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Cramer's TheStreet.com Charged With Accounting Fraud
Over two years ago, while scouring through TheStreet.com's filing we stumbled upon something interesting: "As a result of the need for the Company and its independent registered public accounting firm to focus attention on matters related to the Company's previously-announced review of the accounting in its former Promotions.com subsidiary, which subsidiary the Company sold in December 2009 -- including matters related to the preparation and filing by the Company in February 2010 of a Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2008, a Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 and Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2009 and September 30, 2009, respectively, and matters related to an investigation commenced by Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2010 -- the Company requires additional time to prepare its financial statements, assess its internal controls and file its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 ("2009 Form 10-K")." Oops. We can't wait to see how Mr. Cramer will explain to the Mad Money faithful this particular twist on the hangover of the show's five year birthday bash. Also, we wonder if CNBC will finally cancel the ludicrous Jim "truth" Cramer campaign once this news breaks. We doubt it- in the quest for evaporating eyeballs, all is fair." This was in April 2010. Today, we got resolution on the matter, as the SEC finally has put the matter to close.
SEC Charges Financial Media Company and Executives Involved in Accounting Fraud
Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a digital financial media company and three executives for their roles in an accounting fraud that artificially inflated company revenues and misstated operating income to investors.
Additional Materials
The SEC alleges that TheStreet Inc., which operates the website TheStreet.com, filed false financial reports throughout 2008 by reporting revenue from fraudulent transactions at a subsidiary it had acquired the previous year. The co-presidents of the subsidiary – Gregg Alwine and David Barnett – entered into sham transactions with friendly counterparties that had little or no economic substance. They also fabricated and backdated contracts and other documents to facilitate the fraudulent accounting. Barnett is additionally charged with misleading TheStreet’s auditor to believe that the subsidiary had performed services to earn revenue on a specific transaction when in fact it did not perform the services. The SEC also alleges that TheStreet’s former chief financial officer Eric Ashman caused the company to report revenue before it had been earned.
The three executives agreed to pay financial penalties and accept officer-and-director bars to settle the SEC’s charges.
“Alwine and Barnett used crooked tactics, Ashman ignored basic accounting rules, and TheStreet failed to put controls in place to spot the wrongdoing,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “The SEC will continue to root out accounting fraud and punish the executives responsible.”
According to the SEC’s complaints filed in federal court in Manhattan, the subsidiary acquired by TheStreet specializes in online promotions such as sweepstakes. After the acquisition, TheStreet failed to implement a system of internal controls at the subsidiary, which enabled the accounting fraud.
The SEC alleges that through the actions of Ashman, Alwine, and Barnett, TheStreet:
- Improperly recognized revenue based on sham transactions.
- Used the percentage-of-completion method of revenue recognition without meeting fundamental prerequisites to do so, including reliably estimating and documenting progress toward the completion of relevant contracts.
- Prematurely recognized revenue when the subsidiary had not performed actual work and therefore had not really earned the revenue.
According to the SEC’s complaint, when the subsidiary’s financial results were consolidated with TheStreet’s financial results for financial reporting purposes, the improper revenue on the subsidiary’s books resulted in material misstatements in the company’s quarterly and annual reports for fiscal year 2008. On Feb. 8, 2010, TheStreet restated its 2008 Form 10-K and disclosed a number of improprieties related to revenue recognition at its subsidiary, including transactions that lacked economic substance, internal control deficiencies, and improper accounting for certain contracts.
Ashman agreed to pay a $125,000 penalty and reimburse TheStreet $34,240.40 under the clawback provision (Section 304) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and he will be barred from acting as a director or officer of a public company for three years. Barnett and Alwine agreed to pay penalties of $130,000 and $120,000 respectively, and to be barred from serving as officers or directors of a public company for 10 years. Without admitting or denying the allegations, the three executives and TheStreet agreed to be permanently enjoined from future violations of the federal securities laws.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Senior Counsel Maureen P. King and Staff Accountant Nandy Celamy of the New York Regional Office. Aaron Arnzen served as Senior Trial Counsel in the matter.
* * *
How totally shocking...
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"Without admitting or denying the allegations, ..."
TYPICAL
Bahahahahaha, This is classic.
(in deep voice) HOUSE OF PAIN
BITCHEZ!!!!
What's the name of that fucking nerdy dweeb who always talksabout S&P 2,000?... I hope they put him in a cell with a dude named Bubba...
Edit: "Altucher" ~ that's who I'm looking for... Fuck that little prick... Hey Cramer... You still got a BUY BUY BUY on BEAR STEARNS?...
~~~
BYE BYE BYE you fucking morons!
+1000 for dissing Altucher. My dog is a better writer, and all she puts down is roof roof.
Some of us love minimalist poetry.
You'd love mine then, it puts down shit mandelas.
TheStreet.com is fiine!
Boo-Hoo-Ya Cramer and CNBC: A perfectly matched pair.
Jim Cramer is looking at fraud
It's time for the world to applaud
A phoney, a fake
A nerd on the take
Cramerica just lost their God
Jim Cramer IS a fraud
The SEC just gave the nod
He doesn't talk like a guy
Tries to convince us to buy
Hoping the Green Shoots will one day be sod
Am I missing something?
This is ancient history and a quater million dollar accounting boondogle. If it took the SEC this long on something this basic and small it would seem to me the real story is that the real thieves of Wall Street have noting to fear.
Cramer must have doen something to really piss off these guys -- now think back to early in the Obama first term - Cramer went nuts on him. Now think to the last election and Cramer all but gave him a blow job. Now we know why.
One of his "proudest" moments modified for the circumstances:
"They KNOW something?! They KNOW something!"
-Jim Cramer, December 2012
Jim Cramer the investing dope,
Finally reached the end of his rope,
His friends all said,
You'd be better off dead,
And don't bend over to pick up the soap!
I still have total faith in Cramer. He wouldn't lie to us, right?
nevermind, carry on.
All I want for Christmas is to see Krammer in ass pounding prison...along with Corzine.
Back when he was running his hedge fund, he would whisper stories to Maria about stocks.
It was widely believed he was front running but his best buddy was Elliot Spitzer also known as Customer #8.
Cramer probably had a get out of jail card like Bernie Madoff did.
I bet a lot of people knew Bernie was run a big ponzi scheme but as long as it was "working" - everyone kept their mouth shut.
"...but as long as it was "working" - everyone kept their mouth shut."
It could be that autistic children get this hard lesson quite early and keep their mouths shut early.
Let's face it, we ALL want to see Cramer in jail.
The SEC will then claim "See, we're cleaning up the banking mess."
Turd sandwich, anyone?
Yeh...they need to "Martha Stewart" Biatch slap him......That should let the peeps know the bankers have been put on notice there's a "new sheriff in town! BWAAAAAAAAA
Booyah !!!
It pays to be badge-wearing carnival barker for financial douchebaggery.
SOO Many LOLZZZ .. content scraping morons
BOOYAA you fucking stinking fucking asshole. Eat shit Cramer, you fuck!
Man, you are in a good mood today!
Picturing Cramer getting his ass ripped by cell mate Bubba just helped my mood...although I'm well aware conviction or jail time is a fucking pipe dream for anyone in the fucking piece of shit financial shitpool.
I hope his cell mate is Elmo Blatch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtnDFS0RhuY
Does it change your mind if Cramer likes it? He looks like a bottom to me. Just sayin'...
No jail time for GS alumni... just won't happen.
Hey Cramer....how do those bracelets feel on you? They look good though.
The Street.
What a joke.
Jim should be cornholed and shot.
What a disgrace.
http://www.angrysinner.blogspot.kr/2012/12/wednesday.html
boooyah jim
It is as if a convicted shoplifter could avoid punishment by simply paying 50% of the price of the stolen item....
Oh, and they get to keep the item...
Central Bankers have that beat; create from thin air and charge what the traffic will bear.
Can you provide proof that you have never used credit in any form? Just curious...
Sell!! Sell!! Sell!!
His non profit trading vehicle.
Go figure.
Non-profit tax free trading vehicle. A long time ago, when I could afford to watch the tax funded CNBS channel I remember the only times he advocated investing in gold was when he was talking about how he ran this "charity". Otherwise, the closest he would get is advocating investing in "Junior Miners".
Junior Miners buy their mine maps from senior miners who know leaverite and lose money until investors show up. Then they lose more money and save some areas for later.
There's always a bulls*it market somewhere, 'cause he makes 'em up on his own.
Crooks in finance?! Say it ain't so.
They set him up because he does good work, helping ma and pa beat the market.
Oh yeah, TST, -99 % for the last 10 years. Nice job Jimbo!
Don't forget NYX... Call of a fucking lifetime... I'm sure tonight he'd be top ticking the Nikkei... Fuck CNBS too...
never forget his BUY BUY BUY on netflix at 295... well, he was right for 5 bucks!
Lulz
And how much money did they earn whilst doing the fraud?
given the stocks trajectory, not enough.
booya
Boo-Yah. The SEC succeeds.......oh wait
Ever notice that if Mad Money is on and the TV is muted how much the show resembles a colorized version of Howdy Doody?
leave out the howdy part, and you have .....
Where's Corzine?
Probably sippin cognac somewhere in the Hamptons.
Jim Cramer is shocked...shocked that this was going on @ The Street dot con
sort of like Dan Dorfman...
Oops.
Are you sure? There was no mention of this on Mad Money what gives?
Watch Cramer with the sound on mute. A shifty eyed SOB
Don't watch Cramer.
Cramer is not better than the rest but he is not worse. He is very bad like all the people who make only predictions and are never held accountable for them.
Cramer: buy Bearn Stearns.
Gold lover: QE is positive.
Politicos: Bernanke rocks.
Many people: real estate is a good investment.
More people: debt is wealth.
This is the world we live in folks. Accept it or change it.
Gold lover: QE is positive.
It is, have you been asleep the last decade? Just because there's some technical selling / fiscal cliff pressure doesn't mean that QE won't be positive for PM in the coming years. No asset goes up in a straight line. You never seem to post on a rally.
Bastiat009: money printing is bad for metals.
Money printing is bad for the USD. interesting how the USD is weaker and so is paper gold, I think their selling off paper to catch the rally. The market is rallying because they're pricing in the "fix" for the fiscal cliff, it won't last. In the near future, comes the sell off, and the overcorrection until the next "fix" is announced, we've this before. Consider these downturns in PM's a gift, in the long term the stock markets are overpriced when compared to our growth. We never allowed the markets to correct. I think when everyone realizes this, pm's and commodities will go thru the roof.
"OORAH" big shout out to all you jimmy wannabee students of "THE ohio state university.
Typical punishment. Thirty lashes with a wet noodle.
Cramer can lick my balls!
Jim Cramer has always been a criminal. Has always been.
In recent weeks, “The Daily Show”’s Jon Stewart has exposed TV personality Jim Cramer as a liar (see these recent clips, 1 2 3). But I think he’s worse: I think he’s a criminal.
If that sounds hard to believe, please see this video (which Jim did not expect to reach the public) of Jim Cramer bragging about using the press to manipulate the stock market illegally. For a full analysis of the career of Jim Cramer, please read my essay: “Jim Cramer is a Complicated Man.”
Warren Buffet says that, “If you ever sit down at a poker table and in 15 minutes haven’t figured out who the pigeon is, you’re the pigeon.” Similarly, if you are getting any advice from Jim Cramer or CNBC, you are the pigeon. CNBC is a 24/7 hedge fund infomecial designed to trick you into making bad investments for the benefit of hedge funds. Again, watch the tape of Jim. Then read the critique. Then turn off CNBC.
http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/2009/03/overstock-ceo-calls-jim-cramer...
" Jim Cramer bragging about using the press to manipulate the stock market illegally'
So what, the government does this all the time, with the market, with the insider trading perpetrated by congresspeople, with the jobs numbers, the Corzines, the Geithners, the Diamonds. You going to make this guy hang when huge abuses of the aforementioned political and economic elite dwarf him?
I say JAIL JAIL JAIL for em all.
madmoney you cant afford to watch it
Leonard the Monkey still has better returns and has never been charged.
call cnbc demand a story or interview with Jim 201 735 2622
He is partly responsible for the crash. That tv rant about they know nothing looked like it was intentional to push the market down and elect BO.
Rogue trader! Rogue trader!
Proof that Jimmy boy is definitely a "little fish" in the financial world..... he got pinched. Only little fish have to endure the slings and arrows of the SEC. Steal big, or go home.
Cramer is one of the boys, he probally didn't play ball on something and this is his thank you
Phew! Now I won't need to see him screaming on tv. In all reality he'll probably get off the hook. He's probably haning in St. Somewhere with Corzine and a couple politicians right now.
FU Cramer I hope you and all your Cronies/Cheerleaders DIAF Bitch.
I did not inhale...
Nothing less than the death sentence would be appropiate for him, preferably the Electric chair, there must be one a museum they could use.
JAIL! JAIL! JAIL!!!
Where the FUCK is Jon Corzine?
Stephanie Link, the new Fast Money contributor (My name is Stephanie Link, I am Fast Money) is touted from thestreetdotcom. Does she have the scoop ready?
I laugh at how this fucking twit drops to his knees everytime he finds a CEO willing to appear on his carnival hour. It's like desperation to prove he's one of the boys. The guy talks to his fanboys like he's a business expert and has never run anything even remotely associated with a business. I find this despicable twit insufferable and always hope for some terrible disease to attach itself to him. He used to suck on Corzine so much, I think Dimon got jealous.
Five years was a good run for a reality T.V. show on CNBS, Jimmy... /sarc
Jersey Bore starring James J. Cramer
[fist pump]
surreality TV
"No! No! No! thestreet is not in trouble."
Fuck you Cramer, you douche.
Based on the responses, it doesn't look like many actually read the article (or understand accounting fraud). It looks like the subsidiary purchased by The Street was the perpetrator. Considering they were purchased, they were probably trying to influence their purchase price.
When reading this, I don't see how anybody could attribute this to Jim Cramer himself. The Street is going to take the PR hit here, but they appear to be the victim if you actually read what was going on.
may I say from all my fellow zhedgies....FUCK YOU--- dont come on here and tell us we dont understand this or that...based on your keen observation what about their due diligence... GO FUCK YOURSELF
The SEC alleges that TheStreet Inc., which operates the website TheStreet.com, filed false financial reports throughout 2008 by reporting revenue from fraudulent transactions at a subsidiary it had acquired the previous year.
roflmao - i should give you an upvote just for the entertainment value
and by the way you pompous ass
"In 2009, Cramer received earnings of $461,276 from TheStreet.com."
"Big T" you would make a fine bankster.....
Cramer forgot to pay protection money like Corzine.
Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office
A squid catching a squid? Must be a sign of the Mayan prophesy.
Ixtab (the goddess of hanging/suicide)
Mitnal (Mayan hell where wrongdoers are punished)
Accounting fraud ? So paying each other 30 million on
a joint project in dot.com days were not legit revenues...
who would have thought ...
And the single most terrifying aspect of jim cramer is people believe him. Normal folk, people who have no skin in the game believe every bullshit word he speaks.
Let that sink in, a good proportion of folk believe him. In-fucking-credible?????????
"Booyah Jimmy! Thanks so much for helping us individual investors succeed and understand the markets!"
Baaaahhhh!
Bleat, bleat.
I used to have clients come in and want to buy a stock because Cramer said buy..I would give them all the reasons to the contrary on why they shouldn't. Sure enough they would buy the stock and lose their ass, but wouldn't you know it they would be back in the very next week. It was unfuckingbelievable.
Cramerica has nicely illustrated that TV viewers people will perform any repetitive losing routine behavior rather than independent thinking, which is the hardest work of all. Uncritical eyeballs are highly-prized and satisfied with approved disabled concepts and QE words, now including qualitative metrics in the eye of the beholder.
Hi ZHers, its meat again.
As a foil to the manic Cramer, here is a youtube playlist of the seminal chill album Far Away Trains Passing By - Ulrich Schnauss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s50jAWtCdQ&list=PLFLFnr3-RKSxsgU1zrHpT-s...
Pleasant listening!
BOOYAH. LMAO.
Stewart also discussed how short-selling was detrimental to the markets and investors. Cramer admitted to Stewart that short-selling was detrimental, stated his opposition to it, and claimed that he had never engaged in it, which contradicts earlier statements in which he described going short while managing a hedge fund. In a December 2006 interview from TheStreet.com's "Wall Street Confidential" webcast Cramer said, "A lot of times when I was short at my hedge fund...When I was positioned short—meaning I needed it down—I would create a level of activity beforehand that could drive the futures." He said, "I will say this: I am trying to expose this stuff, exactly what you guys do, and I've been trying to get the regulators to look at it." However, Stewart played several video clips from 2006 where Cramer discussed the spreading of false rumors to drive down stock prices and encouraged short-selling by hedge funds as a means to generate returns. At one point in a clip from December 22, 2006, he said, "I would encourage anyone in a hedge fund to do it." He called it a very quick way to make money and very satisfying. He continued, "By the way, no one else in the world would ever admit that, but I don't care, and again, I'm not gonna say it on TV."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cramer
With that admission, why should anyone believe anything Jim Cramer says..???
And of course, no jail time for anyone (that's for kids with that dangerous marijuana!).
I just enrolled in a new course at Wharton - "Pathways to corporate profits - the complete guide to accounting fraud"
WHY would CNBC cancel this criminals show when the entire CNBC operation is nothing more than a propaganda outlet for the criminal Federal Reserve, criminal banksters, and by extension, all of the complicit criminals who support the corrupt, socialist USSA system? Seriously? Accounting fraud is encouraged in the new USSA!
Another guppy catch with the little net while the Great White sharks and Giant Squid roam free.
should surprise no one
I'm sure CNBS is all over this story.....Too bad Cramer wasn't charged.He should be charged with more than accounting fraud. He should be spending time with Corzine getting gang raped at the local penitentiary.
It's rather touching how agreeable these criminals are...
"Barnett and Alwine agreed to pay penalties of $130,000 and $120,000 respectively, and to be barred from serving as officers or directors of a public company for 10 years."
PS...The whole thing kind of sounds like money laundering to me.
all these market pumpers should be thrown in jail with cell mate named bubba and leroy. all they are doing is trying to push people into stocks, not buying it msm pumps! how about pushing your bs to the population on planet dreamit!
spx @ 1447 = TOP !!!!
SELL !!! its now @ 1444 = SELL !!!!
gold sell-off is your sell-off indicator...same thing when QE3 gold @ $1750 and spx @ 1474...GOLD SOLD OFF FIRST !!!
I'm shocked I tell you shocked. How could this possibly be.
but, but
he's a demon-rat HYPOCRITE democrat !!! he pays his "taxes" (political contributions) to them..how could they do this to him?? how could odummer do this to him??
just like buffet and his tax deductions on his planes...the IRS gave him a bill for like $25mm?? LOL !!!!!!!!!
hypocritic demon-rats !!! ROFLMAO !!!!!
who listens to that crank-a-holic??
sometimes i do..but can't stand him for more than 5 minutes..i used him as a CONTRARIAN INDICATOR
NFLX @ $300 he says BUY!!! = me short
SLV @ $45 in 4-2011, he says BUY !!! = me short
AAPL @ $628 he says: to $1000 makes "arithmetic sense" = me short...then it tanks to $540 = cover shorts..
aapl @ $700, i posted here on ZH "TOP"...shorted..now @ $540 or so, after deadcat bounce....@ sub $425 will sell deep in the money puts and after another pop to maybe $490-$500 will buy back those puts and STILL KEEP MY $700 AAPL SHORTS...wash, rinse, repeat
also the crank SHOE SHINE BOY told you on 11-11-11 to buy gold @ $1800..now @ $1674...LOL !!!!!!!! ROFLMAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!
How many daze left until housing comes back, Jimbo, you moron.
Is Cramer too big to fail?
"getting back to EVEN" he says
so he RODE all the way down from djia 13k to 6.6k on march 2009 ??? LOL !!!!! too funny !!!
while he was "breaking even" others were doubling their freaking money !!!
the crank's response to the SEC:
"YOUR NUTS, YOUR NUTS, YOU KNOW NOTHING" !!
stupid shoe shine boy..= contrarian indicator...(see post above, regarding aapl, nflx and slv) he says buy = me short..
he's one of my many proprietary shoe shine boys contrarian indicators...however i don't spend an hour listening to that freak..otherwise i would loose my hearing.
"Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office."
AKA The Squid.
GS is everywhere !;O)
it's like the Taliban and a terrorist named "al Talibani" and in Iraq Bush mentioned one named "al Iraqi" - just kabuki theater
what's next, al Million Dollar Bonus?
i don't watch cnbc...
i rather watch cartoon network with tom & jerry...
but i hope cnbc does not cancell that crank-aholic shoe shine boy-contrarian indicator's "show"
i want to see his stupid crying face when spx is @ sub 300 and gold @ sub $350....i want to see his "explanation" to his stupid folllwing = widows n orphans...who don't know anything about the ponzi sheme...
i spend maybe 5-10 minutes/week "listening" to the shoe boy...i listen to them near market turns and do the OPPOSITE of what he says.
Hey....!!! Look over there...!!!
To any SEC members reading this(and I know yous do) hows that silver fraud and manipulation investigation going...????
Ps....fuck yous,ya dog and pony show.....literally.
"Without admitting or denying the allegations, the three executives and TheStreet agreed to be permanently enjoined from future violations of the federal securities laws."
Is this saying that the execs and TheStreet are forbidden from violating future securities laws. Without this, would they be permitted to violate future securities laws?
What gives?
LOL, the real Cramer. Criminals Inc.
CNBC going to show one of their own as a con artist?
Guess who's running the show? The same crimnals that caused the housing bubble. Nobody goes to jail so it's off to bigger and better schemes.
Corzine is like Cramer, laughing all the way to the bank. The criminals are running the show.
Quick, get Stacey Keech on the phone.
Cramer will talk. He believes he can bullshit all of the people, all the time.
"Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office" - how fitting. Where the Squid lives.
This guy, Kudlow and Blodget are 3 of the biggest criminals! Should all be behind bars, instead of T.V. Only in America!!!
Jim seems like the kind of guy i'd like to have a few beers with... then piss them on him after my bladder is full...
Come on Tyler, you're turning an ant hill into Mt. Pinatubo. So Cramer, et al, bought a company that was using sham accounting to swindle a buyer to pay a higher price. Gee, that never happens! Autonomy, cough, cough. It would be fair to say Cramer is a tool for getting swindled on the deal, but that hardly makes him the next Jeff Skilling. (God, I can't believe I just defended Jim Cramer!) This sort of guilt by association is one more example of the complete incompetence of the SEC. So, if my moron cousin Jimmy marries a hooker, the whole family is then guilty of prostitution?
Jim Cramer is fond of saying
ACCOUNTING IRREGULARITIES = SELL !
Oppo's Cubot C8 Smart Phone 5 is one of the first smartphones to come with a full HD 1080p display
I'm beginning to think that there are ZERO corp's that have any honesty left in their financial statements! (Could it be that FRNs, worth around $85/Ton have NO VALUE???)