Wednesday, June 16, 2010

CRGE.OBB: Pump and dump?

My father decended into dementia over a period of years. In this process, he got taken advantage of by every mail con available. Two years after taking care of his affairs and switching his mailing address to ours, he still receives mail for miracle cures, hot stock investments, etc., -- the same types of cons that wiped out his savings.

Therefore, I am starting this blog to inform any and all of some of these cons so that you can be on the alert for some of these in case your mother or father is getting these in the mail.

I am in the financial field, so the stock "tips" are particularly irratating. Today's "hot stock" tip comes from "M3 Profit Accelerator," which is signed by "Shawn Ambrosino" who claims to be an analyst. You can find the Internet equivalent at http://www.smallcapfortunes.com/clenergen-3-29/index.html.

The stock that they are promoting is Clenergen Corp (CRGE) [formerly American Bonanza Resources]. Now the first clue that something is amiss is that they provide the ticker, but not the extension that indicates that it is on the OTC Bulletin Board. If you check this company out at the SEC web site, www.sec.gov, you will see that company has no revenues, minor expenses, and no cash flow. In its form as American Bonanza Resources, it appeared to be a company without any activity. CRGE shows some signs of life (mostly through a recent recapitalization), but at www.sec.gov you will see that it is late in its required financial filing for this fiscal period.

The brochure has lots of facts and figures, but nothing concrete about the company. Hype and no substance. Classic.

You can subscribe to their newletter for $2,395 for two years. What a deal. The authors are also experts on lots of other subjects. Trinity Investment Research, incorporated in Florida (which is a giveaway because FL provides cloaking), is at the same address [103 NE 4th St. Delray Beach FL] (and owners) as 32 other companies, including Best Life Herbals, Natures Perfection, and Premier Turf. There is no evidence that any of the parties to these 32 companies (the threesome: Kyle Hodges, Alison Kacurov, and Brian Sodi) have financial experience or financial education. None show up at FINRA.org.

Shawn Ambrosino claims to be an analyst. If you check him out on the website for one of the "associated" newsletters, www.bestlife-herbals/about/, you will see that he claims to have been a professional wrestler and now edits a health magazine.

The company involved recently with CRGE's unregistered securities is Vastani Trading Company, which is a company incorporated in Germany. Ownership of the company is not clear.

The CEO of the Florida subsidiary of CRGE, is Robert D. Kohn [6165 NW 123rd, Coral Springs, FL], who is also listed on a large number of other businesses incorporated in Florida. These business are not necessarily in the same line of business as CRGE.

The stock of CRGE.OBB is trading around 93 cents per share. If you go to finance.google.com or finance.yahoo.com and check out the trading, you will see the spikes in the price (as high as $1.20) when they ship these newsletters out.

Financial facts about CRGE:
Year end Oct 2009
  • Revenues = $0
  • General, selling and administrative expenses = $1.072 million
  • Research and development = $0
  • Net loss = -$1.072 million
  • Total assets = $63 thousand
  • Shareholders' equity = -$488 thousand
  • Cash flow from operations = -$899 thousand

Be careful out there. If a company does not have revenues and a company that purports to be doing research has no R&D, there is no reason to get into the stock. Think you want to play the pump and dump and can figure out when to get in or out? Think again -- the market maker(s) for the stock control all.

Some further clues. Check out the disclaimer at www.bestpennystockbroker.com (bold added):
"IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This featured company sponsored advertising issue of The M3 Profit Accelerator 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 The M3 Profit Accelerator or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Enhance Skin Products, (EHSK), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by Medford Financial Ltd to provide public awareness for EHSK. Medford Financial Ltd has approved and signed off as “approved for public dissemination” all statements made herein regarding EHSK’s history, assets, technologies, current as well as prospective business operations and industry information. The M3 Profit Accelerator and Capital Financial Media (CFM) have used outside research and writers using public information to create the advertisement coming from The M3 Profit Accelerator about EHSK. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, The M3 Profit Accelerator, its publisher (Trinity Investment Research) and CFM makes no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Readers should perform their own due-diligence, including consulting with a licensed, qualified investment professional or analyst. Further, readers are strongly urged to independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due diligence on this or any other advertised company. The M3 Profit Accelerator 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. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. CFM has received and managed a total production budget of $550,000 for this and other online advertising efforts and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. The M3 Profit Accelerator is paid $1500 as an editorial fee from CFM and also expects to receive new subscriber revenue as a result of this advertising effort. *More information can be received from Enhance Skin Product’s investor relations firm, or at the Enhance Skin Product’s website www.enhanceskinproducts.com. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly traded companies like EHSK, advice to investors and other investor resources are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission website www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and after reviewing the publicly available financial statements of and other information about the company and verifying that the investment is appropriate and suitable. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk especially as to new companies with limited operations and no history of earnings. The information contained herein contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27a of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding expected growth of the featured company. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Enhance Skin Products notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything 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 the size and growth of the market, the Company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and in the long term; pricing pressures, technology issues etc. "

The fine print is always important. Note that Capital Media, Trinity Publishing, and M3 Profit Accelerator are all run by the same folks.

10 comments:

  1. Wow! I know this is an old post but I'm glad to have found it. Thanks for the details. I'm sorry to hear about what these people have done to your father. Take care!

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  2. More than a year after this post was written i have the latest pump 'n' dump mail solicitation from "Shawn Ambrosino." This time it's for STEV, the makers of a sugar substitute that will surely be bought out by Pepsi or Nestle or some other big snack vendor. Promises of 770% returns, all the usual hype. Just the latest scam. How do these people get away with this SO LONG?

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  3. why don't we figure out a way to rid these folks. It makes me sick to think that people make decisions based on this crap. I received a piece in the mail and decided to see what I can pull up.

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  4. Here it is in a "nutshell" You get a 14 page "stock alert" from a high paid con-artist named shaw ambrosino of m3 profit accelerator. You believe this RATS lies and buy the stock he pushes. This dirt bag recommends that you immediatley buy $10,000.00 worth, because it is poised to return $240,000.00 I bought $2000.00 worth of shares.($1.69/share) Seven months later, this pump and dump stock is now worth $237.00 RATS like ambrosino are out there!! By the way, this GARBAGE stock is ONCS----So from $1.69 to 20 cents and DROPPING!! and this RAT SOB is still out there!!!! BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!

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  5. Yo! Shawn Ambrosino lives at 3 Misty Laurel Circle in Boynton Beach. You can visit him on Google Maps http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl or type it in. Shawn is out in front of the house with wife Traci. She's the one wearing the green tent. Shawn's arms look like he gets most of his exercise these days ripping open bags of Cheetos and lifting beer cans. The mansion is a 1221 Sq.ft. bungalow worth about $118K. You might give him a call at (561) 432 4935 early in the morning to make sure he gets up for work. What I do is take the unopened mail and, after I collect a few, send it to him at home. It seems to be the best way to get off the mailing list.

    Florida is a great place. There's a doctor down in Palm Beach who will write out a death certificate. You don't even have to be dead, but he won't do business through the mail. You must appear in person. Watch out for law enforcement. They have very thin skins.

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  6. Okay, I keep getting these stock opportunities in the mail from some unheard of company. I am just wondering how they got my address and phone number anyway...I don't buy stock. Then, I decide to google their offer and I find dozens of articles listing this as a scam to get old people to invest their retirement/life savings with a promise of a ridiculously generous return on their investment..........yeah, right! So, as I am really good at internet research, I have decided to share with the world the personal home information of the people who made me such a great offer......lol....Here is what I found:
    M3 Profit Accelerator POBox 243805 Boynton, FL 33424
    is actually
    Tracy L. Ambrosino and Shawn R. Ambrosino
    3 Misty Laurel Circle
    Boynton, Florida 33436-8939
    (561) 432-4915
    Their house is their business location and it is worth approximately $93,000. USD. They are listed as having a couple of employees (probably the husband and wife themselves) and have a cash flow of ZERO!!! Their last offer was supposed to go to around $20. USD per share and it is sitting flatly at $1. USD.

    Now, anybody else want to buy my phone number and address???

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  7. Thanks for the input. I just got a letter today to invest in PTAM? I am glad that someone took the time and research him.

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  8. May 4, 2012 -- received in the mail (unsolicited) a new "hot tip" newsletter from S. Ambrosino: PTAM, trading at 1.01, as of May 4, 2012. And he is still offering a 2-year subscription to M3 Profit Accelerator for $2,395.

    By the way, CRGE is now trading at 0.05 (quite a drop from the 0.93 mentioned on June 16, 2010). Who needs advice like that for $$2,395?

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  9. Thanks, Can't seem to get my deceased father-in-law off their mailing list.

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  10. Also glad to find this... just got a mailing from these crooks targeting my aging relative with a hot stock. Fortunately, I can catch the mailings before he sees them. God please let someone watch out for me when I get to that state of mind.

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