The Overstock.com earnings conference call translated

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 31, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Conference call participants:
David Chidester – Overstock.com, Inc. SVP Finance
Dr. Patrick Byrne – Overstock.com, Inc. Chairman, CEO
Jason Lindsey – Overstock.com, Inc. President, COO
Translator:
Tracy Coenen – Fraud Investigator
On with the show…
David Chidester: Total revenue for the quarter was down 6% to $149 million. This was an improvement in growth from the first quarter when sales were [...]

Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com CEO has surprised me

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 31, 2007 · 1 Comment 

After all the corporate crimes I’ve seen in the last 13-or-so years, it takes a lot to surprise me. Really, it does.
But Patrick Byrne, the nutty CEO of Overstock.com has suprised me. Now, I’d like to think that my threshhold for surprise is pretty high with him. I mean, this is the guy who talks [...]

Huge write-off on the horizon for MGIC

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 31, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp is looking at a huge write-off of a $1.03  billion investment in Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC (C-BASS). The company reported yesterday that its investment in C-BASS has become materially impaired, meaning the value has dropped very significantly.
MGIC has a direct investment in C-BASS of $516 million. MGIC is [...]

More on Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne and naked short selling

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 30, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

A new blog is discussing hedge fund antics and the phenomenon of naked short selling. Apparently one of the naked short sellers was caught in the act and Patrick Byrne made him explain himself.

Usana insider posts for the last time

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 30, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Insider Post Dramatic Exit
movies are the place where i find escape from guilt and shame. in the movies there is an ending that is not soon forgotten. this post is my exit and will live up to the promise made about providing proof of false earnings. the company released false earnings in the second quarter. [...]

Welcome to the Carnival of Fraud!

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 29, 2007 · 1 Comment 

This week’s enlightening posts about fraud, scams, and schemes…
Digerati Life comments on mortgage fraudster Casey Serin’s lost marriage, as discussed in a mass email he sent out. Apparently, he thinks blogging (and not his poor financial choices and criminal acts) destroyed his marriage.
Leon Gettler at SOX First mentions a new study by the Deloitte Forensic [...]

Usana’s naked short selling conspiracy theory

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 26, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

Is there something in the water in Utah? Or have Usana Health Sciences executives been lunching with Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com?
It seems that Byrne’s naked short selling conspiracy theories have worn off on Usana. Usana executives haven’t been caught whispering about Sith Lords yet, but for all we know, it’s only a matter of [...]

A verdict in the Frank Jude Jr. beating case

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 26, 2007 · 2 Comments 

The verdict is being read right now in the Frank Jude case in federal court…..
Guilty – Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler, and Daniel Mesarik
Not Guilty – Ryan Packard
The charges were violating Jude’s civil rights and committing assault while acting as a police officer.

Barry Minkow Fraud Busting: Pacific Wealth Management

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 24, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Is anyone surprised anymore when they learn about another fraud bust, courtesy of Barry Minkow and his Fraud Discovery Institute?
This time it’s Pacific Wealth Management (not related to Pacific Wealth Management LLC of San Dieg0). And it seems that the press has largely ignored this one. The SEC is alleging that Pacific Wealth Management was [...]

The iPhone has been hacked

Posted by Tracy Coenen on July 24, 2007 · Leave a Comment 

A group called Security Evaluators hacked the iPhone with less than two weeks of part-time work, and has notified Apple of its vulnerabilities.
Here’s how easy they say it is to hack the iPhone:

A hacker takes over a wireless access point. User of iPhone comes into the area controlled by that access point, and comes under [...]

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