Quick Take – AgFeed Halted, Rats Flee, Film at 11 (FEED)

At 1:30pm today, the 19th of December, another wretched Chinese reverse-merger company, AgFeed Industries (FEED) was halted, after issuing a telling 8k filing. AgFeed, previously discussed here and here, announced that:

The facts learned in the Investigation to date indicate that the Company’s financial accounting staff and management based in China engaged in accounting improprieties during 2009 and 2010 and the first two quarters of 2011 in connection with the Company’s Chinese legacy hog production business that they concealed from the Company’s management in the United States.

The people running the investigation must be real slow learners, since this was obvious, and the local management must be incredibly brazen to have continued the fraud until the middle of 2011, since it was clear in late 2010 that Chinese companies were under the microscope. There was a big management change at FEED in 2011, as well as wholesaling dumping of stock by the Chinese insiders. But foolish investors, with glazed eyes, having drunk the Kool-Aid, enamored with China seem to ignore such giant red flags. The filing continues:

When is a ‘Clinical Trial’ not a Clinical Trial? (ECTE)

Remember Echo Therapeutics (ECTE), that wonderful little reverse-merger bio-dreck company formerly known as Sontra and so loved by Florida bucket shops, Uri Landesman and Mark Nordlicht? The firm issued a press release last week trumpeting yet another “successful clinical trial”. The headline reads (emphasis ours):

Echo Therapeutics Announces Positive Results of Clinical Trial of its Symphony® Transdermal Continuous Glucose Monitoring (tCGM) System in Patients With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Being a curious sort, your author decided to take a look at the details of the clinical trial. Not by reading press releases, but by actually looking up the study. But when is a ‘Clinical Trial’ not a clinical trial? When you cannot find it on Clinicaltrials.gov perhaps? A search of the Clinicaltrials.gov database, try it yourself here, yielded absolutely no hits (see here) for any studies sponsored by Echo Therapeutics (ECTE). Yet, the company cheerfully continues in its press release:

Just where are those bank confirms? (ABAT)

In an 8k (get it here) filed yesterday, the 21st of November, Advanced Battery Technologies (ABAT), formerly a shell known as Buy It Cheap.com (BYCC), and now a sleazy Chinese reverse merger company run out of an office in New York City, revealed that not only did the NASDAQ request bank confirmations of the cash supposedly on the balance sheet, but that the company refused to provide the documentation.

The Staff of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC has determined to exercise its discretionary authority under Listing Rule 5101 to delist the Company’s common stock  based upon public interest concerns raised by the Company’s deliberate refusal to provide the requested bank confirmations. The notice states that, unless the Company files an appeal of the Staff’s determination, trading in the Company’s common stock will be suspended at the opening of business on November 30, 2011 and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will remove the common stockfrom listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The sons of ABAT, namely CHDA and CLTT, both managed to file their 10Qs, albeit late, yesterday and this morning. Catch up on the ABAT saga here, and let the delisting countdown begin….

The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of the author. The author may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. This blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

Quick Take – Advanced Battery Technologies halted – (ABAT)

At 2pm EDT today, the 15th of November, trading in shares of Advanced Battery Technologies (ABAT), one of a ring of Chinese reverse merger companies run out of an office in the Garment District in Manhattan (see here) was halted.

Just last week ABAT filed an NT-10Q indicating that it would be late with its required filing. Get it here.

Previously at BuyersStrike! we discussed the resignation of CFO Guohua Wan on the 25th of October. Catch up on that here.

Son-of-ABAT, China Lithium Tech (CLTT) filed an NT-10Q just yesterday, see it here. And, in what is sure to be a suprise, so did the third company in this circle of junk, China Digital Animation (CHDA), the filing is here. Shares of CLTT and CHDA still appear to be trading.

The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of the author. The author may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. This blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

Presenting Lewis Fan, ex-Rodman analyst? (RODM)

A mid-weekend peek at the Rodman & Renshaw (RODM) website shows that, as predicted on Friday by Bloomberg and Dow Jones, the sad excuse that passed for a research group on Chinese companies has been shuttered. Surprisingly, Amit Dayal is still listed as an employee, but the name of another Rodman Chinese analyst cheerleader is missing. Mr. Lewis Fan is nowhere to be found on the RODM website now, but here is a link to a cahced copy of the old site. Your author also captured a copy of Lewis‘ coverage list as of the 14th of October. It is a who’s-who of reverse merger wonders, not one of which Lewis thought was a sell.

The list is a cheerleading performance rivaling Matthew Kaplan‘s love of Repros Therapeutics. There is Irving Kau’s SEED, Bryant Cragun linked SCOK, Christopher Wenbing Wang‘s GSI, Zhongpin, a stock even Global Hunter doesn’t love, and even Jesse Glickenhaus‘ favourite stock Crazy Gareth and Gene Michael Bennett‘s China Agritech. Full list after the jump:

Not with a bang, but with a whimper, Rodman to shut Chinese “research” group.

According to a mid-day report from Bloomberg, famed PIPE shlock shop Rodman & Renshaw is shutting down its Chinese equity “research” group.

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — Rodman & Renshaw expected to close research operations in China-based stocks as interest deteriorates, DJ said, citing a person familiar.
• Rodman to make announcement Monday: DJ • Rodman didn’t immediately comment to DJ

One of Rodman’s chief Chinese stock pumpers analysts is Amit Dayal, who does not have a single sell recommendation in his entire active coverage list, which includes familiar names ABAT, a bunch of Westpark Capital WRASPs, Ping Luo favorite SinoHub, and AutoChina. Here is the complete list, according to Bloomberg:

Quick Take – Echo Therapeutics makes a hire (ECTE)

In the last week there has been a large spike in traffic, and many new readers, looking at some old BuyersStrike! posts about tiny bio-dreadful reverse merger company Echo Therapeutics (ECTE) fka Sontra Medical fka Choicetel. (Catch up on Echo here, here, here and here and here).

The traffic spike was so intriguing that your author decided to take a look and see if anything had changed Echo. And, sure enough, the company has issued press release after press release lately. For example, today Echo announced a key new hire:

Update – AgFeed Industries and Benjamin Wei aka Wey (FEED)

BuyersStrike! readers may recall this post here, from the middle of May, which introduced a wretched promoter of sleazy Chinese reverse mergers and one of his pets, and the surprise appearance of Dick Fuld.

The promoter is Benjamin Wey aka Benjamin Wei aka Benjamin Tianbing Wei, who is also responsible for such lovely Chinese companies as Harbin Electric, Inc. (HRBN) and China Natural Gas (CHNG), both of whom we explored yesterday and previously here.

Today Benny is the subject of a must-read, fantastic piece by Roddy Boyd at The Financial Investigator, available here.

One of Benny’s weaker deals is a wholly unimpressive Chinese reverse merger company called AgFeed Industries (FEED). In May there was a rash of insider selling by the Chinese nationals who formerly served as company management.

Last night, AgFeed announced, like so many frauds before, that a very Special Committee of directors has been formed to investigate accounting issues:

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — AgFeed Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:FEED – News) (“AgFeed” or the “Company”) announced today that its Board of Directors has established a special committee to investigate the accounting relating to certain of the Company’s Chinese farm assets (acquired during 2007 and 2008) used in its hog production business, as well as the validity and collectability of certain of the Company’s accounts receivables relating to its animal nutrition business in China and any other issues that may arise during the course of the investigation.

Perhaps the only question a reasonable investor, or a competent Board Member should ask is “Are the books as cooked through as properly prepared pork?” Is anyone even remotely surprised?

The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of the author. The author may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. This blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

Quick Take – Puda Coal fraud knows no bounds. (PUDA)

A revealing press release was issued shortly before the close of trading on the 26th of September by Chinese fraud Puda Coal, Inc. (PUDA). PUDA, which was spawned in a reverse merger with Vero Beach, FL based shell Purezza Group (PRZA) all the way back in July 2005, has been touched on before here at BuyersStrike!, as it is one of many crap companies owned by Chinese kool-aid drinker Peter Siris‘s Guerilla Capital.

PUDA, which has already been the subject of a summer long stock halt, a delisting, and a sham buyout offer, revealed that its CEO had resigned, and, by the way, forged documents which he had given to the SEC.

TAIYUAN, China, Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ — On September 23, 2011, the Board of Directors of Puda Coal, Inc. (the “Company”; Other OTC: PUDA.PK) received a letter from the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Liping Zhu, dated September 22, 2011. The letter states that Mr. Zhu resigns from his positions as the  Company’s CEO and as a director on the Board. The letter also states that, on August 29, 2011, Mr. Zhu provided a false letter from CITIC Trust Co. Ltd. (“CITIC”) to  the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and to counsel for Ming Zhao, Chairman of Puda Coal.

Not quite three weeks prior, on the 7th of September, the company issued this press release, revealing that Chairman Ming is in hot water:

TAIYUAN, China, Sept. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ — On September 1, 2011 the staff of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) informed Ming Zhao, the Chairman of the Board of Puda Coal, Inc., through a Wells Notice confirming an August 31, 2011 telephone conversation, of the SEC staff’s intention to recommend that the SEC file a civil action in federal court against Mr. Zhao, alleging that Mr. Zhao violated   certain provisions of the federal securities laws.

So which is the bigger surprise? That the management of a reverse-merger fraud like PUDA would lie to the SEC or that the SEC is actually trying to bring a case, one in which the Chinese respondents will likely never bother to show up.

The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of the author. The author may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. This blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

Quick Take – Harbin CEO Finally Says Something True (HRBN)

During today’s battle of the press releases over Chinese reverse merger company Harbin (HRBN), Chairman and CEO Yang Tianfu actually spoke some truth.

On the first of September, Alfred Little contacted HRBN‘s auditors, the world famous Frazer Frost, about one of Harbin‘s dirty land deals. Read more about that deal here and at Citron, here. Obviously knowing that details of this transaction were getting out, this morning Harbin issued a “call in yer certs” press release, begging shareholders to help “squeeze the shorts.”

Harbin Electric strongly encourages shareholders who wish to exercise their right to vote all of their shares held as of the Record Date at the Company’s upcoming Special Meeting to immediately contact their brokerage firm, bank custodian or other nominee to ensure that their shares are not out on loan as of the Record Date. Because of timing considerations, shareholders whose shares are on loan should instruct their brokers to take action several days in advance of the Tuesday, September 13, 2011 Record Date in order to have their shares returned to their accounts by the Record Date.

But the press release did not work, and Harbin shares traded down soon after. So, this afternoon out came another desperate press release. Sayeth Chairman Yang in reference to the suspicious land transaction:

this transaction structure is a common practice in China

Yes, Chairman Yang, fraud is all too common a practice in China.

The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of the author. The author may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. This blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.