Michael Goode – Page 21

Propell Technologies $PROP pump and dump

I heard from a TimAlerts subscriber in the chat room yesterday evening that he had received a hard mailer promoting Propell Technologies (PROP). I have not independently verified any of the information provided. I will post more information when I find it. Due to the already high market cap and the low volume I doubt this pump will do very well. Hopefully the volume increases and the price spikes so that it becomes a worthwhile short (I hate short selling low-volume pumps).

Disclosed budget: $2,500,000

Promoter: FastMarket Products, Inc

Paying party: Baia Investment group Ltd

Shares outstanding: 134,432,871
Previous closing price: $0.92
Market capitalization: $123 million

Excerpt from disclaimer:

FastMarket Products, Inc has received or expects to receive and manage a total production budget of two million five hundred thousand dollars from Baia Investment group Ltd. for this online advertising effort and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of fifty thousand dollars as an editorial fee

[Edit 2013-6-25]: Thanks to Promotion Stock Secrets for uploading a scan of the PROP mailer. Below is a copy of one of the four pages. Considering the high market cap and ugly and short mailer I consider PROP a great short here.

Disclaimer: I have no position in any stock mentioned above and no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

SEC suspends trading in iTrackr Systems (IRYS)

Today the SEC suspended trading in iTrackr Systems, Inc. (IRYS) because it has failed to file any statements with the SEC since its 3rd quarter 10-Q filed last November.

SEC press release (PDF)
SEC order (PDF)

From the suspension order:

It appears to the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of iTrackr Systems, Inc. (“iTrackr”) because it has not filed a periodic report since it filed its Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2012, filed on November 6, 2012.

The Commission is of the opinion that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension of trading in the securities of iTrackr. Therefore, it is ordered, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that trading in the securities of iTrackr is suspended for the period from 9:30 a.m. EDT, June 18, 2013 through 11:59 p.m. EDT, on July 1, 2013.

iTracker Systems (IRYS) was promoted at the beginning of March 2012 by Blue Wave Advisors LLC (now known as Sherwood Ventures LLC), Market Authority, and Tim Sykes. See my blog post about the promotion. See also Tim Sykes’ blog post about it. Since the promotion the stock has decreased in price from $0.75 to $0.0029, a drop of 99.6%.

(click chart to enlarge)

[Edit 2013-6-23]: The SEC filed a lawsuit against David F. Bahr for promoting IRYS and allegedly paying a kickback to a broker for purchasing IRYS stock. Bahr’s actions came at the end of 2012, long after the promotion by Blue Wave Advisors and Tim Sykes and Market Authority.

Disclaimer: No positions in any stocks mentioned. I made money buying IRYS when the pump was released and selling quickly. I have multiple business relationships with Timothy Sykes — please see my terms of use for details. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

SeekingAlpha and other websites being co-opted by paid stock promoters

If you follow my Twitter this would not be news, but I have not previously blogged on this subject. For example, I tweeted about The Motley Fool removing a blog post from their website promoting Xumanii (XUII — disclosure: I’m short):

Blog post pumping $XUII quickly taken down by @themotleyfool “Jake Peacock” puts it up at @investingcom http://t.co/7D0vcSYsaN // I’m short

— Michael Goode (@goodetrades) June 10, 2013

Promotion Stock Secrets first wrote about a couple articles that had been commissioned by AwesomePennystocks on stocks they were promoting and about a blog post by a Forbes blogger, Tedra DeSue, promoting Swingplane Ventures (SWVI). Below is the text of her article on SWVI (available online here — the original article was taken down by Forbes).

This Company Has Copper Mining On Its Mind; Stock Moving On News
Demand for copper is falling, but that is not stopping one company from making bold moves to expand its processing of the metal.

Trading as a pink sheet stock, Swingplane Ventures Inc. (OTCBB: SWVI) sees there being significant opportunities for copper production on a property it has in Chile. Called the Algarrobo Property, Swingplane says there is considerable potential for production there high grade copper ore.
Company officials admit that production is currently limited because it does not have the proper license needed to sale ore. However, officials say they expect to have the license within a month. Once in production, Swingplane intends to acquire, through rent, lease and/or purchase, the necessary equipment, to increase production.

As it pushes to evaluate the potential for copper mining in Chile, the company is also dealing with concerns about its stock. Last week, it issued a note for investors saying it was aware of the volatility in the trading volume and price of its stock. Company officials are taking issue with a lot of chatter on Internet blogs and chat rooms that they say is not accurate.

In a statement released last week, it said its officers and directors are not “aware of any activity by stockholders or investor relations activity that may be the cause of this recent volume and price increase.” Specifically, the price reached almost $1 a share after trading at just under $.20 a share.

One of the world’s most recognized consulting firms in the mining industry has been contracted to assess the Algarrobo property.

At least one company is giving Swingplane good reviews. Awesome Penny Stocks notes that Swingplane is working with AMEC (AMEC International Ingenieria y Construccion Limitada) for an initial evaluation and report on the property in Chile. The consulting firm has been ranked two years in a row as a sector leader, which should bode well for Swingplane as it moves forward on its crucial mining effort. Amec is known for its work with companies like BP, Shell and the U.S. Navy.

As the company assures investors that its finances are strong, it must also deal with the fall in copper prices. The Wall Street Journal reported that the metal fell 5.4% this week, which was its work week since December 2011. The fall is due to China, the biggest buyer of copper, not buying as much of the metal.

I think that demand for the medal will pick up as the global economy recovers. As it does, the steps Swingplane is taking with its mining efforts in Chile will make it well-positioned as a company and a stock.
Not everyone has to stomach for over the counter stocks. If you do, you’re encouraged to take a hard look at this one. Some ideas include shorting the stock. As one investor said, to make money on the upside, get in early and get out early. You may be surprised that and happy about anything you make in between.

This article was distributed through the NewsCred Smartwire.
By Tedra DeSue for Forbes
Original article © Forbes

As was pointed out by someone (but I can’t remember who, because I think it was in tweets that were deleted), Tedra Desue has a website that links to a profile on eLance. Interestingly, there was a job posted on eLance that was for a Forbes article or blog post that she was hired for one day before she posted the positive blog post on SWVI. I am nearly certain that that job was for writing a pump article on SWVI (but it is possible though unlikely that this is just a coincidence). She was paid $250 for the article requested by that job. Unfortunately the person or entity that paid for the article deleted their account so it is not possible to see what other jobs they paid for. Below is a screenshot of the job.

Back in May The Motley Fool had a good article on how their site had been used to promote stocks by authors who did not disclose that they were paid to write positively about certain stocks. That article was reviewed in an article in the Columbia Journalism Review. That article was followed by Seeking Alpha’s mea culpa on their site being used to promote Goff Corp (GOFFE).

SeekingAlpha has indicated that they will change their procedures somewhat to reduce the possibility of stock promoters publishing articles on their platform:

How We Are Addressing Our Failure
First, we have conducted a review of the authors that posted these articles and for a variety of reasons in addition to this event, they will no longer be contributing to Seeking Alpha. It bears noting that we have no evidence that any of them were complicit in any illicit activity.

Second, we have reviewed our editorial processes and, as noted above, found them lacking. Therefore, we will be updating them as follows: First, in order to be included in an article, a stock will have to be trading at $1 or more per share AND have a minimum market cap of $100 million. If an article focuses on a single stock, we may make an exception in cases where we believe there is extreme value to our readers, and where the article provides deep, balanced research. While we recognize that a “one-size-fits-all” rule will inevitably impact our legitimate authors, our concerns over illegitimate stock promotions are such that we have to err on the side of caution.

But we will not stop there. In order to prevent inappropriate stocks being covered and potentially manipulated, when we receive an article on a stock that doesn’t meet the $1/$100 million threshold, we will conduct a secondary review to see if it is part of a paid promotion. You’ll forgive me for not sharing the precise review process in a public forum, but suffice it to say it will be robust. When questionable stocks are identified, submitting authors will be dealt with firmly.

Just two days ago, all these events were reviewed in an article for TheDeal.com by associate editor Bill Meagher. Below is an excerpt, including a couple quotes from me:

Jacob Wolinsky, who runs investment information website ValueWalk, said he was offered $1,000 to write an article praising Sunpeaks. Wolinsky said he was offered an additional $500 if he agreed not to disclose the payment, but refused the bonus. The article was published on Seeking Alpha in April 2012.

“I thought the guy who I talked to was just a shareholder who wanted some positive P.R.,” Wolinsky said in an interview. “I had no idea that there was a promotion going on. It was the first and the last time I did a sponsored story.”

Michael Goode, who has published almost 50 articles on Seeking Alpha, called Wolinsky’s article “yet another paid stock promotion on Seeking Alpha,” in a comment on the site. “SA has gone completely to the dogs over the last few years. It is a shame.”

Goode, a frequent investor and short seller in microcap stocks, said part of the problem with Seeking Alpha is there are so many contributors doing so many stories. “They let a lot of stuff go, and there is only so much they can do,” he said. “They are a lot better than they used to be.”

I do apologize for my contradictory remarks. I do think that SeekingAlpha has improved its editorial overview over the last few years but stock promoters and manipulators have been even better at evading the editors.

With SeekingAlpha, The Motley Fool, and Forbes becoming more vigilant the pumpers will likely go other places. With the current Awesomepennystocks.com pump Xumanii (XUII) I have seen them link to two positive articles on Investing.com that disclose no compensation but, knowing what I know now, I am almost certain that those authors were compensated.

Disclaimer: I am short 13,875 shares of XUII and have no position in any other stock mentioned above. I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above except that I talked to Meagher and am a contributor to SeekingAlpha. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Inscor Inc. (IOGA) pump and dump, likely inflated budget

Tim Lento first reported on the Inscor (IOGA) pump on May 30th, 2013 when a landing page promoting the stock went online at IOGAReport.com. It had been promoted by some crappy email stock promoters prior to that point. I am obviously late to post the IOGA pump here. Judging by the short length of the landing page, the high claimed budget, the company’s absurdly high market cap, and the early involvement of very poor pumpers, I believe that IOGA’s budget is a lie and that the stock will do very poorly. I am considering IOGA to be a top potential short. Ideally it gets some more volume first.

Disclosed budget: $2,000,000

Promoter: Arbitrage Wealth Report and Carson Smith

Paying party: Excelsior Partners

Shares outstanding: 272,258,554
Previous closing price: $0.62
Market capitalization: $168 million

IOGA unsurprisingly received a positive report from Goldman SmallCap Research (aka Robert Goldman shills for pumpers) on April 10th, 2013, for which he was paid $8,000 from a “third party”.

As a side note, this seems like the perfect pump and dump for the SEC to litigate based on Lowe v. SEC as Carson Smith and the Arbitrage Wealth Report do not appear to in any way shape or form have a bona-fide publication or regular and general circulation (or even the appearance thereof, as many promoters like Tobin Smith have). Instead it is a one-time tout sheet. From the Supreme Court’s decision in Lowe v. SEC:

The exclusion itself uses extremely broad language that encompasses any newspaper, business publication, or financial publication provided that two conditions are met. The publication must be “bona fide,” and it must be “of regular and general circulation.” Neither of these conditions is defined, but the two qualifications precisely differentiate “hit and run tipsters” and “touts” from genuine publishers. Presumably a “bona fide” publication would be genuine in the sense that it would contain disinterested commentary and analysis, as opposed to promotional material disseminated by a “tout.”

Excerpt from pump website disclosure (emphasis mine):

This paid advertisement by Arbitrage Wealth Report (hereafter “AWR”) does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations, or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by AWR, or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Inscor, Inc. (hereafter “IOGA”), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by Excelsior Partners $2,000,000 to enhance public awareness for IOGA.

…

Endorsement is expressly limited to the following statement: “Assuming IOGA receives millions of dollars in fresh capital and hires outstanding management, capital gains are possible.” In addition, all references to “analysts” refer to analysis and research undertaken at www.goldmanresearch.com and has not been independently reviewed or verified

Pump website disclosure:

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This paid advertisement by Arbitrage Wealth Report (hereafter “AWR”) does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations, or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by AWR, or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Inscor, Inc. (hereafter “IOGA”), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by Excelsior Partners $2,000,000 to enhance public awareness for IOGA. Although the information conAWRned in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, AWR makes no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize it. The information conAWRned herein is based exclusively on information generally available to the public and does not contain any material, non-public information. Readers should perform their own due-diligence before investing in any security including consulting with a qualified investment advisor or analyst. Readers should independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due-diligence on this or any other advertised company. Endorsement is expressly limited to the following statement: “Assuming IOGA receives millions of dollars in fresh capital and hires outstanding management, capital gains are possible.” In addition, all references to “analysts” refer to analysis and research undertaken at www.goldmanresearch.com and has not been independently reviewed or verified. Neither Carson Smith nor AWR has performed independent due diligence on IOGA. AWR may also receive new subscriber revenue and mail list rental, the amount which is unknown at this time, as a result of this advertising effort. AWR nor any of their principals, officers, directors, partners, agents, or affiliates are not, nor do we represent ourselves to be, registered investment advisors, brokers, or dealers in securities. AWR is not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Research and any due diligence were conducted by an outside researcher for this advertisement. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly listed companies and other investor resources can be found at the Securities and Exchange Commission website at www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information about the company. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. This advertisement is not intended for readers in any jurisdiction where not permissible under local regulations and investors in those jurisdictions should disregard it. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk, which may result in investors losing all of their invested capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The information contained herein contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding expected continual growth of the featured company. Forward-looking statements are based upon expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements may be identified through the use of words such as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could, should, or might occur. Any statements that express or involve predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals or future events or performance may be forward-looking statements. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the publisher notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the size and growth of the market for the company’s products and services, regulatory approvals, the company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and the long term, pricing pressures and other risks contained in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Arbitrage Wealth Report is a trademark of Carson Smith. All other trademarks used in this publication are the property of their respective trademark holders. AWR and Carson Smith are not affiliated, connected, or associated with, and are not sponsored, approved, or originated by, the trademark holders unless otherwise stated. No claim is made by AWR or Carson Smith to any rights in any third-party trademarks.

PDF copy of pump page.

Polar Petroleum (OTCBB: POLR) pump and dump suspended by SEC

Prior to the market open today (but after a few unlucky folks bought the stock at $6.05 in premarket trading) the SEC suspended trading in Polar Petroleum. See the suspension order (pdf). Below is an excerpt:

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 69721 / June 10, 2013
SEC SUSPENDS TRADING IN SECURITIES OF POLAR PETROLEUM CORP.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) announced the temporary
suspension, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange
Act”), of trading in the securities of Polar Petroleum Corp. (“Polar”), of Anchorage, Alaska at
9:30 a.m. EDT on June 10, 2013, and terminating at 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 21, 2013.
The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of Polar because of questions
regarding the accuracy and adequacy of assertions by Polar, and by others, to investors in press
releases and promotional material concerning, among other things, the company’s assets,
operations, and financial condition. This order was entered pursuant to Section 12(k) of the
Securities Exchange Act.

The company’s multiple press releases about its oil lease bordering an Exxon oil lease in Alaska are the likely reason for the halt: the press releases covered at length Exxon’s good news and intimated that it would be very good for Polar Petroleum as well.

June 3rd press release: Polar Petroleum Corp. Completes Acquisition of Prime Alaska Properties Bordering ExxonMobil’s Point Thomson Project in Alaska’s North Slope Region

June 5th press release: Polar Petroleum Corp. Reports on BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips Planning Additional $1 Billion Investment in Alaska Due to New Industry Friendly Tax Legislation

June 10th press release: Photo Release — Exxon to Spend $253 Million on Point Thomson Pipeline With Capacity of 70,000 Barrels a Day to Immediate South of Polar’s North Point Thomson Project

Here is an excerpt from the June 5th press release:

BP also announced it has support from the other Working Interest (WI) owners at Prudhoe Bay (BP 26%; Exxon 36%; ConocoPhillips 36%; Chevron 1%) to evaluate a further $3 billion worth of new development projects in the Greater Prudhoe Bay area. Among the additional development opportunities being evaluated are expanding and debottlenecking existing Prudhoe Bay facilities; constructing a new drilling pad; and expanding of existing pads, including the drilling of over 110 new wells. The additional development projects could take nearly 10 years to complete, and would be expected to further increase Alaska’s oil production while creating new industry jobs.[3]
The news is yet another indication that the state’s tax reform has revived Alaska’s energy industry by making it more attractive to oil industry investment. On April 17, 2013, ConocoPhillips announced its first additional investments on Alaska’s North Slope based on the tax change.[4] According to ConocoPhillips, the company will be deploying a new drilling rig to the Kuparuk oil field to work over existing wells in order to increase production.[5] BP’s June 3, 2013 news release included the following comments from the president of BP Alaska, Janet Weiss: “With this new tax law, the Alaska legislature and Governor Parnell have taken an important step toward improving Alaska’s long-term economic future. Our announcement today should make abundantly clear that BP is committed to being a part of that future and to continuing to extend the life of North America’s largest oil field.” Weiss also added: “Now that an improved tax structure is in place, oil and gas projects can once again move forward, keeping Alaska competitive in the midst of America’s recent energy renaissance.”[2]

I previously wrote about the Polar Petroleum pump and dump.

Disclaimer: I have no net position in any stock mentioned above and no relationship with any parties mentioned above. I am currently long 3200 shares of POLR in one account and short 3200 shares in another account. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Biozoom Inc $BIZM pump and dump, purportedly uncompensated

I saw for the first time today online display ads promoting Biozoom (OTCBB: BIZM). The interesting thing about this promotion is that none of the websites touting the stock disclose any compensation. They specifically state that they do not own shares or get cash compensation to write about the company. I obviously believe that to be a lie. The pump reports can be found at:

http://www.thestockreport.com/BIOZOOMreport.pdf (pdf)
http://gfiz.com/GFIthegroundfloor.pdf (pdf)
http://www.gfiz.com/innovative-technology-company-invents-real-star-trek-medical-scanner-that-diagnoses-patient-health-in-seconds/6/
http://www.thestockreport.com/top-3-stocks-for-2013-and-beyond.php
http://www.emergingpennystocks.com/the-breakthrough-technology-engineered-to-power-the-medical-and-tech-sectors-for-the-next-two-decades.php

Disclosed budget: $0

Promoter: TheStockReport.com / GFIZ.com (Global Financial Insight)

Paying party: None

Shares outstanding: 114,964,138
Previous closing price: $0.485
Market capitalization: $55 million

Excerpt from disclaimer:

Global Investors Research, LLP does not accept stock either in payment of its services or in payment of sponsorship fees and “GIR” does not receive compensation of any kind for coverage of
companies in the “GIR” related websites, digital publications or reports. Their sponsor pages may be
considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.

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[Edit 2013-6-18]: See this post on BIZM at Promotion Stock Secrets and their photos of Francisco “Fat Frank” Abellan, believed to be behind BIZM.

[Edit 2013-6-23]: Here is a recording of an ad for BIZM that aired on the Rush Limbaugh show. There have been reports of ads promoting BIZM in USA Today and BusinessWeek. Today there was a full page ad on the back page of the New York Times. People have also received hard mailers promoting the stock. Here is a scanned mailer (pdf).

Disclaimer: [Edit 2013-6-23]: I have no net position in BIZM but am short 10,000 shares in one account and long 10,000 shares in another account. I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Fake hard mailer on Dephasium Corp (DPHS)

Last Friday, @StockBrainiac (run by Equities Awareness Group) tweeted about an upcoming hard mailer promoting Dephasium Corp (DPHS).

$DPHS hard mailer dropping over the weekend. I’ll be long Monday

— Stock Brainiac (@StockBrainiac) May 31, 2013

Over the weekend a few crappy stock promoters pumped the stock.

LiquidTycoon has agreed to be compensated fifteen thousand dollars for a one day public awareness marketing campaign for DPHS from the third party StockMister LLC.

The same promoter that runs that website runs the following websites:

PennyStockMoneyTrain.com
PennyStockPickAlert.com
SuperHotPennyStocks.com
SuperNovaStockPicks.com
LiquidTycoon.com
TheInformedStockInvestor.com
WinningPennyStockPicks.com
TheStockPickingMoneyTree.com
WePickPennyStocks.com
WallStreetNewsRelease.com

DPHS was also promoted by Joepennystocks.com / PennyPickAlerts.com:

JoePennyStocks has been compensated $15,000.00 USD by StockMister LLC for a one day Awareness Campaign on DPHS

And by Openingbellreport.com:

Compensation: We have been compensated up to $35,000 for this publication by DesignIRFirm.

This morning prior to the market open someone sent me a link to http://www.penny-mailers.com/mailers/DPHS_mailer_3rdjune.jpg using my contact form to report that they received a hard mailer on DPHS. I was immediately suspicious, especially after seeing that the website that image was hosted on was just registered on May 22nd. Furthermore, a look in the directory showed many different file names for the same image:

Also, the font was off in some places — the “x” in “next” was weird and the “u” in “huge” was in italics while the rest of the word was not.

I tweeted my suspicions prior to the market open:

some guy linked me to bit.ly/11QTvm8 but why all this? bit.ly/11QTw9L something very fishy. Font looks off in places $DPHS

— Michael Goode (@goodetrades) June 3, 2013

I took to Twitter to see what else people were saying and found this:

We’re ignoring $DPHS! Look at this penny-mailers.com/mailers/DPHS_b… …, then look at this i.imgur.com/ErgDoyL.jpg– Notice anything fishy?

— Penny Stock Rumors (@pennyst0ckrumor) June 3, 2013

The purported mailer of DPHS looked a lot like the LOTE mailer. I became convinced that the purported hard mailer was fake. Tim Lento then posted in the TimAlerts chat that

TimLento

DPHS LOTE check it out, creases exactly the same and black marks on top and bottom http://bit.ly/11mjKzc http://bit.ly/11mjL6e

TimAlerts

Posted Jun 03, 10:24 AM

The fold marks were the exact same as those in the LOTE hard mailer that Tim Lento had uploaded over a month ago; the purported DPHS mailer was just a Photoshopped version of the LOTE mailer. Here is a close-up that proves the DPHS mailer is a fake (see the zoomed-out comparison):

Even without the original LOTE image to compare the DPHS image to, it would still be possible to ascertain that the DPHS image was faked, by using image error level analysis. Take a look for yourself.

Here is a small piece of the DPHS image:

The lighter areas show a different level of image error compared to the darker errors, indicating that they came from different sources. Different colors in the original will affect the image error level analysis so it is only in sections of the same color and font where differences in the error level image are meaningful.

How I will trade DPHS

Fake stock promotions consistently do much worse than even real stock promotions, so I am short biased on DPHS. That being said, there is bid support on the stock that has gotten partially filled (the bids were not pulled when they were about to be tested) which means that someone is trying to support this and not just sell as much stock as possible as quickly as possible. Consequently, I will not look to short this aggressively. But I still won’t even consider buying it.

[Edit 2013-6-3 8:00pm EST]: Multiple people have posted photos of a real hard mailer that hit today promoting DPHS. But even this mailer, while real, is still fake, because it says that it is from AwesomePennyStocks and that they will promote DPHS to their email list on Thursday. Here is a photo that was posted to iHub. I am quite certain that this is not from AwesomePennyStocks (APS) or anyone affiliated with them. They have continued to email promoting XUII. I have taken advantage of the confusion though by selling short XUII overnight and holding DPHS long overnight (both positions will likely be closed soon after the open tomorrow). The mailer directs people to www.pre-mailer-alerts.com which was registered on April 25th, has a design very much like APS’ website Premiumstockreport.com, and was registered to Maria Morales of Costa Rica. APS’ current legal entity is Degroupa Tenner Morales Media. I think it quite likely that someone is having quite a bit of fun pretending to be APS.

[Edit 2013-6-4 8am]: I am wondering if the new APS mailer was even sent out in the mail. I would expect more people to have received it if it had been sent. Maybe it is another fake.

[Edit 2013-6-13]: The real hard mailer sent out promoting DPHS (from here):

Disclaimer: [Edit 2013-6-3 8pm EST – I am long DPHS and am short XUII shares; both positions will likely be closed early tomorrow morning.] I have no position in any stock mentioned and I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Yappn Corp (OTCBB: YPPN) fake pump and dump

What is an even better sign of an impending collapse in stock price than a pump and dump? A fake pump and dump! There are enough traders that buy pump and dumps that a large shareholder in a company, rather than paying big money for a large hard mailer campaign or paying a bunch of email promoters to promote their stock, can simply pretend to have spent big money on a stock promotion and then leak news of the stock promotion to traders on message boards, on Twitter, and in chatrooms. This is what appears to have happened with Be Active Holdings (JALA) back in March. See my blog post on that promotion, which purportedly had a $2.5 million budget but was almost certainly overstated; I was dubious at the time and recommended against buying the stock. While JALA had two nice up days it soon dumped hard and left many with huge losses. I never saw evidence of any hard mailers sent out promoting the stock.

Yappn Corp (OTCBB: YPPN) appears to be much the same but it looks like whomever put it together has put even less effort into it. The pump page is not very long at all and it appears that little work was put into it. The disclaimer is similar:

CAC plans on spending a production budget of up to $2, 150, 000 on postage, printing, publishing, and marketing for the benefit of advertising Yappn Corp. through direct mail and on the internet. The officers and directors of CAC are currently holding six million three hundred thirty five thouand shares of YPPN common stock and reserve the right to buy more or sell these shares without prior notice.

Note that it doesn’t state that they have spent $2.15 million, only that they ‘plan’ to spend that much. I would be surprised if they spent more than $10,000 or so total, with all of that paying for the pump website. The market cap of Yappn is already insane so I believe this stock will go almost straight down. I would call this perhaps the best short opportunity of the year. Unfortunately I have not yet found shares to short.

Promoter: Catalina Advertising Corporation
Paying party: ??

Shares outstanding: 142,500,000
Previous closing price: $0.75
Market capitalization: $106 million

Full disclaimer:

Important Disclaimer and Disclosure: YPPNReport.com is a newsletter service of Catalina Advertising Corporation (CAC). (CAC) is not a registered financial advisory. The information presented here is not an offer to buy or sell securities, it is solely meant to be an advertisement for Yappn Corp. CAC does not guarantee as to the accuracy of the information in this newsletter, it was taking entirely from public sources. Penny Stocks are considered to be highly speculative and may be unsuitable for all but very aggressive investors. CAC plans on spending a production budget of up to $2, 150, 000 on postage, printing, publishing, and marketing for the benefit of advertising Yappn Corp. through direct mail and on the internet. The officers and directors of CAC are currently holding six million three hundred thirty five thouand shares of YPPN common stock and reserve the right to buy more or sell these shares without prior notice. Investors should also be aware that this will affect the stock price. This report does not provide any analysis of the company’s financial position. The featured company’s financial position and all other information regarding the featured company should be verified directly with the company. The target price was based on an assumption of one percent of facebook’s market cap success, please always consult a registered financial advisor before making any stock purchase decisions.

PDF copy of pump page.

[Edit 2013-6-3]: I saw a search ad linking to YPPNReport.com on Yahoo:

Disclaimer: I have no position in any stock mentioned and I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Centor Inc. $CNTO pump and dump

Thanks to Tim Lento for finding the landing page at CNTOReport.com and tweeting about it. Judging by the volume and the lack of emails promoting it, I guess that it has not yet been promoted and most of the volume is either wash trading or pre-promotion speculators.

[Edit 2013-6-10]: I see now that I first received emails promoting CNTO on 5/29 from info@wallstreetbuzz.com and since then every few days I have received new emails from another crappy stock promoter.

Disclosed budget: $300,000

Promoter: James DiGeorgia and ??

Paying party: Fan Fan Media

Shares outstanding: 72,135,000
Previous closing price: $1.05
Market capitalization: $72 million

Excerpt from disclaimer:

Centor Resources. (hereafter “CNTO”), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, Fan Fan Media has paid $300,000 to enhance public awareness for CNTO. Fan Fan owns shares in CNTO and may sell these shares at any time.

…

JamesDiGeorgia has received a $5,000 fee for this advertising effort.

Disclaimer:

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This paid email advertisement by the Gold and Energy Advisor does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations, or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by Gold and Energy Advisor, or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Centor Resources. (hereafter “CNTO”), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, Fan Fan Media has paid $300,000 to enhance public awareness for CNTO. Fan Fan owns shares in CNTO and may sell these shares at any time. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, Gold and Energy Advisor makes no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize it. The information contained herein is based exclusively on information generally available to the public and does not contain any material, nonpublic information. Readers should perform their own duediligence before investing in any security including consulting with a qualified investment advisor or analyst. Readers should independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive duediligence on this or any other advertised company. JamesDiGeorgia has received a $5,000 fee for this advertising effort. SuperStockInvestor. com also expects to receive new subscriber revenue, the amount which is unknown at this time, as a result of this advertising effort. James DiGeorgia and Gold and Energy Advisor nor any of their principals, officers,directors, partners, agents, or affiliates are not, nor do we represent ourselves to be, registered investment advisors, brokers, or dealers in securities. Gold and Energy Advisor is not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Research and any due diligence was conducted by an outside researcher for this advertisement. More information can be received from CNTO’S website at www.centorresources.com. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly listed companies and other investor resources can be found at the Securities and Exchange Commission website at www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information about the company. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. This advertisement is not intended for readers in any jurisdiction where not permissible under local regulations and investors in those jurisdictions should disregard it. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk, which may result in investors losing all of their invested capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The information contained herein contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements featured company. Forwardl-ooking statements are based upon expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements may be identified through the use of words such as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could, should, or might occur. Any statements that express or involve predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals or future events or performance may be forwardlooking statements. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the publisher notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the size and growth of the market for the company’s products and services, regulatory approvals, the company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and the long term, pricing pressures and other risks detailed in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

PDF copy of stock promotion page.

Northumberland Resources $NHUR pump and dump

Unlike many pumps I cannot identify with certainty when the pump actually started. And I have been aware of this being an active stock promotion for weeks but did not blog about it out of respect for Tom McCarthy of Prepromotion Stocks who I follow and without whom I would not have learned about NHUR and its stock promotion until recently. The first time I saw Tom mention NHUR was back on March 8th (and he mentioned it in a webinar back in February). He later emphasized the favorable risk/reward profile of buying a breakout in April.

NHUR is being promoted by BillionaireStocks.com (see PDF report) and also by Financier Times. Both websites disclose the same compensation and ownership by PubCapital Inc.

Disclosed budget: $3,000,000

Promoter: BillionaireStocks.com / FinancierTimes.com / PubCapital Inc.

Paying party: Not disclosed

Shares outstanding: 62,449,003 (and 809,400 preferred shares each convertible into 100 common shares)
Previous closing price: $1.60
Market capitalization: $100 million ($229 million after accounting for preferred shares)

Excerpt from Financier Times disclaimer:

A three million dollar investor relations budget is being managed by PubCapital Inc. Any funds leftover [sic] after expenses for research, overhead, advertising and public relations related to Northumberland Resources will be considered profit.

Excerpt from Billionaire Stocks disclaimer:

Compensation: A three million dollar investor relations budget is being managed by PubCapital Inc. Any funds leftover after expenses for research, overhead, advertising and public relations related to Northumberland Resources (NHUR) will be considered profit.

Finacier Times Disclaimer:

Billionaire Stocks Disclaimer (from http://billionairestocks.com/disclaimer_more.html):

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This report/release/advertisement is a commercial advertisement and is for general information purposes only. We are engaged in the business of marketing and advertising companies for monetary compensation. Never invest in any stock featured on our site or emails unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. It is possible that a viewers’ entire investment may be lost or impaired due to the speculative nature of the companies profiled. Remember, never invest in any security of a company profiled or discussed on this website unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. Also, investing in small-cap and micro-cap securities is highly speculative and carries an extremely high degree of risk. This newsletter makes no recommendation that the securities of the companies profiled or discussed on this website should be purchased, sold or held by viewers that learn of the profiled companies through our website. Compensation: A three million dollar investor relations budget is being managed by PubCapital Inc. Any funds leftover after expenses for research, overhead, advertising and public relations related to Northumberland Resources (NHUR) will be considered profit. PubCapital Inc and/or entities related to PubCapital Inc hold a large amount of shares in NHUR and intend to sell those shares. Ours and their sales of NHUR common stock will affect the value of your shares (negatively). This should be considered a direct conflict of interest. Please review all investment decisions with a licensed investment advisor.

PDF copy of Financier Times pump page.