AOL Money & Finance

SamAntar posts

Feed

Crazy Eddie's crazy ex-CFO investigates Overstock

You'll never believe who's dropping dimes to the feds!

Sam Antar, formerly the CFO of Crazy Eddie, known in the New York area for over-the-top commercials that scared the hell out of kids (well, me at least), knows his way around a questionable balance sheet. For 15 years, he was the executive chef of book-cooking, ultimately taking a guilty plea to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. He stayed out of the clink by taking the stand on the government's side at a 1993 trial, ultimately sending his cousin, Eddie Antar to prison for seven years or so.

Crooks make the best cops, so to speak, and Antar is putting his skills to work. He's out hunting for accounting fraud and sending his analyses off to the SEC. On his blog, the former CFO laid out what he called a "bulletproof case" against Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) – a company that the SEC had been investigating since 2006. The inquiry has been reopened.

Continue reading Crazy Eddie's crazy ex-CFO investigates Overstock

Crazy Eddie movie not cool with fraud's former CFO

Danny Devito signed a deal with Eddie Antar to make a movie about the electronics chain turned securities fraud he ran in 1980s. The problem? Eddie's cousin Sam Antar, the former CFO of the company, is upset because he feels that the film will glamorize corporate malfeasance. Howard Sirota, the securities lawyer who won a $700 million settlement for Antar's victims that hasn't been paid off yet, is upset because he wants any money that comes from the film to go to the victims.

A lawyer for Devito told Fox Business that "There was a deal and that deal is terminated. Any script that is written, or movie produced, will be based on public domain events and information."

Sam Antar's advised Devito to "not glamorize an economic predator." Devito has said that Antar loved the "art of the deal more than money" but Antar disagrees: "Eddie Antar loved money more than his own family."

Check out the Fox Business interview below.

Why did Overstock's president and COO really resign?

As Tracy Coenen discussed earlier, Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK), co-founder, president and chief operating officer Jason Lindsey resigned and left the company's board of directors.

Lindsey had already retired once but came back, in CEO Patrick Byrne's own words, "when I screwed it up a couple years ago". Byrne added that "He's done a superb job. Now that it is back in a solid trailing twelve month cash-flow-positive position, he wishes to return to our previous arrangement. While Jason won't be as involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, he will still oversee special projects in a part-time capacity."

After Byrne's pat on the back and attaboys, the stock hit a new multi-year low in this morning's trading.

There are a few things to keep in mind here. As Gary Weiss wrote on his blog,

Lindsey says he is leaving because he is "ready to take a less active role in order to spend time on some outside ventures." Baloney. Note that he is leaving as director -- a position that surely requires no major heavy lifting in a board as supine as this one.

Sam Antar is also suspicious of the resignation that comes in the midst of an SEC investigation: "Was the SEC investigation of Overstock.com an undisclosed factor in Jason C. Lindsey's resignation?" Antar also discusses accounting questions surrounding Overstock.com, and comments from Mr. Lindsey on conference calls that raise questions about his involvement.

One thing's for sure: The market's reaction to Lindsey leaving doesn't suggest that traders buy Byrne's "everything is hunky dory" assertion that Lindsey left because he has restored the company to such great condition he is no longer needed in a full-time role.

Lululemon underscores the strength of short sellers' research

As Peter Cohan discussed earlier, shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) awere down more than 8% [earlier] today. A New York Times article mentioned that the seaweed content of Lululemon products, which are labeled as being made of 24% seaweed, is actually 0%.

According to newspaper, "The Times commissioned its test after an investor who is shorting Lululemon's stock - betting that its price will fall - provided Chemir's test results to The Times."

Short sellers get a lot of grief, but this story provides evidence of why I respect their research so much. Sell-side analysts operate on a research method based on trust; they generally parrot the claims made by management, and have well-deserved reputations for downgrading stocks after they lose most of their value.

Continue reading Lululemon underscores the strength of short sellers' research

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+44.2910,291.26
NASDAQ+15.822,166.90
S&P 500+5.501,098.51

Last updated: November 11, 2009: 10:31 PM

BloggingStocks Exclusives

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

Latest from BloggingBuyouts

WalletPop Headlines

AOL Business News

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Sponsored Links

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance