Post by sandi66 on Oct 7, 2008 13:36:59 GMT -5
jfarm posts:
Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Thread Started on Oct 3, 2008, 11:05pm »
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a myriad of concerns I/we have re: SEC action or lack thereof. Kotz articulated a clear sense of concern about what was shared and stated that he would open up an investigation immediately. Coincidentally, M. White phoned my office some two hours later. We need to keep up the pressure on this front IMO.
JF~
Good morning Mr. Kotz,
Per our earlier discussion, I have provided you a few email (below) that will lend some insight into the concerns I raised this morning. I have been following/involved in this CMKM case for far too long and simply want justice served. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and do not hesitate to give me a ring should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
----- Original Message -----
Congressman Shays, (Chris)
I have hesitated to contact you for some time and have been working with Senator Dodd due to the nature of my concern and his role as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. At this juncture, I could surely use your help in highlighting a case of grandiose fraud that has resulted in 50,000+ investors being bilked out of 1/4 of a billion dollars. This situation involves many of the very toxic ingredients that have led to our markets current plight.
It would be greatly appreciated if you can lend some advice and/or forward my concerns to the appropriate venue to allow for a review of the disturbing case of fraud highlighted below. Traditionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission would be such a place but as you read the information to follow you will understand that they are part of the concern in the case I highlight. I and many other of my fellow shareholders are miffed as to why there has yet to be any hint of a criminal investigation on any front and why S.E.C. officials worked so diligently to at first sweep the matter under the rug then only to file a civil complaint that is most narrow in it's scope. One specific concern stems from the fact that there is a former lead S.E.C. Enforcement Division Attorney (Roger Glenn) who served as the corporate lawyer for CMKM in 2004and signed off on opinion letters that led to 300+ billion restricted shares to become free trading. This former S.E.C. official is now a partner in a well known firm has not been named in the S.E.C.'s civil complaint? Current CMKM attorney David Koch provided the following in the most recent civil complaint heard by Judge Denton in the District Court of Nevada. "In fact, Mr. Glenn did nothing to help the company resolve its SEC problems. It has been discovered in the last few weeks that Mr. Glenn actually wrote legal opinions authorizing billions of free trading stock and assisting the company to increase its authorized shares from 500 billion to 800 billion shares. The only information released to the public about Mr. Glenn was his hiring to help with SEC reporting problems."
One other interesting note involving the CMKM case involves the former chairman of their board of directors; his name was none other than former F.B.I. and C.I.A. operative Robert Maheu.
I have provided four email that I sent to Senator Dodd and Senator Reid to provide you a bit of background into my concerns.
I probably should have provided above that Kotz is the Inspector General for the SEC.
www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-251.htm
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Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #8 on Oct 4, 2008, 7:57am »
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Thank you for the kind words. This is surely a team effort. Re: making contact with Kotz...SEC Inspector General, it was on the recommendation of Dean Shanian (Lead Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee he is the gent I have been communicating through Dodd's Office. Dodd (Chairman) can't technically call for a review of individual SEC Enforcement investigative complaints for specific cases. General oversight means just that. He called for a review for the whole division and could use the info. I shared during the course of their review. However, the SEC does have an internal officer who has dual responsibilities both to Congress (People) and to insure the mission of the SEC is upheld. After speaking with him and hearing his interest/concern in his voice when I detailed WTH went on here. I got the sense he will help our situation and at the very least make sure we get a fair shake.
I think we should all be contacting our legislators and press outlets via email/phone and sharing with them what exactly went here. My advice: be specific and keep to the undeniable facts. 1/4 billion stolen to date, 50k folks fleeced to date, SEC and CMKM complaints are grossly narrow in scope to date, only one broker on the hook and only one lawyer on the hook to date. This just can't be as outlined in my communication to Chris Shays. Feel free to use my layout/words and or expand it to mention Nevwest and why other large brokers have been given a pass. Use Faulk's latest update re: brokers trying to procure shares to substantiate that position.
I do believe in a positive outcome. I still disagree with how the SEC and our current management team has portrayed our story and when/what/who they have chosen to go after. However, if this is the direction they want to go, they better dot i's and cross t's. Sorry R.G. and others. My $ has been gone too long to play nice and be patient.
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by funado:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #9 on Oct 4, 2008, 8:42am »
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Jfarn,
Thanks for the additional information. I unfortunately had already penned a letter to Mr. Kotz and cc'd it to Mr. Cox, Ms. Hakala, and Ms. White, with a separate letter to my congress reps. Because I sent it before reading your post above, I wasn't able to follow your advice about keeping it narrow. I pretty much threw everything in here -- including the kitchen sink. Hopefully it will still open some eyes.
I post the letter here in the hope that it might be helpful for others who are thinking of doing the same.
More than anything, I wanted to add to the firepower that you have already put out there.
Regards,
Funado
----------------Message sent today-------------------
Hello Mr. Kotz,
I am a shareholder for CMKM Diamonds (symbol: CMKX), which was revoked by the SEC in October 2005.
I originally started buying CMKX shares in October 2004, and over the course of a year, I invested pretty much my entire life savings in this stock. I did this after investigating the claims that CMKM Diamonds held in the Fort ala Corne area of Saskatchewan, and geologist reports on the excellent prospects that the area held for diamonds and other minerals. This was my first-ever investment.
As you are probably aware, I am one of around 50,000 investors, many with a very similar story. It sounds like many of us, possibly a majority, were new to the stock market. We're teachers and store clerks, secretaries and truck drivers, postal clerks and programmers, a very diverse group of ordinary Americans and other nationalities. We watched in awe as billions of CMKX shares traded hands, thinking that we were lucky to be in on the ground floor of such a popular stock. As I understand it, CMKX shares hit a high of more than 30 billion shares in a single day -- more than all the other stock exchanges combined.
We watched as Mr. Roger Glenn, a prominent New York attorney and former member of the SEC Enforcement Dept. joined the company as corporate attorney. We applauded as Mr. Robert Maheu, the former CIA and FBI operative and right-hand man to Howard Hughes assumed the position of co-chairman of CMKX. And we all felt like we had truly been fortunate enough to purchase a piece of the American dream.
Then something went horribly wrong. As it became clearer and clearer that this stock was being ruthlessly manipulated by naked short sellers, apparently by brokerages, hedge funds, and other mercenary sharks who we later found out were connected directly to the large investment banks, we began to worry that the company would be driven into bankruptcy. To tell the truth, many of us were actually happy when the SEC launched its investigation into CMKM for failing to file proper financial reports. We all thought that the SEC, with its mandate to protect the investors, would clear things up, arrest or otherwise halt the stock manipulators, and guide the company back to its reporting status, allowing it to continue with its mining and other activities.
What happened, of course, is that even though we were able, through our shareholders' attorney Bill Frizzell, to provide absolute proof that the company had been naked shorted to the tune of trillions of shares, the SEC administrative hearing turned a deaf ear to us and did everything it could to drive the company out of existence, thereby sweeping us under the rug.
More recently, it has become apparent that the SEC was actually involved in the massive naked shorting operation, together with other US government agencies, which most likely included the DOJ, FBI, Treasury, and IRS. It would seem that the 50,000 shareholders of CMKM Diamonds were used as guinea pigs, indeed as bait, for a sting -- of course, unbeknownst to ourselves.
Today, the CMKX shareholders are a sorry lot. Many, many people have lost their life savings, their retirement funds, their homes, their jobs, and worst of all, their families. I personally know many people who cannot afford medical care for very serious problems because they lost everything in CMKX. I have friends whose marriages could not stand up to the strain of this monstrous fraud.
Many of us, myself included started asking the SEC to help us as much as 3-4 years ago. I have written numerous letters to numerous SEC offices, from Chairman Cox's office down the list. My letters were either ignored, or they were funneled to Ms. Sulzberg in the Office of Investor Education. Ms. Sulzberg would then mechanically churn out a form letter telling me that the SEC could not comment on this situation because it was part of an active investigation. This has gone on for years, both for me and probably for hundreds if not thousands of other concerned CMKX shareholders. How convenient it is that the SEC can simply ignore a fraud of this magnitude against an unsophisticated group of garden-variety investors by simply stating that they cannot comment because it's under investigation. I assume that it will remain under investigation for the next 20-30 years, or until all of us squeaky wheels have died and are no longer asking for your help.
Of course, the SEC didn't even recognize naked short selling when we first started complaining about it. First, it didn't exist at all according to the SEC. After a couple of years of our complaining, the SEC started changing its tune, saying that it might exist at a low level, but that it wasn't a problem, and it also wasn't illegal. Now, of course, the SEC has come full circle and talks about how damaging it is, and how dangerous it is to the stock market. While we appreciate this Johnny-come-lately approach to the problem, we are still waiting for the SEC to bring in the criminals that fleeced the CMKX shareholders, and we are waiting for restitution for this unbelievable crime. We are due considerable damages, and we fall clearly under the RICO statute. CMKX shareholders must be compensated for the terrible damage that Wall Street, the SEC, and the other government agency's have done against us.
I hope that this letter will reach you, and that you will take the time to read it. While I fully expect to receive another reply from Ms. Sulzberg stating how sorry she is that the SEC cannot comment on this because it's under investigation, I would like you to understand something. When the CMKX shareholders who have lost everything they have in the shamelessly corrupt stock market that you and the other SEC officers have sworn to protect receive bills in the mail for our children's education, for medical bills, for the rent, and for food for our tables, we aren't able to ask the people who are sending us those bills to wait because our case is still under investigation. We have been asking for your help for years and years and years. I and the other 50,000 or so shareholders would like for you to consider our plight at least as carefully as you consider the plight of the investment bankers and other members of the Wall Street establishment who are responsible for this travesty.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of help in speeding up this process of making things right for the CMKX shareholders. Also, please be advised that I am sending this same letter under separate cover to Senators Chris Dodd and Harry Reid, and to my Congress representatives in Washington State. I feel strongly that this story must be shared by as many people as possible, and I think you will agree that its time has come.
Respectfully yours,
Funado (actual name inserted)
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by jfarn:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #19 on Oct 4, 2008, 1:56pm »
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Anyways... like ines, I can't find this David Kotz either? Sort of strange Farn.
Work with the legal counsel for the banking committee and you might find the contact info. Girl.
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by funado:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #26 on Oct 4, 2008, 9:17pm »
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Thanks all for the kind words. I was only following up on Jfarn's outstanding initiative.
It sounds like Mr. Kotz might be the person in the SEC who's able to press the right buttons. I sent my message to him through the SEC website (to oig@sec.gov).
I'm also planning to back it up with a fax to him on Monday, just to make sure he gets it.
And thanks to you again, Jfarn, for blazing the trail for the rest of us! I sure hope you'll keep us posted on any developments, and on anything more we can do to help.
Funado
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by jfarn:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #32 Today at 8:19am »
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By WALT BOGDANICH
Published: October 6, 2008
A federal inquiry has concluded that the Securities and Exchange Commission should consider disciplining its director of enforcement and two supervisors for their role in handling an insider trading investigation that led to the firing of an S.E.C. lawyer for trying to interview an influential Wall Street executive.
The commission’s inspector general, H. David Kotz, said in a 191-page report obtained by The New York Times that he had found evidence that “raised serious questions about the impartiality and fairness” of the S.E.C.’s investigation of possible insider trading at Pequot Capital Management, a giant hedge fund.
Mr. Kotz also condemned what he called the “common practice” of giving outside lawyers’ clients access to high-level S.E.C. officials when they had complaints about front-line investigators.
By accusing S.E.C. supervisors of treating the Pequot investigation differently from other similar investigations Mr. Kotz’s report puts added pressure on an agency that has recently been accused of failing to aggressively regulate financial institutions at the heart of the subprime mortgage crisis.
The inspector general’s report is the latest in a string of Congressional hearings and reports on the Pequot case. Those inquiries were begun after The Times, in June 2006, reported accusations by an S.E.C. lawyer, Gary J. Aguirre, that for political reasons his superiors at the agency had impeded his inquiry into possible insider trading at Pequot.
Mr. Aguirre complained that he was fired in September 2005, shortly after receiving a merit raise, because he wanted to take testimony from John J. Mack, currently the chief executive of Morgan Stanley and a close friend of Pequot’s founder, Arthur J. Samburg. Mr. Kotz’s investigation did not focus on whether insider trading occurred, but rather on Mr. Aguirre’s claims of preferential treatment and improper termination.
No enforcement actions were taken in connection with the Pequot investigation, which is now closed. Mr. Mack and Mr. Samberg have repeatedly denied any improper conduct.
The inspector general primarily sided with Mr. Aguirre’s version of events, accusing enforcement officials of failing “in numerous respects” to properly manage him and for allowing “inappropriate reasons to factor into its decision to terminate him.”
As a result, Mr. Kotz recommended possible disciplinary action against the director of enforcement, Linda Thomsen; Mr. Aguirre’s direct supervisor, Robert Hanson; and the assistant director of enforcement, Mark Kreitman.
Ms. Thomsen was criticized for providing “relevant information” about the commission’s evidence against Mr. Mack to Morgan Stanley’s counsel, Mary Jo White, a former United States attorney. At the time, Morgan Stanley was vetting Mr. Mack to be its new chief executive.
Ms. Thomsen, in describing e-mail messages, disclosed that there was “smoke” but “surely not fire,” the inspector general said. He also noted that Mr. Aguirre knew much more about the investigation, but that Ms. Thomsen did not consult him before speaking to Ms. White.
Mr. Kotz said it was “fairly routine” for outside lawyers to bypass front-line investigators and speak to S.E.C. supervisors when they had complaints about how their clients were being treated. This practice, Mr. Kotz said, would allow prominent lawyers to have better access to S.E.C. officials than less prominent ones.
In a statement Monday, the chairman of the Senate finance committee at the time, Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who held hearings on the matter, said: “Gary Aguirre told it like it was and lost his job. Today we’re all paying the price for an S.E.C. culture of deference to Wall Street.”
Ms. Thomsen, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Kreitman did not return messages left at their office seeking comment.
John J. Nester, an S.E.C. spokesman, said Mr. Kotz’s report had concluded that the Pequot matter had been “aggressively pursued” and that “the investigation did not find that enforcement cases are generally affected by political decisions or the prominence of defendants.”
Mr. Nester said the agency’s review process would now determine “appropriate personnel actions.”
An earlier investigation of Mr. Aguirre’s charges by Walter J. Stachnik, Mr. Kotz’s predecessor, cleared the S.E.C. of any wrongdoing, but his report was sharply criticized by members of Congress when it was revealed that he had never interviewed Mr. Aguirre. Mr. Stachnik retired soon after.
Mr. Kotz said all of Mr. Aguirre’s supervisors had denied that his attempt to question Mr. Mack was behind his dismissal, but the inspector general found otherwise. “There was a connection between the decision to terminate Aguirre and his seeking to take Mack’s testimony,” the report stated.
After members of Congress criticized the S.E.C., the commission eventually took Mr. Mack’s testimony — several days after the statute of limitations had passed. In taking that testimony, Mr. Kotz said the commission “seems to have ‘gone through the motions.’ ”
Oct 3, 2008, 11:05pm, jfarn wrote:a myriad of concerns I/we have re: SEC action or lack thereof. Kotz articulated a clear sense of concern about what was shared and stated that he would open up an investigation immediately. Coincidentally, M. White phoned my office some two hours later. We need to keep up the pressure on this front IMO.
JF~
Good morning Mr. Kotz,
Per our earlier discussion, I have provided you a few email (below) that will lend some insight into the concerns I raised this morning. I have been following/involved in this CMKM case for far too long and simply want justice served. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and do not hesitate to give me a ring should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
----- Original Message -----
Congressman Shays, (Chris)
I have hesitated to contact you for some time and have been working with Senator Dodd due to the nature of my concern and his role as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. At this juncture, I could surely use your help in highlighting a case of grandiose fraud that has resulted in 50,000+ investors being bilked out of 1/4 of a billion dollars. This situation involves many of the very toxic ingredients that have led to our markets current plight.
It would be greatly appreciated if you can lend some advice and/or forward my concerns to the appropriate venue to allow for a review of the disturbing case of fraud highlighted below. Traditionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission would be such a place but as you read the information to follow you will understand that they are part of the concern in the case I highlight. I and many other of my fellow shareholders are miffed as to why there has yet to be any hint of a criminal investigation on any front and why S.E.C. officials worked so diligently to at first sweep the matter under the rug then only to file a civil complaint that is most narrow in it's scope. One specific concern stems from the fact that there is a former lead S.E.C. Enforcement Division Attorney (Roger Glenn) who served as the corporate lawyer for CMKM in 2004and signed off on opinion letters that led to 300+ billion restricted shares to become free trading. This former S.E.C. official is now a partner in a well known firm has not been named in the S.E.C.'s civil complaint? Current CMKM attorney David Koch provided the following in the most recent civil complaint heard by Judge Denton in the District Court of Nevada. "In fact, Mr. Glenn did nothing to help the company resolve its SEC problems. It has been discovered in the last few weeks that Mr. Glenn actually wrote legal opinions authorizing billions of free trading stock and assisting the company to increase its authorized shares from 500 billion to 800 billion shares. The only information released to the public about Mr. Glenn was his hiring to help with SEC reporting problems."
One other interesting note involving the CMKM case involves the former chairman of their board of directors; his name was none other than former F.B.I. and C.I.A. operative Robert Maheu.
I have provided four email that I sent to Senator Dodd and Senator Reid to provide you a bit of background into my concerns.
I probably should have provided above that Kotz is the Inspector General for the SEC.
www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-251.htm
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Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #36 Today at 1:01pm »
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Today at 10:36am, ines wrote:Linda Thomsen's email address is thomsenl@sec.gov In case anyone else wants to send her this link www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/busine....ess&oref=slogin maybe she can enjoy reading it over her morning coffee
As a result, Mr. Kotz recommended possible disciplinary action against the director of enforcement, Linda Thomsen; Mr. Aguirre’s direct supervisor, Robert Hanson; and the assistant director of enforcement, Mark Kreitman.
Good afternoon Ms. Thomsen,
FYI....please review the correspondence below.
I hope the 50k+ CMKM investors are not left out in the lurch too much longer.
Sincerely,
__________________________________________________
and....
esmith29@bloomberg.net
mpittman@bloomberg.net
jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net
Messieurs Smith, Pittman, and Westbrook:
I have just begun to garner Mr. Kotz's assistance in case of grandiose fraud (50k+ investors and 1/4+ billion dollars fleeced). I appreciated your work in "Cox's SEC Censors Report on Bear Stearns Collapse" and thought you might find the situation articulated below worth exploring.
Sincerely,
____________________________________________________
Keep up the pressure all. Justice delayed=justice denied.
jf~
millionaires.proboards86.com/index.cgi?board=main&action=display&thread=22574&page=2
Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Thread Started on Oct 3, 2008, 11:05pm »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a myriad of concerns I/we have re: SEC action or lack thereof. Kotz articulated a clear sense of concern about what was shared and stated that he would open up an investigation immediately. Coincidentally, M. White phoned my office some two hours later. We need to keep up the pressure on this front IMO.
JF~
Good morning Mr. Kotz,
Per our earlier discussion, I have provided you a few email (below) that will lend some insight into the concerns I raised this morning. I have been following/involved in this CMKM case for far too long and simply want justice served. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and do not hesitate to give me a ring should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
----- Original Message -----
Congressman Shays, (Chris)
I have hesitated to contact you for some time and have been working with Senator Dodd due to the nature of my concern and his role as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. At this juncture, I could surely use your help in highlighting a case of grandiose fraud that has resulted in 50,000+ investors being bilked out of 1/4 of a billion dollars. This situation involves many of the very toxic ingredients that have led to our markets current plight.
It would be greatly appreciated if you can lend some advice and/or forward my concerns to the appropriate venue to allow for a review of the disturbing case of fraud highlighted below. Traditionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission would be such a place but as you read the information to follow you will understand that they are part of the concern in the case I highlight. I and many other of my fellow shareholders are miffed as to why there has yet to be any hint of a criminal investigation on any front and why S.E.C. officials worked so diligently to at first sweep the matter under the rug then only to file a civil complaint that is most narrow in it's scope. One specific concern stems from the fact that there is a former lead S.E.C. Enforcement Division Attorney (Roger Glenn) who served as the corporate lawyer for CMKM in 2004and signed off on opinion letters that led to 300+ billion restricted shares to become free trading. This former S.E.C. official is now a partner in a well known firm has not been named in the S.E.C.'s civil complaint? Current CMKM attorney David Koch provided the following in the most recent civil complaint heard by Judge Denton in the District Court of Nevada. "In fact, Mr. Glenn did nothing to help the company resolve its SEC problems. It has been discovered in the last few weeks that Mr. Glenn actually wrote legal opinions authorizing billions of free trading stock and assisting the company to increase its authorized shares from 500 billion to 800 billion shares. The only information released to the public about Mr. Glenn was his hiring to help with SEC reporting problems."
One other interesting note involving the CMKM case involves the former chairman of their board of directors; his name was none other than former F.B.I. and C.I.A. operative Robert Maheu.
I have provided four email that I sent to Senator Dodd and Senator Reid to provide you a bit of background into my concerns.
I probably should have provided above that Kotz is the Inspector General for the SEC.
www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-251.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #8 on Oct 4, 2008, 7:57am »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for the kind words. This is surely a team effort. Re: making contact with Kotz...SEC Inspector General, it was on the recommendation of Dean Shanian (Lead Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee he is the gent I have been communicating through Dodd's Office. Dodd (Chairman) can't technically call for a review of individual SEC Enforcement investigative complaints for specific cases. General oversight means just that. He called for a review for the whole division and could use the info. I shared during the course of their review. However, the SEC does have an internal officer who has dual responsibilities both to Congress (People) and to insure the mission of the SEC is upheld. After speaking with him and hearing his interest/concern in his voice when I detailed WTH went on here. I got the sense he will help our situation and at the very least make sure we get a fair shake.
I think we should all be contacting our legislators and press outlets via email/phone and sharing with them what exactly went here. My advice: be specific and keep to the undeniable facts. 1/4 billion stolen to date, 50k folks fleeced to date, SEC and CMKM complaints are grossly narrow in scope to date, only one broker on the hook and only one lawyer on the hook to date. This just can't be as outlined in my communication to Chris Shays. Feel free to use my layout/words and or expand it to mention Nevwest and why other large brokers have been given a pass. Use Faulk's latest update re: brokers trying to procure shares to substantiate that position.
I do believe in a positive outcome. I still disagree with how the SEC and our current management team has portrayed our story and when/what/who they have chosen to go after. However, if this is the direction they want to go, they better dot i's and cross t's. Sorry R.G. and others. My $ has been gone too long to play nice and be patient.
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by funado:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #9 on Oct 4, 2008, 8:42am »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jfarn,
Thanks for the additional information. I unfortunately had already penned a letter to Mr. Kotz and cc'd it to Mr. Cox, Ms. Hakala, and Ms. White, with a separate letter to my congress reps. Because I sent it before reading your post above, I wasn't able to follow your advice about keeping it narrow. I pretty much threw everything in here -- including the kitchen sink. Hopefully it will still open some eyes.
I post the letter here in the hope that it might be helpful for others who are thinking of doing the same.
More than anything, I wanted to add to the firepower that you have already put out there.
Regards,
Funado
----------------Message sent today-------------------
Hello Mr. Kotz,
I am a shareholder for CMKM Diamonds (symbol: CMKX), which was revoked by the SEC in October 2005.
I originally started buying CMKX shares in October 2004, and over the course of a year, I invested pretty much my entire life savings in this stock. I did this after investigating the claims that CMKM Diamonds held in the Fort ala Corne area of Saskatchewan, and geologist reports on the excellent prospects that the area held for diamonds and other minerals. This was my first-ever investment.
As you are probably aware, I am one of around 50,000 investors, many with a very similar story. It sounds like many of us, possibly a majority, were new to the stock market. We're teachers and store clerks, secretaries and truck drivers, postal clerks and programmers, a very diverse group of ordinary Americans and other nationalities. We watched in awe as billions of CMKX shares traded hands, thinking that we were lucky to be in on the ground floor of such a popular stock. As I understand it, CMKX shares hit a high of more than 30 billion shares in a single day -- more than all the other stock exchanges combined.
We watched as Mr. Roger Glenn, a prominent New York attorney and former member of the SEC Enforcement Dept. joined the company as corporate attorney. We applauded as Mr. Robert Maheu, the former CIA and FBI operative and right-hand man to Howard Hughes assumed the position of co-chairman of CMKX. And we all felt like we had truly been fortunate enough to purchase a piece of the American dream.
Then something went horribly wrong. As it became clearer and clearer that this stock was being ruthlessly manipulated by naked short sellers, apparently by brokerages, hedge funds, and other mercenary sharks who we later found out were connected directly to the large investment banks, we began to worry that the company would be driven into bankruptcy. To tell the truth, many of us were actually happy when the SEC launched its investigation into CMKM for failing to file proper financial reports. We all thought that the SEC, with its mandate to protect the investors, would clear things up, arrest or otherwise halt the stock manipulators, and guide the company back to its reporting status, allowing it to continue with its mining and other activities.
What happened, of course, is that even though we were able, through our shareholders' attorney Bill Frizzell, to provide absolute proof that the company had been naked shorted to the tune of trillions of shares, the SEC administrative hearing turned a deaf ear to us and did everything it could to drive the company out of existence, thereby sweeping us under the rug.
More recently, it has become apparent that the SEC was actually involved in the massive naked shorting operation, together with other US government agencies, which most likely included the DOJ, FBI, Treasury, and IRS. It would seem that the 50,000 shareholders of CMKM Diamonds were used as guinea pigs, indeed as bait, for a sting -- of course, unbeknownst to ourselves.
Today, the CMKX shareholders are a sorry lot. Many, many people have lost their life savings, their retirement funds, their homes, their jobs, and worst of all, their families. I personally know many people who cannot afford medical care for very serious problems because they lost everything in CMKX. I have friends whose marriages could not stand up to the strain of this monstrous fraud.
Many of us, myself included started asking the SEC to help us as much as 3-4 years ago. I have written numerous letters to numerous SEC offices, from Chairman Cox's office down the list. My letters were either ignored, or they were funneled to Ms. Sulzberg in the Office of Investor Education. Ms. Sulzberg would then mechanically churn out a form letter telling me that the SEC could not comment on this situation because it was part of an active investigation. This has gone on for years, both for me and probably for hundreds if not thousands of other concerned CMKX shareholders. How convenient it is that the SEC can simply ignore a fraud of this magnitude against an unsophisticated group of garden-variety investors by simply stating that they cannot comment because it's under investigation. I assume that it will remain under investigation for the next 20-30 years, or until all of us squeaky wheels have died and are no longer asking for your help.
Of course, the SEC didn't even recognize naked short selling when we first started complaining about it. First, it didn't exist at all according to the SEC. After a couple of years of our complaining, the SEC started changing its tune, saying that it might exist at a low level, but that it wasn't a problem, and it also wasn't illegal. Now, of course, the SEC has come full circle and talks about how damaging it is, and how dangerous it is to the stock market. While we appreciate this Johnny-come-lately approach to the problem, we are still waiting for the SEC to bring in the criminals that fleeced the CMKX shareholders, and we are waiting for restitution for this unbelievable crime. We are due considerable damages, and we fall clearly under the RICO statute. CMKX shareholders must be compensated for the terrible damage that Wall Street, the SEC, and the other government agency's have done against us.
I hope that this letter will reach you, and that you will take the time to read it. While I fully expect to receive another reply from Ms. Sulzberg stating how sorry she is that the SEC cannot comment on this because it's under investigation, I would like you to understand something. When the CMKX shareholders who have lost everything they have in the shamelessly corrupt stock market that you and the other SEC officers have sworn to protect receive bills in the mail for our children's education, for medical bills, for the rent, and for food for our tables, we aren't able to ask the people who are sending us those bills to wait because our case is still under investigation. We have been asking for your help for years and years and years. I and the other 50,000 or so shareholders would like for you to consider our plight at least as carefully as you consider the plight of the investment bankers and other members of the Wall Street establishment who are responsible for this travesty.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of help in speeding up this process of making things right for the CMKX shareholders. Also, please be advised that I am sending this same letter under separate cover to Senators Chris Dodd and Harry Reid, and to my Congress representatives in Washington State. I feel strongly that this story must be shared by as many people as possible, and I think you will agree that its time has come.
Respectfully yours,
Funado (actual name inserted)
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by jfarn:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #19 on Oct 4, 2008, 1:56pm »
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Anyways... like ines, I can't find this David Kotz either? Sort of strange Farn.
Work with the legal counsel for the banking committee and you might find the contact info. Girl.
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by funado:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #26 on Oct 4, 2008, 9:17pm »
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Thanks all for the kind words. I was only following up on Jfarn's outstanding initiative.
It sounds like Mr. Kotz might be the person in the SEC who's able to press the right buttons. I sent my message to him through the SEC website (to oig@sec.gov).
I'm also planning to back it up with a fax to him on Monday, just to make sure he gets it.
And thanks to you again, Jfarn, for blazing the trail for the rest of us! I sure hope you'll keep us posted on any developments, and on anything more we can do to help.
Funado
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by jfarn:
Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #32 Today at 8:19am »
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By WALT BOGDANICH
Published: October 6, 2008
A federal inquiry has concluded that the Securities and Exchange Commission should consider disciplining its director of enforcement and two supervisors for their role in handling an insider trading investigation that led to the firing of an S.E.C. lawyer for trying to interview an influential Wall Street executive.
The commission’s inspector general, H. David Kotz, said in a 191-page report obtained by The New York Times that he had found evidence that “raised serious questions about the impartiality and fairness” of the S.E.C.’s investigation of possible insider trading at Pequot Capital Management, a giant hedge fund.
Mr. Kotz also condemned what he called the “common practice” of giving outside lawyers’ clients access to high-level S.E.C. officials when they had complaints about front-line investigators.
By accusing S.E.C. supervisors of treating the Pequot investigation differently from other similar investigations Mr. Kotz’s report puts added pressure on an agency that has recently been accused of failing to aggressively regulate financial institutions at the heart of the subprime mortgage crisis.
The inspector general’s report is the latest in a string of Congressional hearings and reports on the Pequot case. Those inquiries were begun after The Times, in June 2006, reported accusations by an S.E.C. lawyer, Gary J. Aguirre, that for political reasons his superiors at the agency had impeded his inquiry into possible insider trading at Pequot.
Mr. Aguirre complained that he was fired in September 2005, shortly after receiving a merit raise, because he wanted to take testimony from John J. Mack, currently the chief executive of Morgan Stanley and a close friend of Pequot’s founder, Arthur J. Samburg. Mr. Kotz’s investigation did not focus on whether insider trading occurred, but rather on Mr. Aguirre’s claims of preferential treatment and improper termination.
No enforcement actions were taken in connection with the Pequot investigation, which is now closed. Mr. Mack and Mr. Samberg have repeatedly denied any improper conduct.
The inspector general primarily sided with Mr. Aguirre’s version of events, accusing enforcement officials of failing “in numerous respects” to properly manage him and for allowing “inappropriate reasons to factor into its decision to terminate him.”
As a result, Mr. Kotz recommended possible disciplinary action against the director of enforcement, Linda Thomsen; Mr. Aguirre’s direct supervisor, Robert Hanson; and the assistant director of enforcement, Mark Kreitman.
Ms. Thomsen was criticized for providing “relevant information” about the commission’s evidence against Mr. Mack to Morgan Stanley’s counsel, Mary Jo White, a former United States attorney. At the time, Morgan Stanley was vetting Mr. Mack to be its new chief executive.
Ms. Thomsen, in describing e-mail messages, disclosed that there was “smoke” but “surely not fire,” the inspector general said. He also noted that Mr. Aguirre knew much more about the investigation, but that Ms. Thomsen did not consult him before speaking to Ms. White.
Mr. Kotz said it was “fairly routine” for outside lawyers to bypass front-line investigators and speak to S.E.C. supervisors when they had complaints about how their clients were being treated. This practice, Mr. Kotz said, would allow prominent lawyers to have better access to S.E.C. officials than less prominent ones.
In a statement Monday, the chairman of the Senate finance committee at the time, Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who held hearings on the matter, said: “Gary Aguirre told it like it was and lost his job. Today we’re all paying the price for an S.E.C. culture of deference to Wall Street.”
Ms. Thomsen, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Kreitman did not return messages left at their office seeking comment.
John J. Nester, an S.E.C. spokesman, said Mr. Kotz’s report had concluded that the Pequot matter had been “aggressively pursued” and that “the investigation did not find that enforcement cases are generally affected by political decisions or the prominence of defendants.”
Mr. Nester said the agency’s review process would now determine “appropriate personnel actions.”
An earlier investigation of Mr. Aguirre’s charges by Walter J. Stachnik, Mr. Kotz’s predecessor, cleared the S.E.C. of any wrongdoing, but his report was sharply criticized by members of Congress when it was revealed that he had never interviewed Mr. Aguirre. Mr. Stachnik retired soon after.
Mr. Kotz said all of Mr. Aguirre’s supervisors had denied that his attempt to question Mr. Mack was behind his dismissal, but the inspector general found otherwise. “There was a connection between the decision to terminate Aguirre and his seeking to take Mack’s testimony,” the report stated.
After members of Congress criticized the S.E.C., the commission eventually took Mr. Mack’s testimony — several days after the statute of limitations had passed. In taking that testimony, Mr. Kotz said the commission “seems to have ‘gone through the motions.’ ”
Oct 3, 2008, 11:05pm, jfarn wrote:a myriad of concerns I/we have re: SEC action or lack thereof. Kotz articulated a clear sense of concern about what was shared and stated that he would open up an investigation immediately. Coincidentally, M. White phoned my office some two hours later. We need to keep up the pressure on this front IMO.
JF~
Good morning Mr. Kotz,
Per our earlier discussion, I have provided you a few email (below) that will lend some insight into the concerns I raised this morning. I have been following/involved in this CMKM case for far too long and simply want justice served. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and do not hesitate to give me a ring should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
----- Original Message -----
Congressman Shays, (Chris)
I have hesitated to contact you for some time and have been working with Senator Dodd due to the nature of my concern and his role as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. At this juncture, I could surely use your help in highlighting a case of grandiose fraud that has resulted in 50,000+ investors being bilked out of 1/4 of a billion dollars. This situation involves many of the very toxic ingredients that have led to our markets current plight.
It would be greatly appreciated if you can lend some advice and/or forward my concerns to the appropriate venue to allow for a review of the disturbing case of fraud highlighted below. Traditionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission would be such a place but as you read the information to follow you will understand that they are part of the concern in the case I highlight. I and many other of my fellow shareholders are miffed as to why there has yet to be any hint of a criminal investigation on any front and why S.E.C. officials worked so diligently to at first sweep the matter under the rug then only to file a civil complaint that is most narrow in it's scope. One specific concern stems from the fact that there is a former lead S.E.C. Enforcement Division Attorney (Roger Glenn) who served as the corporate lawyer for CMKM in 2004and signed off on opinion letters that led to 300+ billion restricted shares to become free trading. This former S.E.C. official is now a partner in a well known firm has not been named in the S.E.C.'s civil complaint? Current CMKM attorney David Koch provided the following in the most recent civil complaint heard by Judge Denton in the District Court of Nevada. "In fact, Mr. Glenn did nothing to help the company resolve its SEC problems. It has been discovered in the last few weeks that Mr. Glenn actually wrote legal opinions authorizing billions of free trading stock and assisting the company to increase its authorized shares from 500 billion to 800 billion shares. The only information released to the public about Mr. Glenn was his hiring to help with SEC reporting problems."
One other interesting note involving the CMKM case involves the former chairman of their board of directors; his name was none other than former F.B.I. and C.I.A. operative Robert Maheu.
I have provided four email that I sent to Senator Dodd and Senator Reid to provide you a bit of background into my concerns.
I probably should have provided above that Kotz is the Inspector General for the SEC.
www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-251.htm
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Re: Spoke to David Kotz this morning about:
« Reply #36 Today at 1:01pm »
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Today at 10:36am, ines wrote:Linda Thomsen's email address is thomsenl@sec.gov In case anyone else wants to send her this link www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/busine....ess&oref=slogin maybe she can enjoy reading it over her morning coffee
As a result, Mr. Kotz recommended possible disciplinary action against the director of enforcement, Linda Thomsen; Mr. Aguirre’s direct supervisor, Robert Hanson; and the assistant director of enforcement, Mark Kreitman.
Good afternoon Ms. Thomsen,
FYI....please review the correspondence below.
I hope the 50k+ CMKM investors are not left out in the lurch too much longer.
Sincerely,
__________________________________________________
and....
esmith29@bloomberg.net
mpittman@bloomberg.net
jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net
Messieurs Smith, Pittman, and Westbrook:
I have just begun to garner Mr. Kotz's assistance in case of grandiose fraud (50k+ investors and 1/4+ billion dollars fleeced). I appreciated your work in "Cox's SEC Censors Report on Bear Stearns Collapse" and thought you might find the situation articulated below worth exploring.
Sincerely,
____________________________________________________
Keep up the pressure all. Justice delayed=justice denied.
jf~
millionaires.proboards86.com/index.cgi?board=main&action=display&thread=22574&page=2