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's crazy ex-CFO investigates Overstock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Crazy Eddie movie not cool with fraud's former CFO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 May 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Why did Overstock's president and COO really resign? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Lululemon underscores the strength of short sellers' research

Lululemon underscores the strength of short sellers' research originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.