China-Biotics Duped Investors With Fake Bank Statements and Contracts, Class Claims

China-Biotics Duped Investors With Fake Bank Statements and Contracts, Class Claims

By DEE MOORE 

     (CN) - A class action claims China-Biotics Inc. was infected with a toxic desire to artificially inflate its stock price and manipulate investors using a fake website and falsified bank statements and sales contracts.
     "It is clear from the above that the company fabricated a false sales contract; a false bank website and a false bank advice in furtherance of its scheme to fraudulently create the appearance of having achieved a 50% growth in 2011 revenue as announced on Feb. 9, 2011," the complaint states, citing information from the company's former independent auditor, BDO Limited.
     The auditors allegedly found gross irregularities that included a banking notice indicating math errors in the company's interest income because the company used different interest rates for deposits than those used by the national bank, and sales contracts with other companies that had the wrong purchaser's signatures affixed to them. While performing the audit, BDO claims that they were sent to a banking website created by the company to mislead them.
     According to the company website, China-Bionics is headquartered in Shanghi and is one of that country's "largest suppliers of probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial, live bacteria used as dietary supplements and food additives to improve intestinal health and digestion."
     However, when the company issued a press release announcing that it expected an incredible 50% increase in net sales for the 2011 fiscal year, things began to unravel. 
     "With our efforts and market prospects we are confident to achieve our full year sales target," the complaint states, quoting CEO Jinan Song.
     The company, however, was unable to file its annual 10-K form because irregularities and "serious issues" were found by the audit firm that would require the company "to take certain actions and provide additional information."
     China-Bionics filed a NT 10-K on June 10, 2011, explaining that it could not file a 10-K in a timely fashion and requested an extension for filing the 10-K.
     "The company cannot predict at this time when it will be in a position to take all the actions and provide all the information requested," China-Biotics stated in its NT 10-K.
     Plaintiffs claim that the company never intended to file a Form 10-K, and not "working to take all the actions and to provide the requested information" to its audit firm "as promptly as reasonably practical" as it claimed but rather "knew and concealed the fact that any bona fide earnings statement for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, would reflect a significant adverse change in the company's results of operations from the corresponding period for the previous fiscal year."
     On June 15, the NASDAQ halted trading of China-Biotics while waiting "for additional information." At the close of the day, shares were listed at $3.46. NASDAQ then sent a letter to the company five days later stating that because China-Biotics had yet to comply and file a 10-K, the company would no longer be listed, at which poing shares dropped to a $1.
     Though the company replied by filing a form 8-K and announced that it would be submitting a plan for compliance on or before July 15, 2011, the complaint states that this was never the board's intention because on June 23, they had "unanimously voted to voluntarily delist the company's common stock from the Nasdaq Global Stock Market." The company then received a letter from their audit firm resigning its position as independent auditor for China-Biotics.
     The suit names CEO Song Jinan, CFO Travis Tao Cai, COO Hui Chang and executive vice president Yan Li as well as numerous company board directors.
     The class is represented by Gregory Egleston in New York and Thomas McKenna of Gainey & McKenna also in New York.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012.

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/05/29/373.htm

GeoResources Accepted Bum $1 Billion Offer from Halcón Resources, Shareholders Claim

GeoResources Accepted Bum $1 Billion Offer from Halcón Resources, Shareholders Claim

By DEE MOORE 

     

      (CN) - GeoResources Inc. failed to "shop the company around" before accepting the $1 billion merger agreement proposed by Halcón Resources Corp., shareholders claim in a class action.
     "The Proposed Transaction is the product of a hopelessly flawed process designed to ensure the sale of GeoResources to Halcón. Primary beneficiaries of this deal are the company's largest shareholders who will be able to monetize their large otherwise illiquid GeoResources' holdings.
     "Additionally, management stands to gain extremely lucrative 'change of control payments' just for negotiating the proposed transaction and selling out the company's public shareholders," the complaint states.
     GeoResources and Halcón are independent oil and gas companies that develope and the acquire oil and gas reserves.
     The suit also names GeoResource president and CEO Frank A. Lodzinski as well as several members of the company's board and Halcón subsidiaries.
     "GeoResources stockholders will receive $20.00 in cash and 1.932 shares of Halcón Resources common stock for each share of GeoResources common stock they hold, representing consideration to GeoResources stockholders of $37.97 per share based on the closing price of Halcón Resources common stock on April 24, 2012," according to the complaint, citing the press release announcing the deal. .
     Last year, Geo saw a 43 percent increase in its adjusted net income over 2010 and "several analysts recently announced target price ranges for GeoResources of $39.00-$43.00."
     According to the complaint, the deal includes "onerous, preclusive deal protection devices that act collectively to prevent other bidders from making successful topping bids for the company," including a $27.8 million termination fee, a no shop/no talk clause and a matching rights provision.
     The suit was filed by Kip B. Shuman and Rusty E. Glenn of The Shuman Law Firm in Boulder, Colo. and Juan E. Monteverde and Shane T. Rowley of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP in New York.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/05/22/361.htm

JP Morgan Faces Suit Over $2 Billion Loss

JP Morgan Faces Suit Over $2 Billion Loss

By DEE MOORE 

     (CN) - Shareholders hit JP Morgan Chase & Co. with a class action after the financial holding giant's announced $2 billion in losses during the first quarter of this fiscal year.
     The class claims JP Morgan failed to disclose risky trades while telling shareholders that its derivatives were "hedges" that would help offset overall portfolio risk.
     "Every bank has a portfolio; in those portfolios you make investments that you think are wise to offset your expenditures. Obviously, it's a big portfolio . . . but at the end of the day that is our job to invest that portfolio wisely, intelligently over a long period of time to earn income and to offset other exposures that we have," the complaint states, quoting CEO James Dimon. The bank failed to disclose just how much money it had lost before it held an investor conference call on April 13, after the release of the bank's first quarter earnings statement earlier the same day.
     "We invest those securities in high grade, low risk securities," CFO Douglas Braunstein said during the call. "The vast majority of those are government or government backed and very high grade in nature.
     "We invest those in order to hedge the interest rate risk of the firm as a function of that liability and asset mismatch."
     Shareholders claim the statements made during the call were "materially false and misleading" because they failed to reveal the truly dangerous nature of the company's speculative trades and the enormous losses it had already experienced.
     A month later when JP Morgan filed its 10-Q, it was déjà vu. When the company held another conference call with analysts and investors to reveal that it had sustained "a multi-billion dollar trading loss" Dimon stated that "the synthetic credit portfolio was a strategy to hedge the firm's overall credit exposure, which is our largest risk overall in a stressed credit environment. We are reducing that hedge, but in hindsight the new strategy was flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed and poorly monitored."
     After the information was released, the company's stock fell $40.74 to $36.96 per share, according to the suit.
     Additionally, the Washington Post reported that the Justice Department has begun a probe into the bank's losses and the actions of its CEO. The investigation is supposedly in its early stages but sources told the Post that the feds are attempting to determine whether the losses were a result of a poorly executed hedge fund or if the bank was betting for its own profit.
     Regulators will be looking at the company to determine if it violated security laws by not writing down losses that resulted from trades.
     Lead plaintiff David Smith is represented by Samuel H. Rudman and David Rosenfeld of Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP of Melville, N.Y. and Darren J. Robbins and Dave Walton of Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP of San Diego.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/05/21/353.htm

Imperial Sugar Buyout Deal Not So Sweet, Shareholders Claim

Imperial Sugar Buyout Deal Not So Sweet, Shareholders Claim

By DEE MOORE 

          (CN) - Imperial Sugar shareholders don't think Louis Dreyfus Commodities' $6.35 per share buyout offer is a very sweet deal since the company's shares were trading well above the offer price in the recent past while analysts have pegged Imperial shares at as much as $20.
     Louis Dreyfus Commodities wants to buy ouststanding Imperial stock for $6.35 per share, a 57% premium on the closing price the day before the sale was announced, but plaintiff claims that the company is worth much more.
     The sugar company's stocks sold for $7.03 just two months before the sale was announced and one analyst has valued the stock as worth as much as $20 a share.
     The all cash sale will cost the buyers $203 million. The agreement requires LD Commodities to pick up the company's tab for any outstanding debt or pension liabilities. The sale was approved by a unanimous vote of the board who agreed to recommend that all shareholders sell their common stock holdings, the complaint states..
     "In approving the proposed acquisition, however, the individual defendants have breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty, good faith, due care and disclosure by, inter alia, agreeing to sell without first taking steps to ensure that plaintiff and class members would obtain adequate, fair and maximum consideration under the circumstances and locking up the proposed acquisition with deal protective mechanisms which ensures a rival bidder is not likely to emerge with the cards stacked so much in favor of LD Commodities."
     Imperial has had a financially difficult time recently. For the six-month period ending March 31, 2012, the Company reported a net loss of $10 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, for the same period last year. The company announced that its fiscal quarter losses totaled $6.5 million.
     The class is represented by Michael Ridulfo Kane Russell Coleman & Logan in Houston and Evan Smith and Marc Ackerman of Brodsky & Smith LLC in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/05/10/338.htm

Magna International Made Bogus Claims About European Profit Margins, Class Says

Magna International Made Bogus Claims About European Profit Margins, Class Says

By DEE MOORE 

     
     (CN) - Magna International made "materially false and misleading statements" and failed to disclose the company's true financial condition which resulted in weak European margins, pricing and operational issues, shareholders claim in a class action.
     Magna is one of the largest and most diversified suppliers of automotive components, systems and modules world-wide, the complaint states, and has manufacturing, engineering and sales operations in 26 countries. Its principal offices are in Ontario, Canada.
     Lead plaintiff City of Taylor General Employees Retirement Fund filed the action in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York and named founder and former chairman of the board Frank Stronach, CEO Donald Walker and CFO Vincent Galifi as defendants.
     According to the complaint, while Magna's European market was floundering, company operatives continued to make positive and optimistic statements about the company's financial status, but "lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company's European operations and business prospects."
     The complaint cites numerous examples of the company issuing mixed messages claiming that these "presented a misleading picture of Magna's business and prospects."
     Magna issued a press release in which Walker stated that, "As 2011 begins vehicle production is poised for future growth in a number of important markets for us . . . Accordingly our outlook reflects significant sales growth including expansion in high growth markets in the next few years ... We also have the balance sheet, cash flow generation, engineering and manufacturing, technologies and motivated workforce to support out growth initiatives around the world."
     Meanwhile that same day, CFO Galifi, who spoke at the January 2011 Deutsche Bank Securities Global Auto Industry Conference, had a very different message.
     "Our European segment has - underperformed recently and we're taking some actions to improve results there and we're going to see improvements in '11 and in the coming years ... In Europe, while we have returned to profitability margins in total have not met our expectations."
     When Magna's financial situation finally came to light, shares which had traded at $61.55 in January 2011 fell to $39.42 by August 2011.
     The class is represented by Samuel Rudman and David Rosenfeld of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP of Melville, N.Y. and Thomas Michaud of VanOverbeke Michaud & Timmony of Detroit.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012 

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/05/10/337.htm

Logging Poses Risk to Owl and Salmon, Groups Say

Logging Poses Risk to Owl and Salmon, Groups Say

By DEE MOORE 

     EUGENE, Ore. (CN) - A Willamette National Forest logging plan will harm the already threatened northern spotted owl and Chinook salmon, two environmental groups claim.
     The U.S. Forest Service failed to "analyze the environmental effects," or address "the scientific controversy," of the Goose Logging Project in the McKenzie River Watershed, according to the federal complaint.
     Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild say logging the 2,100-acre logging area, which includes the 9,700-acre Lookout Mountain area above McKenzie Bridge, would cause serious harm and ecosystem damage within streamside buffers and endangered species habitat.
     Any activity within the renowned McKenzie River basin should be for restorative purposes only, according to Cascadia Wildlands, which focuses on the forests along the Pacific Coast from northern California to south-central Alaska.
     Harvesting old growth trees in the forest could also harm the northern spotted owl, a threatened species that calls the area home, according to the groups.
     The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the northern spotted owl "occupies late-successional and old-growth forest habitat from southern British Columbia through Washington, Oregon and California," because these forests usually contain a moderate to high canopy which allow the birds to fly and have hollow trees or trees with cavities which makes for optimal roosting, according to the complaint.
     Its study allegedly found that the removal of old growth forests severely impacts these already threatened animals.
     "Logging, road building, and fuel treatments authorized by the Goose Project will remove or downgrade 454 acres of suitable nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for the threatened spotted owl," the lawsuit states. "The Goose project would also remove 371 acres of spotted owl dispersal habitat."
     "The Forest Service acknowledges that seven spotted owl nest sites would be harmed by Goose Project activities," the complaint states.
     Since the spotted owl competes with the more aggressive barred owl for food, the threat is even greater, according to the groups.
     Barred owls are a fairly new addition to the Pacific Northwest, the complaint says. They are more adaptable, more aggressive, have a wider variety in diet, and will even attack and kill their cousins.
     "Northern spotted owl populations have declined at the greatest rate in the north where barred owls have been present the longest," the complaint states. "Although northern spotted owl populations have been declining for many years, the presence of barred owls likely exacerbates the decline."
     The proposed clearing of streamside buffers in the McKenzie River could also decrease the population of Chinook salmon, another threatened species, according to the groups.
     "The McKenzie River is the only waterway in the Upper Willamette Basin to sustain any significant level of spring Chinook salmon," the complaint states.
     Work on the Goose project began three years ago, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
     Promising that the Goose project will reduce fire risk, provide timber, create jobs and improve wildlife forage, the agency says it has "responded to the concerns raised by residents and made numerous adjustments to the project; including modifying the project near private property boundaries."
     "The harvest plans purposely exclude cutting larger, older trees that are present within the larger planning area," according to the agency's website. "Harvest will occur of trees that are from 40-120 years, with the bulk of the harvest occurring of trees that are 60-80 years old. While definitions of Old Growth vary by region and the scientist making the analysis, generally in the McKenzie Bridge area a tree is not considered Old Growth until it is 200 years old. Some people have told us they are not in favor of any logging or would prefer we only thin plantations under the age of 80."
     The agency says it launched the project after conducting an environmental assessment, but the preservation groups want a more thorough look.
     "The Forest Service's failure to disclose and analyze scientific information counseling against the activities proposed by the agency, or that call into question the expected environmental effects of the proposed action, and to insure that the proposed alternative supports the purpose and need, is arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with law," according to the complaint.
     Claiming violations of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), the groups want an environmental impact statement and an injunction.
     "NEPA procedures must insure that environmental information is available to public officials and citizens before decisions are made and before actions are taken," the complaint states.
     Though the groups say some residents of the McKenzie Bridge area learned about the project only after seeing timber sale flagging near their properties, the government says it ran numerous notices in the local newspaper, The Register-Guard, held a public meeting, and made information available to interested parties.
     The groups are represented by Susan Jane M. Brown with Western Environmental Law Center in Portland. 

Copyright Courthouse News 2012

http://www.cnsenvironmentallaw.com/2012/05/10/808.htm

Allscripts Health Care Solutions Execs Failed to Warn of Post-Merger Growing Pains, Suit Says

Allscripts Health Care Solutions Execs Failed to Warn of Post-Merger Growing Pains, Suit Says

By DEE MOORE 

     (CN) - Allscripts Health Care Solutions Inc. faces a shareholder class action for allegedly misrepresenting the progress of its merger with Eclypsis Corp.
     Lead plaintiff Bristol County Retirement System claims company officials withheld information and deceived the investing public and artificially inflated its stock price.
     "Specifically, defendants made misleading statements regarding the company's progress in integrating AMHS' and Eclipsys' disparate systems and its ability to translate its fragmented product lines into revenues," the complaint states.
     The Delaware company provides healthcare-related information technology services and has its principal offices in Chicago. The complaint names current CEO Glen E. Tullman and CFO William J. Davis CFO as defendants.
     The company's chairman and CFO werdly e allegeaware of the problem but concealed it from shareholders and that there was in-fighting among various senior level management members following the merger.
     When Allscripts announced its First Quarter 2012 financial results on April 26 it delivered an unsettling blow to its investors. It then followed it up with additional bad news that the company's CFO had quit and its Chairman of the Board had been fired.
     "Allscripts filed a Form 8-K with the SEC previewing its operating results for the three months ending March 31, 2012. The Company reported non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.12 - sharply below the trend implied by the Company's guidance of full-year EPS of between $1.06 and $1.12 for 2012 issued on February 16," the complaint states.
     The company held a conference call Q & A session later that day with traders and corporate officials hoping to mitigate the problems. It was at this time, according to the complaint that, the CEO finally let the cat out of the bag and revealed just how dire the situation is for investors.
     "Our overall results were primarily driven by lower than expected sales and an unfavorable sales mix. This directly impacted both revenue and profit," the complaint states. "In reaction to this news ... Allscripts' share price fell by $5.72 per share, or 35.70 percent, to close at $10.30 per share on volume more than 30 times greater than the average during the Class Period and six times greater than that of any other day during the Class Period."
     The company reported that its total revenues climbed from $548.44 million prior to May 31, 2009 to $1.44 billion as of Dec. 31, 2011.
     The complaint was filed in the Northern District of Illinois. Bristol County Retirement System is represented by John Tangren of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC in Chicago and Christopher J. Keller, Michael W. Stocker and Rachel A. Avan of Labaton Sucharow LLP in New York.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/05/09/327.htm

H&R Block Subsidiary Settles With SEC

H&R Block Subsidiary Settles With SEC

By DEE MOORE 

     (CN) - H&R Block agreed to pay a fine of $28.2 million to settle SEC charges against its subsidiary Option One Mortgage Company for misleading investors and failing to disclose the severe financial condition of many subprime residential mortgage backed securities offerings.
     According to the commission, "Option One was one of the country's largest subprime lenders. In its fiscal year 2006, Option One originated nearly $40 billion in subprime mortgage loans."
     Located in Irvine, Calif., the company is now known as Sand Canyon Corp. It is an indirect, wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiary of H&R Block. From 1993 until 2008 the company was in the business of originating, sponsoring, selling and servicing subprime mortgage loans. It changed its name in 2008 and sold its servicing business.
     Option One had promised investors that it would repurchase or replace mortgages that became a liability to its investors, according to the SEC.
     "The offering documents for the RMBS represented to investors that Option One was obligated to repurchase or replace any mortgage loan in the pools collateralizing the RMBS for which there was a breach of a representation or warranty that materially and adversely affected the value of the loan or the RMBS investors' interest in the loan," the complaint states.
     "The offering documents also contained risk disclosures that omitted important information about Option One's financial condition. The offering documents misled investors about Option One's precarious financial condition," the complaint adds.
     "Option One's financial condition deteriorated significantly as its large subprime mortgage lending business suffered from the collapse of the U.S. housing market. The company nonetheless concealed from investors that its perilous finances created risk that it would not be able to fulfill its duties to repurchase or replace faulty mortgages in its RMBS portfolios," said Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, Robert Khuzami in a press release.
     According to the SEC, when the market started failing the company experienced a decline in revenues as well as significant losses and was facing hundreds of millions of dollars in margin calls from its creditors.
     At the time Option One offered and sold the securities, the company depended on H&R Block to provide it with financing to be able to meet these calls and repurchase obligations. But the company failed to tell its investors that H&R Block was under no obligation to provide that funding.
     The SEC further alleged that H&R Block never guaranteed Option One's loan repurchase obligations and that Option One's mounting losses threatened H&R Block's credit rating at a time when it was negotiating a sale of Option One.
     Though the company appeared to be stable, and represented itself as such, in reality the company executives knew they were in hot water. the SEC alleges.
     "Option One and its senior officers knew or should have known" that the company was "experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the decline in the subprime mortgage market, could not meet its loan repurchase obligations on its own due to its deteriorating financial condition, and needed its parent company . . . to continue providing voluntary financial support to maintain its operations and meet its escalating loan repurchase obligations," the complaint states.
     Option One didn't admit or deny the commission's allegations when it agreed to disgorge more than $14 million, pay more than $3 million in prejudgment interest and pay a pentalty of $10 million, according to an SEC press release.
     The investigation was conducted by the SEC's Enforcement Division's Structured and New Products Unit and was led by Kenneth Lench and Reid Muoio of the Chicago Regional Office.
     The investigative attorneys were Daniel Ryan, Michael Wells, Anne McKinley, and Robert Burson along with litigation counsel Jonathan Polish and John Birkenheier in the Chicago Regional Office.
     The complaint was filed in the Western Division of the U.S. District Court Central District of California.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/04/30/316.htm

Ohio AG Pursues State Securities Law Claims Against BP for Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Ohio AG Pursues State Securities Law Claims Against BP for Deepwater Horizon Disaster

By DEE MOORE 

          (CN) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a complaint for "common law fraud and violations of the Ohio Securities Law" against BP Plc, also known as British Petroleum, on behalf of four state pension funds, claiming that the oil company gave false and misleading information to its investors. The pension funds were invested heavily in the oil company at the time of the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
     "BP Exploration provided materially false and misleading filings to the Minerals Management Service ("MMS") during the Relevant Period that were disseminated into Ohio," the 196-page complaint states.
     In a press release issued on April 19, DeWine said, "The BP Deepwater Horizon spill caused the tragic loss of life and extensive environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico.
     Another result of this immense disaster was to Ohio pension systems providing retirement benefits for current and future retirees that invested in BP in good faith and were adversely affected when their stock price plummeted."
     DeWine alleges that the pension funds lost in the "tens of millions of dollars."
     "As the truth regarding the lack of safety and integrity of BP's operations emerged . . . BP's ordinary shares plunged in value," the complaint states.
     The suit was filed in Cuyahoga County's Common Pleas Court, naming the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, School Employees Retirement System of Ohio and the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund as plaintiffs in the case. These groups collectively represent over 1.6 million former and current state employees.
     The complaint names as defendants BP Plc in London, BP America Inc., BP Exploration & Production Inc., former BP Plc CEO Anthony Hayward, former COO of BP Exploration & Production Doug Suttles and former BP Exploration & Production CEO Andrew Inglis.
     "The Company highlighted the safety and success of its operations in the Gulf of Mexico, emphasizing the fact that it was one of the largest deepwater operators in the world. At the same time BP failed to disclose that it: had not implemented safety measures for its Gulf of Mexico operations; had disregarded safety warnings about its operations; and lacked robust risk management processes, which left the Company dangerously exposed to a catastrophic accident," the complaint states.
     The lawsuit also alleges BP's statements regarding the size of the oil spill were knowingly false and misleading. Besides the loss of life and extensive environmental damage caused by the spill, the disaster hurt Ohio's pension systems that had "invested in BP in good faith and were adversely affected when (its) stock price plummeted," DeWine said in the release.
     The complaint cites an alleged lack of a sound and adequate safety plan that multiple BP executives had assured investors would be put in place as a result of a series of safety issues before the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
     This isn't the first lawsuit the AG has filed against BP. DeWine filed a class action lawsuit against the company in January 2011 in the U.S. District Court in Houston. The city is the site of the central offices of BP America Inc. and BP Exploration & Production, both of which are Delaware corporations.
     The lawsuit was filed two months after a Texas federal judge dismissed claims involving ordinary shares purchases in BP Plc.
     The judge overseeing the federal lawsuit let stand class claims involving purchases of BP's New York-traded American Depository Shares, but dismissed those involving BP ordinary shares as not being covered by federal securities law. The new state lawsuit relates to BP ordinary shares, the press release states.
     "With this lawsuit, we will pursue claims under Ohio law on behalf of Ohio's teachers, school workers, first responders and public service current and future retirees," added Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012
http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/04/26/310.htm

Ponzi Targeted Persian Jews, SEC Claims

Ponzi Targeted Persian Jews, SEC Claims

By DEE MOORE 

     
     (CN) - The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an emergency court order against a man whose ponzi scheme targeted the Persian-Jewish communities in Los Angeles, Florida and Texas.
     The commission claims that Shervin Neman and Neman Financial raised more than $7 million "offering purported investment opportunities, through Neman Fund, in 1.) foreclosed residential properties; 2.) Facebook shares in private transactions; and 3.) various highly-anticipated initial public offerings." These claims included initial public offerings for General Motors, Groupon, LinkedIn and Angie's List, according to the complaint.
     "Neman deceived members of his own community to raise money in this fraudulent Ponzi scheme," said Michele Wein Layne, Associate Regional Director of the SEC's Los Angeles Office. "By exploiting investors' trust in him, Neman was continually able to raise more money to pay back existing investors and finance an extravagant lifestyle."
     SEC investigations found that Neman had told investors that he bought foreclosed residential properties and flipped them to committed buyers at a profit. He also told investors that they would see a 10-18% return on their investments within 30 to 180 days.
     "In reality, Neman is operating a Ponzi scheme, and has used more than 99% of the funds raised from investors to either make Ponzi payments to investors or to pay his personal and business expenses," the complaint states.
     Neman allegedly used more than $5.4 million to pay principal and purported profits to existing investors using funds from new investors or new investments from other existing investors. Except for a single $66,000 investment in General Motors' IPO in November 2010, Neman has not used investor funds in the manner he said he would.
     "While Neman used the bulk of investor funds to perpetrate a Ponzi scheme, he used another nearly $1.6 million to support a lavish lifestyle for himself and his wife, and to pay business and other expenses.," the complaint states.
     Investor funds were used to pay for his wedding, honeymoon, his wife's $60,000 engagement ring, luxury cars, VIP tickets to entertainment venues, jewelry, hotels and restaurants. He also used funds to lease and redecorate a new office in an upscale building in Century City, hire two administrative assistants and pay legal and other professional expenses.
     Neman Financial LP is a California limited partnership formed by Neman in June 2010 and located at the same address as Neman Adviser. Neither Neman Fund nor its securities offering are registered with the commission in any capacity, the commission claims.
     The complaint was filed in the U. S. District Court of the California Central District by Molly White and J. Cindy Eson.

Copyright Courthouse News Service 2012

http://www.cnssecuritieslaw.com/2012/04/26/309.htm

Guitar summit offers opportunity to share music, knowledge

Guitar summit offers opportunity to share music, knowledge

Professional musician Jack Hopfinger hosts event on Tuesday nights

Jack Hopfinger leads an acoustic guitar summit at the Triangle Inn every Tuesday night. The guitar circle is open to all musicians no matter what their skill level.  

Written by
Dee Moore
Statesman Journal freelancer

Professional musician Jack Hopfinger has many musical influences: jazz, funk, blues, rock and fusion. He shares all of these every Tuesday night at a guitar summit hosted by the Triangle Inn, 3215 Liberty Road S.
The unplugged guitar circle is open to all musicians and draws beginners and professionals alike. It is an opportunity to share music and knowledge in an intimate setting.
"The idea came from a similar get-together," Hopfinger said.
"I was really intrigued by it," he said.
The summit gives beginners and intermediate players an opportunity to play and perform without the pressure of competing with professional musicians. In this setting they can participate and see that they are not alone in the learning curve.
"The acoustic summit is a great way to share songs and music with both musicians and non-musicians," he said. "We do it for free. We do it for fun. I don't make it where it's a lesson."
Hopfinger shares cords to the songs he plays and gives advice when asked.
"It's a big sing-along. They try to lead as best they can," he said.
He has musicians other than guitarists come to play. Recently a drummer show up and drummed on a bucket, and a saxophonist came on the same night to play along. He tries to keep the event inclusive though the focus is on guitars
Hopfinger plays the bass guitar and harmonica as well. He is a member of four bands: The Flextones, a classic rock band that plays originals and some covers; Hopfinger, a rock 'n' roll cover band; Pound For Pound, a funk, blues, fusion mix and Don't Know Jack, the house band at Mac's Place in Silverton.
When he isn't performing he teaches music at Weathers Music store where he rents studio space.
The 45-year-old California native came to Oregon in 1996 when friend and band mate John Chinburg returned home to Keizer. His parents had recently relocated to Ashland, which added to the appeal. After visiting Oregon he decided it was the place to be.
"I wanted a big change in my life," he said.
A graduate of the Chemeketa Community College automotive services program, Hopfinger never really felt at home with the 9 to 5 routine. His heart in his music.
Between the money earned from the gigs his bands play and teaching students, he was doing better than just making ends meet. He bought a home and no longer had to struggle to follow his muse.
"I never thought I could do this for a living," he said with a smile, still amazed at the idea. "You have to have faith in yourself."
Hopfinger expects to continue to play and perhaps tour with one of his bands.
He no longer expects to be the next Eric Clapton.
"My interest in fame has diminished over time," he said
Hopfinger has been playing music since he was 9 years old, playing in middle school through high school band, at block parties and in talent contests.
He learned music theory by playing standards by jazz masters, he said.
According to Hopfinger, music all began to make sense for him when he had a breakthrough.
"What really got the ball rolling for me was connecting the cords."
When this became second nature, talent took over. Now he tries to give this gift to the guitar summit participants as well as his students.


Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100929/COMMUNITIES/10816000

South Salem landmark still is standing

South Salem landmark still is standing

Site once known as Buck's Liberty Market serves as Mail Depot

Dennis Miller, owner of the old Buck's Liberty Market that is now home to the Mail Depot, has expanded and added a second floor to the South Salem landmark. / Dee Moore | Statesman Journal freelancer

Written by Dee Moore

Statesman Journal freelancer

Built in the late 1930s, the site of Buck's Liberty Market, 4742 Liberty Road S., has been many things to many people over the years.
Originally surrounded by fields when South Salem was still farm land, it was a landmark on the trip to and from the cannery for employees.
It now serves as the Mail Depot.
"It was called Liberty Market and carried a variety of foods. It had a meat counter, and it was know for its penny candy," said Dennis Miller, the building's owner and general contractor. He and his wife, Vicki, own and run the postal store.

"According to the original deed, 1939 was when it was built," he said.
The store was the only grocers in the area for the locals, so it became the focal point of the community and a gathering place, he said.
Miller often has area residents come in and reminisce about the good old days when they were children in the 1940s and 50s and patronized the store's soda fountain.
The building had staying power, and Miller saw the structure's potential from the start. But, perhaps there was a bit of sentimentality in his assessment as well.
"I am one of those people who hates to see things destroyed," he said.
Once a 3,200-square-foot red rectangle that resembled a barn, the structure has grown to much larger proportions and in its current state is cream, construction white, lumber brown and concrete grey.
It has expanded outward by 22 square feet and upward by 3,000 square feet. The new second floor sits astride the old building, and the new addition includes five offices. These, added to the two office spaces on the main floor and two in the basement, will expand the old store's viability and use.
Miller has turned part of the basement into underground parking and added a loading dock for postal vehicles and deliveries.
According to Miller, folks who drop by to see what's going on usually have one or two things to say about the changes; "The old country store is gone" or "I love your building."
"When we leased this space, we changed the name of our business to the Mail Depot," Miller said. The store had reminded him of a turn-of-the-century train station. He has taken this vision and run with it.
"It will take on the flavor of a train station," Miller said. When completed, the structure will be outfitted with fixtures to accentuate this resemblance and will be christened Liberty Station. Barring any obstacled, he hopes to have the project completed and open for leasing the first week of November.
Miller would like to see the building become a gathering place once again, a neighborhood fixture, he said. It could be a place where locals stop in to pick up and drop off mail, do business, buy coffee and stop to chat a bit, just like the old days.


Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100929/COMMUNITIES/1081
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20101010/NEWS/108160002

Dallying with dahlias

Giant dahlias (left) grow at Frey's Dahlia Farm in Turner. Bob and Candy Spelbrink (below) of Siletz place an order at farm. The Spelbrinks are thinking of expanding their home garden and selling bouquets of dahlias. / Special to the Statesman Journal

Written by
Dee Moore
Statesman Journal freelancer

The colors are vibrant, like a painter's palette. The dahlias sweep across your field of vision, making you look back at them again, more slowly this time.
Pink petals speckled with yellow are mixed among orange star-shaped flowers at Frey's Dahlias in Turner. There are huge red flowers resembling pompoms and others that look like they came straight out of a Tim Burton movie.
There are 5,000 or more plants and more than 200 varieties — all dahlias — on 2 acres. Every fall, the flowers spring into glory, blooming just at autumn's first blush to remain until the first frost.
Owner Sharon Frey has grown her lovelies for more than 19 years. She opens her farm to the public each fall. There is little time, though, to view the dahlias in all their glory. Usually by the middle of October, they've lost their luster, she said. They die at the first hard freeze.
At their peak, the flowers are in big demand for festive occasions such as late summer and early fall weddings. Frey often supplies five to six weddings a month.
She never had intended to become a horticultural entrepreneur, she said. What began as a part-time job for a stay-at-home mom became a full-time business. It wasn't her idea to grow dahlias.
"I'd never heard of them," Frey said. She and her husband had just moved to Turner, and she was looking for work. "I wanted something I could do and still stay at home with my kids," she said.
The youth pastor at her church suggested growing dahlias. His family at one time had farmed the flowers. With his guidance and a mailing list, she started a small business on a half-acre.
Frey hasn't been alone in her endeavor. She has had the support of her husband, Bob, who is active in the family business.
"He does the field work, irrigation and tractor driving." she said.
Frey enjoys the people part of her job the most.
"It's a fun aspect that I can share them with people who wouldn't ever have had the chance to see them," she said.
The business is year-round and can be hard work. The tubers have to be dug up and then separated in the late fall or early winter, which is a cold and muddy chore. They are then prepared and stored waiting to be sold early the following year. Her dahlia tubers travel to gardeners around the world. Then the whole growing season starts again.
The most difficult part of her business has been educating the public, she said.
"Growing them was something people thought they couldn't do," Frey said.
She has been working to change this viewpoint by visiting gardening clubs and organizations, teaching the art of growing dahlias.
The advice she gives gardeners is simple: Planting takes place in April or May, or when the is ground is not too cold and moist. Prepare the soil two weeks before planting. The plants like a well-drained area with at least a half-day's sun. The soil should have a medium PH level. Peat moss and bone meal are good soil additives, but Frey warns not to use too much because it will kill the tuber.
While prepping for planting, she suggests checking for insects such as earwigs and sow bugs, which will eat the bulbs. They should be planted about 3 inches deep and placed on their side with growth buds pointed up.
Maintenance is not difficult. Weekly watering should be long and deep. Water more when the temperature becomes high and there has been little rain. Pinching the center of the sprout out when it reaches 6 to 8 inches tall will ensure a bushier plant and more blooms.
Frey advises gardeners to fertilize twice: once when the plants are 12 inches high and again right when they are starting to bloom.


Copyright Statesman-Journal
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100924/RL/108160005

Biodiesel co-op offers greener, local alternative fuel

Biodiesel co-op offers greener, local alternative fuel

Flower Power set up member service in 2005

Mike and Joni Brewer, members of Flower Power Biodiesel Co-op in South Salem, pour used vegetable oil through a filter. Next, the oil will be poured into their truck's gas tank. / Dee Moore | Statesman Journal freelancer

Written by
Dee Moore
Statesman Journal freelancer

Imagine walking out to your car a bottle of vegetable oil in hand. You take the lid off the bottle and pour it into your empty gas tank. You start your car and drive away.
For owners of cars with diesel engines, it's a real option.

To that end, in 2005 a group of residents formed a biodiesel co-op in South Salem called Flower Power. On Sept. 11, the members hosted a Biodiesel Drive-In: a car show, potluck dinner and movie to share knowledge about biodiesel.
"Annual membership dues are $35, and the current price per gallon for biodiesel is $4.48, including federal and state road taxes. We are open to new members," spokesperson James Santana said.
The co-op has 38 members who are all willing to pay more per gallon in a quest to create less pollution and to spend their money locally, Santana said.
"Members use biodiesel for different reasons: carbon reduction, building the local economy, foreign wars, Deepwater Horizon, Exxon-Mobil's record profits and the smell of donuts," Santana said, joking about members who use reclaimed cooking oil purchased from local restaurants.
The diesel engine, created in 1893, was meant to run on a variety of fuel sources.
One of the alternatives is vegetable oil, which can be used in nearly all diesel engines. Biodiesel, on the other hand, is a product produced from vegetable oil that also can be used in diesel engines.
The co-op purchases American Society of Testing and Materials-certified biodiesel made from99 percent recycled vegetable oil from Oregon-based Sequential-Pacific Biodiesel.
Mike Romanini, owner of Prestige Auto Repair and a biodiesel user, was on hand at the drive-In to answer mechanical questions about switching to biodiesel.
Romanini's shop works on Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Mini vehicles. Many of his customers have diesel engines in their cars. Half of those use biofuels, he said.
Romanini said that most of what he has learned about using biodiesel has come from his customers. He spends a lot of his time questioning them about their car's engine performance, gas mileage, repair issues and modifications.
"I talk to people. I am learning more from the people who use biodiesel," he said.
What he has found is that most of his customers have seen little change in their car's engine performance or gas mileage.
Switching to biofuels from fossil fuels does not require much effort, he said. All latex hoses must be replaced with synthetic ones, and most of the time, the vehicles need to be equipped with a heater to keep the fuel warm so it doesn't become thick and sluggish.
Some owners have found that biodiesel loosens gunk in the fuel lines, which then clogs the motor. Changing the fuel filter within the first month of biofuel use is recommended by many.
Joni and Mike Brewer of South Salem own a small farm, a few horses and a large Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck. They use the truck to haul a horse trailer and a camper. The truck runs on vegetable oil.
"I never really noticed a difference," Mike Brewer said, referring to his truck's engine performance.
The couple track mileage and have seen no change. The truck's speed and towing ability haven't changed either, they said.
Joni Brewer picks up non-hydrogenated, used cooking oil from a restaurant.
The pair processes the oil at home in the garage. Their system is simple but effective, and their filter is just a leg from a pair of blue jeans.
Although this grand experiment began as a way to save money, they are pleased with the difference they are making in the world.
"We are not putting out the pollutants," Joni Brewer said.


Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100922/COMMUNITIES/108160006

Idea blooms into full-time business

Idea blooms into full-time business

Public is welcome to tour colorful Frey's Dahlias in Turner

Sharon Frey shows her blooms at Frey's Dahlias in Turner. / Dee Moore | Statesman Journal freelancer

Dahlias grow at Frey's Dahlias in Turner. The dahlias will be in bloom for several weeks, and the farm's owner invites visitors to take a tour of the flowers. / Dee Moore | Statesman Journal freelancer

Written by
Dee Moore
Statesman Journal freelancer

The colors are vibrant, like a painter's palette. The dahlias sweep across your field of vision, making you look back at them again, more slowly this time.
Pink petals speckled with yellow are mixed among orange star-shaped flowers at Frey's Dahlias in Turner. There are huge red flowers resembling pompoms and others that look like they came straight out of a Tim Burton movie.
There are 5,000 or more plants and more than 200 varieties — all dahlias —on just two acres. Every fall, these flowers spring into their glory, blooming just at autumn's first blush to remain until the first frost.
Owner Sharon Frey has been growing her lovelies for more than 19 years. She opens her farm to the public each fall, allowing visitors to stroll through the rows. There is little time though to view the dahlias in all their glory. Usually by the middle of October, they've lost their luster, she said. They die at the first hard freeze.
At their peak the flowers are in big demand for festive occasions such as late summer and early fall weddings. Frey often supplies five to six weddings a month. Because the cut flowers are so popular she keeps a booth at the Salem flower market.
Frey also has a large display at the state fair every year to "get them out there" in the public eye.
She never had intended to become a horticultural entrepreneur, she said. What began as a part-time job for a stay-at-home mom became a full-time business. It wasn't her idea to grow dahlias.


"I'd never heard of them," Frey said. She and her husband had just moved to Turner, and she was looking for work. "I wanted something I could do and still stay at home with my kids," she said.
The youth pastor at her church suggested growing dahlias. His family at one time had farmed the flowers. With his guidance and a mailing list, she started a small business at her home on half an acre.
Frey hasn't been alone in her endeavor. She has had the support of her husband, Bob, who is active in the family business.
"He does the field work, irrigation and tractor driving." she said.
Besides having a beautiful view and the joy of watching her flowers grow, Frey enjoys the people part of her job the most.
"It's a fun aspect that I can share them with people who wouldn't ever have had the chance to see them," she said.
The business is year-round and not always a glorious bouquet. It can be hard work. The tubers have to be dug up and then separated in the late fall or early winter, which is a cold and muddy chore. They are then prepared and stored waiting to be sold early the following year. Her dahlia tubers travel to gardeners across the nation and the world. Then the whole growing season starts again.
The most difficult part of her business has been educating the public, she said. There is a misperception that dahlias are difficult to grow.
"Growing them was something people thought they couldn't do," Frey said.
She has been working to change this erroneous point of view by visiting gardening clubs and organizations, teaching the art of growing dahlias.
The advice she gives gardeners is simple: Planting takes place in April or May or when the is ground is not too cold and moist. Prepare the soil two weeks before planting. The plants like a well-drained area with at least half a day's sun. The soil should have a medium PH level. Peat moss and bone meal are good soil additives, but Frey warns not to use too much because it will kill the tuber.
While prepping for planting, she suggests checking for insects such as earwigs and sow bugs, which will eat the bulbs. They should be planted about 3 inches deep and placed on their side with growth buds pointed up.
Maintenance is not very difficult. Weekly watering should be long and deep. Water more when the temperature becomes very high and there has been little rain. Pinching the center of the sprout out when it reaches 6 to 8 inches tall will insure a bushier plant and more blooms.
Frey advises gardeners to fertilize twice: once when the plants are 12 inches high and again right when they are starting to bloom.
The reward for all this work is a beautiful fall garden full of color, as Frey can attest.


Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100922/COMMUNITIES/108160007

State's fallen firefighters honored

One name added to memorial wall; event stresses safety

The Combined Honor Guard participates Thursday in the Oregon Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony at the Oregon Public Safety Academy. / Kobbi R. Blair | Statesman Journal

Written by
Dee Moore
Statesman Journal freelancer

"We remember every name that was lost," said Chaplain Steve Brodehl of Hillsboro Fire and Rescue during the invocation.

Chief of the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association, Taylor Robertson, reminded members of the audience why they were there.
"Remember that those (we honor) have given the ultimate sacrifice," he said.
Coquille Fire Department firefighter Leland Roger Marshall's name was added to the memorial Thursday. Marshall died while on duty during department exercises in 1969. He had served more than 18 years as a volunteer.

His friend and former colleague Richard Hopkins spoke about his friend.
"He was pretty well-known," Hopkins said. The town was hit hard by his passing, he said.
A roll call was taken of the fallen Oregon firefighters. From out of the ranks of the honor guard a voice called out, "The roll has been taken. There is no reply."
Robertson pointed out the importance of preventing new names being added to the memorial wall.
"Focus on those that are still doing the job out there," he said. "(The job) is not something you take for granted. It's not something safe. There is a lot about attitude that makes the difference in how we perform. Do you have a hero mentality? We need safe heroes in the fire service."
The honor guard placed two wreaths at the memorial, one representing firefighters who had died and one signifying those who had survived, said Eriks Gabliks, DPSST director.
Todd Butterfield of Newport Fire Department attended the ceremony with his son Nick Jamison of Sauvie Island Fire Department.
Butterfield has been fighting fires since 1981, he said. Jamison has been fighting fires since he was 16. He is now 20.
Butterfield isn't overly worried about his son, he said. Jamison started off volunteering at Newport Fire Department with his father.
Butterfield said he is aware of the risks that come with the job.
"I've seen enough injuries," Butterfield said. Though he hasn't lost anyone while on duty, "This puts a real emphasis on safety."
"(Attending the ceremony is) something I need to do ... in recognition of those who served," he said.


Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100917/NEWS/108160008 

Family farm fills stand with organic foods

Family farm fills stand with organic foods

Minto Island Growers' bounty goes straight from fields to consumers

Minto Island Growers farm stand offers a variety of locally grown organic produce. / Dee Moore | Statesman Journal freelancer

Written by
Dee Moore
Statesman Journal

From the road, adventurous buyers are greeted by the sight of cornstalks waving in the breeze and workers picking produce out in the field.
It's likely one of those workers is Elizabeth Miller co-owner of Minto Island Growers, and she will be harvesting the fruits of her labors. This bounty will go straight from the field to the farm's produce stand.
The farm follows the National Organic Program guidelines for all of its vegetable production and received its organic certification from Oregon Tilth earlier this year, Miller said.
All produce is grown from seeds that have not been genetically modified. 

Elizabeth Miller, co-owner of Minto Island Growers, and volunteer Peter Isaacson of South Salem weigh a customer's produce.  / Dee Moore | Statesman Journal freelancer

"With farming, you just have to farm to know it. We mostly learned this kind of farming by doing," Miller said.
Sun glitters off the white canopy covering the farm stand. Under its roof are tables laden with freshly picked, organically grown fruits and vegetables, a palette of colors and a plethora of choices. Potatoes, carrots, beets, cantaloupe, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, shallots, chard, onions, garlic, the list goes on and there is often more than one variety of each veggie.
There is even a food cart that specializes in homemade food prepared from produce grown on the farm. Additional food items come from other local farms, dairies and meat companies. 
Miller and her partner, Chris Jenkins, had hoped to open the farm stand earlier this summer but ran into quite a bit of red tape trying to meet the city's and county's requirements for food sales and service. Now with the complications out of the way, Miller hopes to open the stand earlier this next summer.


"It was a learning experience," It was "five, 10 times the work and time" than she had expected.
Even though she grew up on a farm, Miller didn't realize and how time consuming running a farm is. 
"There is always more to do. It's a really complex business model."
When she isn't working in the fields she is marketing, managing employees and volunteers or working on the books, accounts, licensing, fees or county and city ordinances. She also updates the website or the Facebook page. 
On top of this, she has to remain focused on farming.
"We need to continue to grow enough and good quality products," she said.
Miller isn't alone with this burden; Jenkins is just as overloaded. But the couple love what they do.
"I've been kinda preparing for this all my life," Miller said.
She learned early on what hard work really is. From the time they were in the eighth grade, she and her siblings were expected to spend their summers working on the family farm. 
"I learned a work ethic," she said. 
Miller and Jenkins met while attending Colorado College in Colorado Springs. She earned her degree in anthropology, and he earned his in environmental sciences.
"When I got out of college I wasn't quite ready" to return to farming, she said. Instead she worked other jobs until she could no longer deny the pull of the land. When she realized what it was she wanted to do, she and Jenkins decided to take an internship at an eco-friendly farm in California.
"I needed to go away and learn how to farm from a different farmer," Miller said. Now she is putting a lifetime of knowledge to work.
Miller and Jenkins didn't have to start completely from scratch; they are leasing the farm from her parents, the owners of Mount Jefferson Farms.
But although all the ground work had been laid, Jenkins and Miller had to begin the arduous process of converting the farm to organic growing practices. They did get a head start thanks to Miller's father, who had begun to allow fields to lie fallow and plant cover crops.
In addition to growing produce, the couple also have a nursery production specializing in native plants, and they conduct forestry research, grow mint and experiment their own unique blend of tea grown on the farm.


Copyright Statesman-Journal 2010
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100915/COMMUNITIES/108160009