Menu
Login
Why Would Anyone Buy EchoMetrix, Inc (Echo Metrix), EHMI Stock?
(if you have been advised to buy this stock you should fire your stock broker)
scam, fraud, stock fraud, frauds, investment fraud, ponzi scheme, consumer complaints, rip off, ripoff, ripped off, ripoffs, money scam, protect yourself, scam list, rip off investors, investors beware, mob connections, stock manipulation, mob, churn and burn
Here is a massive list as to why not to buy EchoMetric (EHMI) stock.
Previously, SearchHelp (SHLP), and now named EchoMetrix (EHMI), this company continues to perpetuate a massive investor fraud, creating over $29, 000, 000 (yes, that’s 29 million dollars) in accumulated deficit (see recent 10K), an increase of about $7, 000, 000 in 2009. It continues to churn its stock with market makers who appear to be connected to the mob (see online resources), trading over 250, 000 shares a day on average. And all this while producing only $31, 428 (yes this is 31 thousand) in gross revenues for all of 2009. Why would so many trades be taking place for a company that can consume $7, 000, 0000 in accumulated deficit in a single year and still only gross $31, 000 in that same year? Fraud and scam are two words that come to mind? Don’t take our word for it. The Company is under investigation by the Attorney General and the FTC. We’d call this a good start. We’re hoping that the SEC takes a look at the false press releases and questions the fundamentals (lack thereof) of the company and investigates the massive accumulated deficit, many many many investments over the years, massive stock churn (often reaching 1, 000, 000 trades in a single day), propping the stock up at the beginning and end of the day with 100-1000 share trades, all the usual market makers propping up the stock, mob ties with management, massively over paid management, big management names added while sales fell from $90, 000 to $31, 000 for 2008 and 2009 respectively, the recent investment by Rock Island Capital, LLC (which will crush the investors to zero with the dilution that will become of this deal), the company’s virtually zero revenues, massive management options, and overall, what is this Company’s purpose. Clearly not to bring great products to the market, “save the children”, or even bring shareholder wealth. EchoMetrix has no positive purpose and should be wiped from the face of the earth!
So besides this why would anyone buy this stock? Well…. Here’s more.
EHMI hasn’t ever and will never have any significant revenues
Revenue for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 was $31, 428 and $93, 371, respectively, a decrease of $61, 943. The decrease relates to the fact that in the year ended December 31, 2008, sales to a distributor totaled $63, 144 and on-line sales of $30, 227. The current year sales consist of on-line sales and reflect a slight increase from the prior comparative year.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
EHMI is massively in debt and default of its obligations!
The Company has outstanding 10% convertible notes payable of $233, 832 as of December 31, 2009 which are in default for non payment by maturity date. In addition, the Company has $2, 026, 890 of short term bridge notes outstanding as of December 31, 2009. Due to non payment by maturity date of the $2, 026, 890 of bridge notes payable, $1, 051, 639 are in default as of December 31, 2009.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
EHMI is under investigation by the Attorney General and the FTC!
Attorney General Inquiry
On or about September 24, 2009, the Company received a subpoena duces tecum from the Attorney General’s Office of the State of New York that seeks documents and information related to the PULSE. The Company has been cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office, and while prepared to vigorously itself, the Company is in settlement negotiations with the Attorney General’ Office to amicably resolve the inquiry. As of the date of this filing, no value or estimate has been assessed to a settlement.
Federal Trade Commission Civil Investigative Demand
On or about December 16, 2009, the Company received a Civil Investigative Inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) related to PULSE. The Company has been cooperating with the FTC’s investigation, and while prepared to vigorously itself, the Company is prepared to explore a settlement with the FTC in order to amicably resolve the investigation. As of the date of this filing, no value or estimate has been assessed to a settlement.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
EHMI’s transactions of notes, warrants, and stock is endless!
There is just too much here to even try to list! (Documenting these transactions takes up a significant amount of all the words in the 10K.) Just refer to the company 10K releases on 3/31/09. These transactions have been happening for years and haven’t slowed down for at least five years. These simply defy gravity. How can a company with revenues that haven’t exceeded $100, 000 in any given year continue to do these transactions? Our guess is that there is an assured exit through the market makers that have kept up the volume over the years or money laundering.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
Investors face massive dilution
This was quietly issued only 12 days after the release of their 10K.
Look closely at the numbers. Whereas any financials will show around 80, 000, 000 shares outstanding, Rock Island already owns 100, 000, 000 shares with options to gain tens of millions of shares more! Also keep in mind that founder, William Bozsnyak (who is responsible for most of the Company’s $29, 000, 000 in accumulated deficit) resigned last year and is sitting in the wings about to dump 14, 000, 000 shares onto the market. We believe there is a plan, not for the benefit of the shareholders, but a plan. If you research Bozsnyak’s past you’ll see that he’s had close ties with Jeffrey Supinsky, a long time member of the management team and confident with the Company. Mr. Supinsky has benefited greatly on SearchHelp / EchoMetrix and according to insider trading information sold $250, 000 in June and December of 2005 alone. According to SEC records as of August 2008, Supinsky recently owned 2, 020, 276 shares. How does Supinsky get all these shares?
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420408050382/v124957_s1a.htm
Below is an excerpt from the company’s PRE 14C, which was slipped in just 12 days after the Company released its 10K. This indicates that they will rapidly expand beyond 250, 000, 000 shares.
Our board of directors and the holder of a majority of the voting power of our shareholders have approved an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to increase our authorized shares of Common Stock from 250, 000, 000 to 400, 000, 000. The increase in our authorized shares of Common Stock will become effective upon the filing of the amendment to our certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. We will file the amendment to our certificate of incorporation to effect the increase in our authorized shares of Common Stock (the “Amendment”) approximately (but not less than) 20 days after this Information Statement is mailed to stockholders.
EHMI PRE-14C released 4/12/10
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410019553/v180711_pre14c.htm
400, 0000, 000 shares! Run!
The Company lies by issuing false press releases.
Isn’t this stock fraud? This sure looks like stock manipulation. Announcing a relationship with someone like Fox Broadcasting, which was completely false.
Fox Broadcasting and SearchHelp Announce a Collaboration to Commercialize the Echometrix Technology – November 2008
SearchHelp, Inc. (OTCBB: SHLP) today officially announced that its Echometrix division has signed an agreement to jointly develop with Fox, wherein they will provide feedback and entertainment industry expertise to customize their unique market sentiment and behavioral analysis product, called the Pulse. The Pulse is due to be released in the first quarter of 2009. "Echometrix technology is unique in that it understands and analyses digital content in real-time, but more importantly, allows each user to build and customize their own sentiment indices, all from a web-based dashboard. The Company is in talks with other major consumer marketing companies to use the Pulse and the Echometrix technology in an effort to create a set of customizable solutions that could become an industry standard tool for marketing decision makers, " said Peter Sealey, SearchHelp Advisory Board Member.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200811/ai_n31032669/?tag=col1;co-competitors
Excerpts from an AP article indicate that no relationships announced were real.
EchoMetrix, formerly known as SearchHelp ( SHLP.OB - news - people ), said companies buying the chat data have included News Corp. ( NWS - news - people )'s Fox Broadcasting and Dreamworks SKG Inc. Viacom Inc. ( VIA - news - people )'s Paramount Pictures also recently signed on.
None of those companies would comment when contacted by the AP.
EchoMetrix later said only Paramount Pictures agreed to have its affiliation disclosed. The others did not because of competitive reasons. Fox told the AP it never used the system, but sat in meetings in which EchoMetrix pitched the product.
API Article published in Forbes 04 Sept 09
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/04/technology-broadcasting-amp-entertainment-us-tec-internet-monitoring-kids_6850516.html?partner=alerts
The Company feels it’s highly dependent on 2/7ths of its employees (all 7 of them)
We believe that our future success will depend on the abilities and continued service of our senior management and executive officers, particularly our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer and those persons involved in the research and development of our products. If we are unable to attract additional qualified employees, researchers and consultants, we may be unable to successfully finalize and market our products and other future products being developed.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
Come on… Really? Isn’t this a classic “big name management” no performance stock scam? Jeffrey Green, Chief Executive Officer, is paid $229, 846 in cash alone with a whole package of stock and options amounting to over $750, 000 in 2009? All this for only $31, 000 in gross sales? Jeffrey Green has had his time to make something happen. Does this guy even come to work? Keep in mind that this is the same guy that bankrupted his last company.
Jeffrey Green bankrupts Pharmacy Fund and is removed from the company.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_2_21/ai_53748859/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_1998_Oct_19/ai_53158983/
As of March 30, 2010, the Company has seven full time employees.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
The Company Pretends to Believe “They’ll make it up in sales”
Let’s see… The Company has been around for over a half a decade, has never exceeded $100, 000 in sales, has created an accumulated deficit of almost $30, 000, 000, taken on so many investments, we can’t even begin to list them and may not “generate sufficient revenues from the sales of its products”. You’ve got to be kidding. How can they even make this statement?
If the Company does not generate sufficient revenues from the sales of its products in an amount necessary to meet its cash needs, the Company will need additional financing to continue to operate. There are no assurances that the Company can continue to successfully raise additional financing. As the Company increases sales from its products and services, the Company expects to increase cash flows from operations. The Company has been successful in raising financing from equity and debt transactions. During 2009, the Company raised approximately $3, 600, 000 from the sale of preferred stock ($2, 000, 000), and private placement of common stock and warrants, and issuance of debt ($1, 600, 000). In addition an approximate total of $93, 000 of the 10% short term promissory notes have been converted into common stock, and $350, 000 of the bridge notes payable have been converted into common stock. During 2008, the Company raised $848, 000 from the private placement of common stock and warrants, and issuance of debt and a total of $1, 488, 000 of the 10% short term promissory notes have been converted into common stock.
EHMI 10K released 3/31/10 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1163573/000114420410017200/v178930_10k.htm
Death may be imminent – History repeats itself!
Sentry’s EchoMetrix Recalls N2H2 Class Clicks Program From 2001
Posted on September 7, 2009 by filteringfacts
On Friday, the AP broke the story of parental control vendor Sentry using data gathered from children to create marketing data:
Parents who install a leading brand of software to monitor their kids’ online activities may be unwittingly allowing the company to read their children’s chat messages — and sell the marketing data gathered. Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other services, and send back data on what kids are saying about such things as movies, music or video games. The information is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids… The software brands in question are developed by EchoMetrix Inc., a company based in Syosset, N.Y. In June, EchoMetrix unveiled a separate data-mining service called Pulse that taps into the data gathered by Sentry software to give businesses a glimpse of youth chatter online. While other services read publicly available teen chatter, Pulse also can read private chats. It gathers information from instant messages, blogs, social networking sites, forums and chat rooms. EchoMetrix CEO Jeff Greene said the company complies with U.S. privacy laws and does not collect any identifiable information. Déjà vu. In 2001 I worked for a now-defunct parental control company called N2H2. N2H2 was the top selling filtering vendor to public schools at the time, and decided to take all the data they were gathering on which sites children were visiting, and sell it as marketing data in a program called “Class Clicks.” I wasn’t involved in the planning and execution of Class Clicks, but the thinking was that since this was “anonymous, aggregate data” there were no privacy concerns. The company also felt that since notification about the monitoring and reuse of data was in the product End User License Agreement (EULA), this would also help cover the company. The reality was that these defenses were of almost no use during the PR firestorm that followed, and quickly forced the program’s cancellation, as this 2001 AP story recounts:
(AP) — A major Internet filtering company will stop collecting and selling the Web habits of millions of schoolchildren who use its product after privacy groups howled and the Defense Department had second thoughts. N2H2, which makes the “Bess” Internet filtering software, said Thursday it has stopped selling its “Class Clicks” lists that report the Web sites students visit on the Internet and how much time they spend at each one. After N2H2 announced its deal with marketing research firm Roper Starch last September, privacy groups called the filtering company a “corporate predator” and were incensed over reports the information would be sold to the Defense Department for recruiting.
I took over PR at N2H2 shortly after the discontinuation of Class Clicks, and I spent a lot of time cleaning up after it. It was a PR disaster that haunted the company until its acquisition by Secure Computing in 2003. Class Clicks was included in our competitor’s sales collateral as a reason not to buy N2H2, and was always brought up by our competitors in selling situations.
What’s the takeaway here? Just because what a company is doing with user data is legal, described in the EULA, and anonymous does NOT necessarily mean it’s going to be OK with customers, and won’t protect the company from bad press.
–David Burt
****** FULL ARTICLES FOR REFERECE ******
API Article published in Forbes 04 Sept 09 (listed for reference)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/04/technology-broadcasting-amp-entertainment-us-tec-internet-monitoring-kids_6850516.html?partner=alerts
Associated Press
Web-monitoring software gathers data on kid chats
By DEBORAH YAO, 09.04.09, 03:09 PM EDT
Parents who install a leading brand of software to monitor their kids' online activities may be unwittingly allowing the developer to gather marketing data from children as young as 7 - and to sell that information.
Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo ( YHOO - news - people ), MSN, AOL and other services, and send that data back to the company. The information is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids.
"This scares me more than anything I have seen using monitoring technology, " said Parry Aftab, a child-safety advocate. "You don't put children's personal information at risk."
The software does not record children's names, addresses or other identifiable information, but it knows how old they are because parents customize the programs to be more or less permissive, depending on age.
Five other makers of parental-control software contacted by The Associated Press, including McAfee ( MFE - news - people ) Inc. and Symantec Corp. ( SYMC - news - people ), said they do not sell chat data to advertisers.
One competitor, CyberPatrol LLC, said it would never consider such an arrangement. "That's pretty much confidential information, " said Barbara Rose, the company's vice president of marketing. "As a parent, I would have a problem with them targeting youngsters."
The software brands in question are developed by EchoMetrix Inc., a company based in Syosset, N.Y.
EchoMetrix CEO Jeff Greene said parents who don't want the company to share their child's information to businesses can check a box to opt out.
But that option can be found only by visiting the company's Web site. It was not in the agreement contained in the program itself as downloaded Thursday by The Associated Press.
According to the agreement, the software passes along data to "trusted partners." Confidentiality agreements prohibit those clients from sharing the information with others.
In recognition of federal privacy laws that restrict the collection of data on kids under 13, the agreement states that the company has "a parent's permission to share the information if the user is a child under age 13."
Tech site CNet ranks the EchoMetrix software as one of the three best for parental control. Sales figures were not available.
The Sentry and FamilySafe brands include parental-control software such as Sentry Total Family Protection, Sentry Basic, Sentry Lite and FamilySafe (SentryPC is made by a different company and has no ties with EchoMetrix).
The Lite version is free. Others range from $20 to download and $10 a year for monitoring, to about $48 a year, divided into monthly payments.
The same company also offers software under the brands of partner entities, such as AmberWatch Lookout. AmberWatch Foundation, which licenses its brand to EchoMetrix, declined to comment.
Practically speaking, few people ever read the fine print before they click on a button to agree to the licensing agreement. "Unless it's upfront in neon letters, parents don't know, " Aftab said.
EchoMetrix, formerly known as SearchHelp ( SHLP.OB - news - people ), said companies buying the chat data have included News Corp. ( NWS - news - people )'s Fox Broadcasting and Dreamworks SKG Inc. Viacom Inc. ( VIA - news - people )'s Paramount Pictures also recently signed on.
None of those companies would comment when contacted by the AP.
EchoMetrix later said only Paramount Pictures agreed to have its affiliation disclosed. The others did not because of competitive reasons. Fox told the AP it never used the system, but sat in meetings in which EchoMetrix pitched the product.
EchoMetrix needs the business. The company has been losing money, and its liabilities exceed its assets by nearly $25 million as of June 30, according to a regulatory filing. The filing said there is "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."
To get the marketing data, companies put in keywords, such as the name of a new product, and specify a date range. They get a "word cloud" display of the most commonly used words, as well as snippets of actual chats. The EchoMetrix system can slice data by age groups, region and even the instant-messaging program used.
Greene, the EchoMetrix CEO, said the company complies with U.S. privacy laws.
"We never know the name of the kid - it's bobby37 on the house computer, " he said.
What the system will reveal is how "bobby37" and other teens feel about upcoming movies, computer games or clothing trends. Such information can help advertisers craft their marketing messages as buzz builds about a product.
Days before "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opened in theaters on July 15, teen chatter about the movie spiked across the Internet with largely positive reactions.
"Cool" popped up as one of the most heavily used words in teen chats, blogs, forums and on Twitter. The upbeat comments foreshadowed a strong opening for the Warner Bros. film.
The system also tracked buzz for Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT - news - people )'s "Natal, " a forthcoming Xbox motion-sensor device that replaces the traditional button-based controller. Microsoft is not a client of Echometrix, but EchoMetrix used "Natal" to illustrate how its data can benefit marketers.
Greene said children's conversations about Natal were focused on its price and availability, which suggested that Microsoft should assure teens that there will be enough stock and that ordering ahead can lock in a price.
Competing data-mining companies such as J.D. Power Web Intelligence, a unit of quality ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates, also trolls the Internet for consumer chats. But Vice President Chase Parker said the company does not read any data that's password-protected, such as the instant message sessions that EchoMetrix collects for advertisers.
Suresh Vittal, principal analyst at Forrester Research ( FORR - news - people ), said EchoMetrix might have to make its disclosures more apparent to parents.
"Are we in the safeguarding-the-children business or are we in the business of selling data to other people?" he said. If it's the latter, "it should all be done transparently and with the knowledge of the customer."
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Business Week, February 7, 2000
http://www.businessweek.com/archives/2000/b3667151.arc.htm
Commentary: Sorry, The Sopranos Is Off-Key
It has caused what just may be the most overblown media frenzy of the last quarter century--and not only because The New York Times said it "just may be the greatest work of American popular culture of the last quarter century." I am referring, of course, to The Sopranos, the Home Box Office series that has given organized crime--the make-believe kind--a new lease on life. Its popularity is no surprise. Organized crime has fascinated viewers since Musketeers of Pig Alley hit the nickelodeons in 1912. But The Sopranos has truly struck a nerve, largely because of what The Times described as its "hyper-realism."
But how real is The Sopranos? Well, the opening of the new season certainly exudes authenticity. It begins on Wall Street, where wiseguys have been staking a claim. Tony Soprano's cousin Christopher has gotten a brokerage license by having someone take the test for him, as happened quite a bit in real life. He is running a brokerage house, where two thugs beat up a broker for not selling the house stocks. One "alleged" wiseguy I know insists that the scene was taken right out of the court record from his stock-manipulation case.
WOE IS THEM. But don't confuse dramatic realism with reality. I talked about The Sopranos with some people who have seen the real Mob in action. Some love it, as I do. Some misguided souls hate it. But they are unanimous about one thing: The real Mob would be a totally different HBO series from The Sopranos. It would be grimier. It would be nastier. And there would be nothing the least bit adorable about a real-life Tony, who is portrayed in the series as a sympathetic family man whom viewers can relate to, even though he has, well, a peculiar job. Says one trader who knows mobsters well: "They're a bit like a cross between my old Italian uncle and Charles Manson."
James Gandolfini is great as the pensive New Jersey wiseguy--but the writers have seen to it that he is no Charles Manson, even making him a tad sympathetic when he strangles an informant. A far different picture of life among the real Sopranos can be seen when you take a look at the real thing. Major discrepancies begin to emerge. One is a little thing called incarceration. Tony Soprano, unlike growing numbers of his real-life contemporaries, is not under indictment. In fact, there's no indication that he has served any time in prison.
Real mobsters are not so lucky. Most of them would prefer Tony's mother--even though she tried to have him killed--over the FBI any day. I haven't asked him--his lawyers haven't returned my calls--but I'm sure that can be said for one alleged real-life Tony Soprano. Philip C. Abramo is described by the FBI as a capo (Tony's rank) in New Jersey's DeCavalcante crime family. He is in jail awaiting trial on securities-fraud charges in Tampa, having allegedly done in real life some of what Christopher is doing on TV. The court record paints a picture of the reputed capo that is a good deal more Charles Manson than old Italian uncle.
WATCH IT. Prosecutors maintain that Abramo heard that a former employee of a brokerage firm he allegedly controlled, a fellow named Jeff Supinsky, had testified before the Tampa grand jury investigating Abramo. Prosecutors allege Abramo promptly ordered Supinsky's murder. Accounts of the alleged plot differ, but one version relayed by prosecutors says "both Supinsky and his family were to be killed in their New York apartment with hand grenades." Supinsky was swiftly put in the witness-protection program. Abramo's lawyer denied the allegations at a court hearing.
The alleged Supinsky murder plot is a reflection of the real Mob--murderous, and, above all, greedy. For real-world mobsters, cash--not "family"--is all that matters. It is an obsession. It's all they live for. So watch The Sopranos. Enjoy it. But never forget that the real Tony Soprano would slit your throat for a buck
By Gary Weiss; Senior Writer Weiss Has Written Extensively About the Mob