Litigation

Today was a fun work day!

Posted on February 22, 2008
I started off my day recording a podcast with Phil Davis from Authors on the Net. The site is geared toward helping authors promote their books. The site was really built with self-publishers in mind, because most of them have no idea where to begin to market their books...

Materiality at Overstock.com Inc.

Posted on February 21, 2008
Sam Antar made this nice find in regard to materiality, one of many issues at Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK). You see… materiality is an issue because, in addition to “unusual” material items at Overstock, we’ve seen several immaterial “unusual” items as well...

Secrets to Success: Getting outside your ?comfort zone??

Posted on February 21, 2008
How often in your professional life have you been told to “get outside your comfort zone”? What you’re being told is: Do more of what you dislike and Do more of what you’re not good at. How much sense does that make? You are being encouraged to beat your head against a wall, because somehow that [...

In addition to the erosion of morals in our society?

Posted on February 21, 2008
Some people wonder why we have a generation of lazy losers coming up in the United States. I don’t wonder at all. We have parents who aren’t involved in their children’s lives. Kids whose bodies have been rotted from the inside out, thanks to junk food and fast food...

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Hillary Clinton is completely unqualified to be President, but Barack Obama is even worse off

Posted on February 21, 2008
No one can even name one accomplishment of his or anything that remotely qualifies Obama to be President: SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Hillary Clinton is completely unqualified to be President, but Barack Obama is even worse off", url: "http://www...

Sam Antar?s advice to investors

Posted on February 19, 2008
In a recent article in Fortune Magazine about felon turned fraudfighter Sam E. Antar…. Sam gave the following tips to investors about looking for fraud in public companies. I think it’s sound advice! SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Sam Antar’s advice to investors", url: "http://www...

Whistleblower website forced off the internet

Posted on February 19, 2008
Wikileaks.org, a site that allowed people to anonymously leak incriminating documents, has been shut down by its web host, Dynadot. Dynadot, shut it down and locked the domain name so it can’t be transferred to another host, pursuant to an agreement settling a lawsuit against it...

Buying your way to Director at Usana Health Sciences

Posted on February 18, 2008
Is it possible to buy your way to the top of the pyramid at Usana (NASDAQ:USNA)? Who would even want to? Well the answer is simple… those who are at the top of the pyramid have a much easier time recruiting new marks into the scheme. So buy your way to the top, and [...

Congratulations Greg Farrell!!!

Posted on February 18, 2008
Greg Farrell, investigative reporter for USA Today was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. Here’s what they said about him: Greg Farrell (Journalist, USA Today, and respected business author) As Lynn Brewer, the self-proclaimed ?Enron Whistleblower? traveled the world, charging upwards of $13,000 per speech and being feted by the Nobel [...

Former CEO of Refco cries his way to a guilty plea

Posted on February 15, 2008
Phillip Bennett, the former CEO of Refco Inc. pleaded guilty today while crying… Refco was one of the world’s largest commodities brokerages, but it went down in flames a few weeks after going public in August 2005. The reason? Management concealed the fact that a company controlled by Bennett owed Refco $430 million...

Self-Promotion: If you don?t ask for it, you won?t get it

Posted on February 15, 2008
You’re trying to develop your business and increase your name recognition and your professional profile. Do you even know where to begin? One of the most basic steps is asking for the opportunity… asking to be able to promote your company, asking others to promote you, asking to be paid more, asking do to something [...

Reality TV clip: Tanisha on Bad Girls Club, ?Don?t disrespect me.?

Posted on February 14, 2008
Not nearly as funny as “Wake the *%@) Up,” but still a fine, fine moment from our girl Tanisha. Tanisha: Don’t disrepect me. Pop off! I suspect Tanisha *might* have an anger management problem. More Tanish on getting up SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Reality TV clip: Tanisha on Bad Girls Club, “Don’t disrespect me...

From White Collar Crime Fighter: Why would the founder of a successful financial institution steal from it - risking all?

Posted on February 13, 2008
The former CEO of the First National Bank of Northern Kentucky was indicted in connection with a $4.5 million fraudulent loan scheme that he allegedly facilitated. Richard Thomas, who founded the bank in 1992, was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aiding and abetting the submission of false loan applications...

Overstock.com: Pretend accounting measures muddy the waters

Posted on February 13, 2008
I present for you today one (just one) example of the accounting shenanigans at Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) to demonstrate the deception of management. This accounting concept is quite elementary, and it is called EBITDA. EBITDA = Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization Accountants and investors generally agree on what all of those items (earnings, interest, taxes, [...

Got the blogging blues?

Posted on February 12, 2008
Blogging can be great fun when you’ve got something to say and someone to say it to. My friends and family know that I love blogging. I like sharing info in (almost) real time with readers. I blog mostly about fraud and consumer scams, but I also like to write about entrepreneurship and how I [...

More of your Google questions? with my answers

Posted on February 12, 2008
Patriots cheat? Yes they do. But justice was served. Dennis Waitely fraud? Yes, at Usana. Denis Waitley lied about having a Master’s degree. And his PhD? Purchased from a diploma mill. He was excused from the board of directors of Usana for this little boo boo...

Overstock.com: Year-end revenues fall far short of Byrne?s hype

Posted on February 12, 2008
If Patrick Byrne is good at anything, it’s hyping Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) when the company is not deserving of the hype. To hear him tell it in real time, everything is rosy and the company is doing stellar and investors will surely be impressed...

Is fraud ever immaterial?

Posted on February 11, 2008
A search that brought someone to my blog over the weekend gave me the idea for this post. Immateriality is a concept in accounting that amounts to “too small to matter.” Think of a company with $100 million in sales each year. If they made a mistake in recording their sales last year, and the [...

Overstock.com: The ?turnaround? that wasn?t

Posted on February 11, 2008
2006 was a bad year for Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK). (As if any year isn’t bad for them?) Jason Lindsey even said that the 2006 numbers were “bad on purpose”: “All of the things we have talked about before as far as classifying all of our SKUs as either red and green and 80% of our — excuse [...

You ask Google, I answer you.

Posted on February 11, 2008
Here are some recent questions my readers posed to Google, with answers from me for quick reference. Is Eddie Antar still in prison? No. What happened to Flip This House? Richard Davis and TLC had a big fight and now they don’t do the show together anymore...

Overstock.com: What are you hiding?

Posted on February 10, 2008
The “Black Ops” train at Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) has been chugging full steam ahead over the last month, so that can only mean one thing… Patrick Byrne and his minions have something to hide. And indeed, the fourth quarter financial results were not so good...

Productivity Tip: Sign up for Stamps.com

Posted on February 10, 2008
A couple of years ago, I didn’t understand why a friend of mine used Stamps.com. Who wants to pay $16 a month just for the privilege of printing their own postage, when you can go to the post office for free??? I quickly realized that going to the post office isn’t really free...

He is going to get in so much trouble someday!

Posted on February 09, 2008
SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "He is going to get in so much trouble someday!", url: "http://www.sequence-inc.com/fraudfiles/2008/02/09/he-is-going-to-get-in-so-much-trouble-someday/" } );

The Fair Tax explained

Posted on February 08, 2008
This comment was posted earlier this week on WalletPop, in response to a discussion about loans from 401(k) plans. I generally advise against taking loans from your 401(k) or other retirement plan, because before you know it, that loan could turn into a distribution...

My incredible book writing journey

Posted on February 07, 2008
My first book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, is not even done printing yet, and I am already starting to write my second book for John Wiley & Sons. How did I do it Well that’s all a bit of a mystery to me. You see, the process was all so easy...

Answering tax questions on WalletPop

Posted on February 06, 2008
AOL is featuring me as their tax expert this season, and I’m answering all kinds of questions about income taxes on WalletPop. Below is the promotional piece from the AOL Money tax page. Feel free to run over to WalletPop and ask me a tax question… [...

A Blackerry blackout?

Posted on February 05, 2008
Are you sick of seeing people on their BlackBerrys??? Writing emails with their thumbs all day and all night… even during meetings or while they’re having lunch with you? Companies and individuals are trying to do something about it by having Blackouts… periods of times during which you have to turn off the device...

Posts containing information about Mark Shurtleff

Posted on February 04, 2008
To make it easier for those of you have been searching for information on Mark Shurtleff, the Utah Attorney General who endorses multi-level marketing company Usana and engages in other sketchy stuff, I provide this list of links: Utah Attorney General improperly endorsing Usana Health Sciences Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff endorses Usana Health Sciences Yesterda’s Press [...

Steal public funds, get a new gig paid for with public funds?

Posted on February 04, 2008
I realize that everyone has to make a living somehow. But I’m sorry…. you steal taxpayer money that was supposed to be used to educate children, and you shouldn’t be allowed to get paid with taxpayer money for… educating children...

Talking your way out of a goof

Posted on February 04, 2008
 This one comes from Alan Weiss, a consultant whom I respect tremendously! He publishes a monthly email newsletter called Balancing Act, and you can subscribe to it on his site. One of my favorite things about Alan is his willingness to be a contrarian...

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