Litigation

Gradient issues negative report on UTStarcom in 2003; SEC files fraud charges against UTSI in 2008

Posted on May 05, 2008
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - (Business Wire) Five years after Gradient Analytics first reported on UTStarcom (UTSI), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced accounting fraud charges and a settlement fine against two UTSI executives for ?false financial filings...

Lying in business is not compartmentalized (Herbalife, NYSE:HLF)

Posted on May 05, 2008
Reformed white collar criminal Barry Minkow has been investigating multi-level marketing schemes such as Usana Health Sciences, Herbalife Ltd., and PrePaid Legal. One of the most recent revelations by Minkow and his Fraud Discovery Institute was that the president of Herbalife, Gregory Probert, did not have the MBA he and the company claimed in SEC [...

Another tax proposed for Milwaukee County

Posted on May 04, 2008
Chalk another one up for the tax hell. Someone is suggesting another tax for Milwaukee County, this time a $10 per car registration fee. I can hear it now… “But it’s only $10!” Soon we will be paying more than half of our incomes to taxes...

Proposed budget fix to help Governor Jim Doyle

Posted on May 04, 2008
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is upset. The budget is out of whack. (Go figure!) The government is spending money faster than it is coming in, and Doyle wants someone to fix it. (And remember… he’s already raided funds set aside for certain purposes to pay for the general budget...

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Wisconsin prison guards scam overtime and sick leave system

Posted on May 04, 2008
The scam is simple: Call in sick to get a day off, but then pick the next shift which puts you into overtime status. You still have your day off, but your next day is at time-and-a half. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel uncovered this clever scam run by Wisconsin prison guards...

An average company wasted $1.7 million on SOX 404 Compliance last year

Posted on May 04, 2008
Financial Executives International polled companies for the 7th year in a row to determine how much it costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This year, they talked to 185 companies with average annual revenues of $4.7 billion. The total average cost of compliance was $1...

My articles from AOL?s personal finance blog WalletPop

Posted on May 03, 2008
A few of my masterpieces from this past week included… Are you lying to yourself about money? - Quit making excuses to spend money. You don’t have to lie about needing it. You don’t have to make up a reason to “treat” yourself...

Mary Kay Cosmetics: Destroying half a million women a year

Posted on May 03, 2008
To many, my fight against Mary Kay Cosmetics is puzzling. Why would I want to waste my time with it? After all, they’re only selling lipstick. It’s a harmless company started by a little old lady 45 years ago who wanted to give women an opportunity...

Goldman Sachs says lying by executives is trivial

Posted on May 03, 2008
This week, Gregory Probert, Herbalife’s (NYSE:HLF) president and COO, resigned after being outed for lying about his credentials. Here’s what an analyst at Goldman Sachs had to say about the company after the resignation was announced: IMPLICATIONS: We believe that this significant EPS outperformance will largely overshadow the disappointing resignation of Greg Probert and would expect the [...

I really want to win a Mac Book Air

Posted on May 02, 2008
I don’t need to go out and buy one, because I don’t really need one. But if blogger wants to give me a chance to win one just for linking to their site, I’ll play along! Upstart Blogger likes to blog about starting blogs. Imagine that! It’s actually a pretty decent blog, so check [...

The fraud of PrePaid Legal, explained by a former US Attorney

Posted on May 02, 2008
PrePaid Legal boasts their “legal services plan.” The truth is that very few legal services are ever provided under the plan. If you have a criminal case, contrary to what you’ve been told, the plan is useless. You are told that you have something like 60 to 300 hours of “free” legal services...

Tricks credit card companies play

Posted on May 02, 2008
Ken and Daria Dolan had a really good post on WalletPop today about the tricks credit card companies play. Yes, they’re all legal. Yes, they’re all outlined in your credit card agreement. But they are a bit sneaky and can catch you off guard...

Herbalife president Gregory Probert resigns

Posted on May 01, 2008
Following last week’s damaging report by Fraud Discovery Institute and Barry Minkow that Herbalife LTD’s (NYSE:HLF) president and COO Gregory Probert lied about his credentials, Probert has resigned from the company, effective today. Media reports are cute...

There?s simply NO MONEY IN THE BUDGET!!!

Posted on April 30, 2008
Wisconsin is a tax hell, plain and simple. And if you live in the city of Milwaukee and actually hold a job and try to own a home, you are screwed even more. So naturally it comes as a surprise (sarcasm!) that our politicians might be wasting money on unneeded trips (we call them boondoggles in [...

Google search done by someone at Herbalife?s headquarters

Posted on April 30, 2008
When the company’s own employees are doing a Google search like this, it says something, doesn’t it? herbalife greg probert fraud SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Google search done by someone at Herbalife’s headquarters", url: "http://www...

Overstock.com?s ?unusual? financial statements and disclosures

Posted on April 30, 2008
Supporters of Patrick Byrne and Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) can?t seem to get over the fact that the company has never turned a profit and that it is being investigated by the SEC (despite false assertions in the most recent conference call that the SEC has resolved “all the issues” and has sprinkled holy water on the [...

A few articles from AOL?s personal finance blog, WalletPop

Posted on April 28, 2008
I’ve been writing quite a bit for WalletPop these days. I love that gig! One bright spot on the horizon for air travelers? - A new configuration for seats in coach that gives the illusion of much more room, and more actual comfort for passengers...

About the SEC ?sprinkling holy water? on Overstock.com

Posted on April 28, 2008
Last week in the Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) earnings conference call, the company’s executives had the following to say about the SEC’s investigation of the company: Patrick Byrne So, is it fair to say that all these other issues that the knuckleheads keep on raising as issues, the SEC examiners, looked at and sprinkled holy water on? David Chidester Yeah, I [...

5 steps to driving your tax preparer crazy

Posted on April 28, 2008
I wrote this one for WalletPop as tax season was wrapping up, but I liked it so much that I’m reprinting it here! The agony of doing taxes is just about over for another year. I have only five tax returns left to do, and all the extensions have been filed, so we’ve got plenty of [...

The Pyramid Scheme aspect of Primerica Financial Services

Posted on April 27, 2008
I ran across a blog that did a series examining Primerica Financial Services, a multi-level marketing company that purports to sell financial products. While the company does offer life insurance, investments, and other financial products, like a typical MLM… they’re really out there selling the opportunity...

Carnival of Fraud - April 28, 2008

Posted on April 27, 2008
Welcome to the April 28, 2008 edition of carnival of fraud. Tracy Coenen presents Women upset over cancelled flight they didn?t have tickets for at The Fraud Files Blog, saying “You can’t complain about the cancellation of a flight you didn’t have tickets for!” Nara presents Surviving Marital Infidelity - Signs of Infidelity » FAQ For Those [...

Back at #1 in Auditing on Amazon.com

Posted on April 26, 2008
As the Essentials of Corporate Fraud book tour rolls on, we’re back at #1 in the Auditing category on Amazon.com! SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Back at #1 in Auditing on Amazon.com", url: "http://www.sequence-inc.com/fraudfiles/2008/04/26/back-at-1-in-auditing-on-amazoncom/" } );

Herbalife president: Well it?s ALMOST true?.

Posted on April 25, 2008
Another top executive is caught lying about his credentials, but we’re supposed to think it’s no big deal. First it was Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ:USNA) board member Denis Waitley lying about his college degrees. Then it was Usana CFO Gil Fuller lying about being a CPA...

Video of Patrick Byrne discussing the Sith Lord?s fax machine at CNBC

Posted on April 25, 2008
I couldn’t make up stuff this good if I tried. Seriously. The things that Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) says are a journalist’s dream. (Yes, if Byrne can think of himself as a journalist, so can I!) I reported the other day on his comments about the secret fax machine at CNBC...

I came across my name on Amazon.com

Posted on April 25, 2008
This afternoon I was cruising Amazon.com, and found my name in the acknowledgments of a book. I HAD NO IDEA! It is so touching to be thanked in this way, by someone who is both a business associate and a friend. Rebecca Ryan, the head of Next Generation Consulting, helps companies attract and retain young talent...

Gradient Analytics Looks Forward to Proving Overstock Wrong

Posted on April 24, 2008
Case Essential To Protecting Analysts From Issuer Retaliation SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gradient Analytics, Inc. said today that a California state court has ruled that discovery may proceed in the Overstock.com vs. Gradient, et al...

What?s your favorite Overstock.com lie?

Posted on April 23, 2008
Sam Antar and I have weighed in with our opinions on the lie machine known as Overstock.com, run by the country’s most incompetent CEO, Patrick Byrne. This week has been a treasure trove of new lies and manipulations, as Overstock management tries to cover their lies with new lies and… oh what a tangled web we [...

GAAP being replaced by BOSS

Posted on April 23, 2008
It’s official. The Sith Lord and I have concluded our meeting, and public companies in the United States will no longer be required to follow GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Instead, they will immediately begin following BOSS (Because Overstock Said So)...

Latest Overstock.com Lie: 2007 first quarter numbers were GAAP

Posted on April 22, 2008
Yesterday Sam Antar printed a very interesting piece on his blog that sharply criticized the 2008 first quarter earnings release of Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK). I picked up the most damaging part of it, which related to Overstock claiming a 27% increase in revenue over 2007...

Update on working with the Google Ad Review Center

Posted on April 22, 2008
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my experience with Google’s new Ad Review Center. This tool enables you to block advertisements from certain advertisers. When you use this feature, advertisers who want to bid on your ad space must be approved first...

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