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NC | below is an excerpt from the link. this kinda stuff goes on all over the net.
http://www.stockwatch.com/newsit/newsit_newsit.aspx?bid=Z-C:*OSC-17...
OSC says Agoracom rigged forum discussions
2010-04-05 21:53 ET - Street Wire
by Janice Shell
The OSC's allegations
"The OSC's allegations centre on the Agoracom website, and specifically address management's administration of the discussion forums. According to the statement of allegations, between Sept. 1, 2006, and July 31, 2009, Mr. Tsiolis and Mr. Kondakos required their representatives, as part of their daily responsibilities, to post anonymously to the client forums using aliases. To post anonymously, the representatives created fictitious usernames and posed as investors blending in with other users, investors, and interested persons. Representatives had between 40-50 aliases (some had up to 200) and were required to make a requisite number of posts per hub per day or risk having their pay docked, says the OSC. On occasion, Agoracom staff conversed with themselves on the forums using different aliases.
The OSC explains further that Agoracom management and employees posted more than 24,000 anonymous messages on client and non-client hubs, using more than 670 aliases. The messages were promotional and advised buying or holding the stocks in question.
Some of these posts were made from Mr. Tsiolis's home.
According to the OSC, neither site members nor Agoracom clients knew that Agoracom staff were posting anonymously on the user forums. As part of the company's investor relations services, clients received monthly reports detailing the number of posts made on the client's hub, and the number of shareholder inquiries received. Clients were not told that many of those posts were written, and inquiries made, by Agoracom representatives.
Agoracom attempted to conceal its staff's posting activity, says the regulator. In March, 2009, an employee using the alias Goldilocks accidentally gave himself away. Mr. Tsiolis, pretending shock, put out an official statement in which he assured users that this was an isolated incident, and promised that the miscreant would be punished by a 60-day suspension.
The OSC views the conduct described above as misleading and fraudulent, believing its intention was to persuade clients to renew their contracts, to attract new clients, and to increase the value of Agoracom's stock options. It suggests the client companies would have been unhappy with Agoracom's practices.
Agoracom's response
Hours after the OSC action was made public, Mr. Tsiolis rushed to defend Agoracom, his partner Mr. Kondakos, his staff and himself. Mr. Tsiolis insists that far from engaging in dishonest practices, Agoracom has spoken out against the pitfalls of an industry plagued by fast-money boiler rooms, e-mail and fax spam, and chosen to focus on long-term online investor relations campaigns. He adds that the OSC allegation of fraud pertaining to traffic and activity on client HUBS is unfounded and without merit.
He does not precisely deny the allegations or the activities in question; he objects to their characterization as fraudulent. Explaining that the posts in question were meant to act as catalyst[s] to spark conversation, he offers his personal insight into the minds and habits of message board posters: "From our first days in school, to our first high-school dance, to the local town hall meeting, people are naturally afraid to be the first to speak or act. Small-cap investors are no different. I have heard time and time again about their fear of asking simple questions that might demonstrate a perceived lack of knowledge, or contributing information that isn't smart."
Agoracom was facilitating this." | |
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this goes on in most trade related forums
