaratnam with inside information. Mr. Gupta, 61 years old, and Mr. Rajaratnam were close associates and once had a business partnership together. They met frequently, sometimes several times a month, at Galleon's midtown Manhattan offices, people familiar with the matter say. Mr. Gupta was invited to attend parties hosted by Galleon, one of those people says.

Mr. Gupta was head of consulting firm McKinsey & Co. from 1994 to 2003 and remained at the firm until 2007; he also sits on the board of AMR Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. There is no indication that trading in shares of either of those companies is being scrutinized by the government. McKinsey, AMR and Procter & Gamble declined to comment.

The exact nature of the conversation between Mr. Gupta and Mr. Rajaratnam couldn't be determined. Goldman declined to comment on when its board was notified about the Buffett transaction.

In the weekend leading up to the 2008 Buffett deal, Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, co-presidents Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar and others discussed ways to raise capital. They zeroed in on Mr. Buffett. His Goldman broker, Byron Trott, who has since left Goldman, called Mr. Buffett, asking him what it would take to get him to do a deal, says a person close to the situation.

Mr. Buffett responded that he wanted preferred shares with a 10% dividend and warrants. By the time the market closed that day, Sept. 23, 2008, Mr. Buffett's deal had been nailed down.

Goldman, meanwhile, worked the phones to sell an additional $5 billion in common stock to other investors. The two deals—$5 billion from investors and the $5 billion preferred stock investment—from Mr. Buffett were announced that day, helping set the stage for a powerful recovery for both Goldman and the financial world.

—Susanne Craig contributed to this article.
Write to Susan Pulliam at susan.pulliam@wsj.com

online.wsj.com

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To: StockDung who wrote (110178)4/24/2010 1:05:52 PM
From: SEC-ond-chance
   of 122082
 
THINGS TURNED OUT QUITE AWFUL FOR OFFILL

Ex-Dallas SEC lawyer Offill gets 8 years for penny stock scams

12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, April 24, 2010
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
etorbenson@dallasnews.com

Former Dallas attorney and Securities and Exchange Commission trial lawyer Phillip Offill was sentenced Friday to eight years in federal prison for his role in penny stock scams.

Offill, 51, had asked to serve one to three years, while prosecutors wanted a sentence of up to 17 years.

He had faced as much as 185 years in prison after being convicted in Virginia on nine counts of wire fraud and a single count of conspiracy.

Offill offered letters of support for leniency, including from his mother, Robin Offill, both his ex-wives and one of his children.

Offill was the last of 11 men targeted in a broad investigation that dealt with the manipulation of share prices for small companies, most with North Texas connections.

He also advised former Dallas resident Jeffrey Bruteyn and his Amerifirst Funding group on its investments. Bruteyn was convicted on fraud charges this month and awaits sentencing.

Offill was convicted in a "pump-and-dump" scandal that spanned dozens of small companies whose share prices were manipulated by advertising that was faxed and e-mailed to investors.

The government wants Offill to forfeit assets and cash totaling $4.8 million for his crimes; Offill has said he owes only $125,700 from ill-gotten gains.

Prosecutors are seeking to sell Offill's Porsche and Harley-Davidson motorcycle and liquidate other assets as part of his restitution. A judge has yet to rule on what Offill owes.

Offill's attorney had vowed an appeal of the convictions even before the sentencing. He didn't return a message Friday.

Offill spent 15 years with the SEC in Fort Worth bringing civil cases against white-collar criminals.

dallasnews.com

Ex-SEC lawyer gets 8 years for pump-and-dump fraud
By MATTHEW BARAKAT (AP)


ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former enforcement attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for his role in a a series of multimillion dollar pump-and-dump stock fraud schemes.

Dallas-based attorney Phillip Offill Jr., 51, was convicted by a jury earlier this year on 10 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. He testified that he was acting within the law, but the jury rejected his defense, and so too did U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady.

"Your testimony ... was an affront to justice," O'Grady told Offill at Friday's sentencing hearing. "It was one of the biggest pack of lies I've ever heard."

Offill, who worked at the SEC for 15 years before taking a job at the Godwin Gruber law firm in Dallas, aided schemes that by conservative estimates cheated more than 1,500 investors out of at least $2.4 million. The fraudsters would pump up the value of dubious penny stocks and then sell the shares at inflated prices to unwitting buyers.

Eight other coconspirators have already been convicted and sentenced in a case that has been under investigation for more than three years. Most of the illegal transactions took place in 2004.

The eight-year term imposed on Offill was one of the most severe. Prosecutor Ed Power said the tougher sentence was deserved because Offill lied on the witness stand and because his status as a respected attorney helped provide cover for the fraud.

"If anyone knew that these actions were wrong, this defendant did," Power and prosecutor Patrick Stokes wrote in a sentencing memo.

Prosecutors had wanted the judge to impose a sentence within federal guidelines, which called for 14 to 17 years. The defense asked for no more than three years.

O'Grady said he would have imposed an even higher sentence except for the fact that many in the conspiracy received significantly lighter sentences after striking plea bargains.

One leading participant, Las Vegas blackjack dealer-turned-securities lawyer David Stocker, was sentenced last month to less than three years in prison. Nobody received more than 10 years in prison and several were sentenced to only a few months. Some of the conspirators earned as much as $9.5 million in the scheme — Stocker's profit was significantly less than that.

Offill declined to speak at Friday's hearing. His attorney, federal public defender Kevin Brehm, said Offill will appeal the conviction.

Offill was also ordered to pay about $30,000 in restitution to victims. In court Friday, prosecutors said that most of the identifiable victims of the scheme have already received restitution from other defendants, totaling several million dollars. It is highly unusual for victims of a fraud of this magnitude to receive full restitution, but in court papers prosecutors estimated that they were able to locate and verify only about 3,000 of the 24,000 investors who were ripped off by the various schemes.

google.com

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To: scion who wrote (110081)4/26/2010 6:53:44 PM
From: scion
   of 122082
 
IN THE MATTER OF AGORACOM INVESTOR RELATIONS CORP., AGORA INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISES CORP., GEORGE TSIOLIS and APOSTOLIS KONDAKOS (a.k.a. PAUL KONDAKOS)

osc.gov.on.ca

Notice from the
Office of the Secretary

Ontario Securities
Commission

20 Queen St. W.
Box 55, Suite 1900
Toronto, ON M5H 3S8 Commission des valeurs mobilières de l'Ontario FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 26, 2010

IN THE MATTER OF THE SECURITIES ACT
R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5, AS AMENDED

- AND -

IN THE MATTER OF
AGORACOM INVESTOR RELATIONS CORP.,
AGORA INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISES CORP.,
GEORGE TSIOLIS and APOSTOLIS KONDAKOS (a.k.a. PAUL KONDAKOS)

TORONTO – The Commission issued an order which provides that a confidential pre-hearing conference shall take place on July 7, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the above named matter.

A copy of the Order dated April 26, 2010 is available at www.osc.gov.on.ca

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
JOHN P. STEVENSON
SECRETARY

For media inquiries: Wendy Dey
Director, Communications & Public Affairs
416-593-8120

Theresa Ebden
Senior Communications Specialist
416-593-8307

Robert Merrick
Senior Communications Specialist
416-593-2315

For Investor Inquiries: OSC Contact Centre
416-593-8314
1-877-785-1555 (Toll Free)

osc.gov.on.ca

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