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Editor's Corner - Jun 25, 2010 - Printable Version
- The Naked Truth - Autographed for only $14.82...45% OFF!!
by Mark Faulk
NEW LOWER PRICE!!! ORDER YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF "THE NAKED TRUTH: INVESTING IN THE STOCK PLAY OF A LIFETIME" for only $14.82 
The Naked Truth: Investing in the Stock Play of a Lifetime tells the incredible true story of CMKM Diamonds (CMKX), a tiny diamond mining company whose saga began in a Canadian town and circled the globe via an intricate web of intrigue and fraud, and ultimately made national headlines. Shareholders were led down an uncertain path where they couldn’t separate guilty from innocent or fact from fiction, a path fueled by rumors, innuendos, and outright lies.
In January of 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada, a group of con artists fronted by a shadowy character named John Edwards approached Urban Casavant, a prison guard turned small time swindler from Saskatchewan. Together they set into motion a scheme involving 1.9 million acres of supposed diamond, gold, zinc, and uranium rich property in Canada. Stories of potential riches enticed investors to pour over $250 million into the company in a little over two years. CEO Urban Casavant’s promise that he would create a “million millionaires” brought him a loyal and even cult like following from his shareholders.
Were their claims of unlimited riches real? Were there really truckloads of diamonds waiting to be shipped out from operating mines, or was it all part of a well-orchestrated scam to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from an estimated 50,000 shareholders? Was it really, as websites touted, “The Stock Play of a Lifetime”?
Instead of delivering on Urban’s promise of creating a million millionaires, the company dumped a staggering 703 billion shares of stock into the market. On some days, CMKX stock traded more shares than the entire rest of the stock market combined. As the stock price plummeted, lives were ruined, homes were lost, and retirement funds were decimated. In the meantime, Edwards, Casavant, and a long list of crooks lived like kings, spending shareholders’ money on lavish homes, extravagant lifestyles, and gambling away millions in Las Vegas casinos.
This is the story of how three shareholders from small-town Texas banded together in a crusade to bring justice to 50,000 shareholders who were seemingly ignored by the federal agencies whose job it was to protect them. Tyler, Texas based shareholder John Martin turned to longtime friend, fellow shareholder, and attorney Bill Frizzell, and they in turn recruited other CMKX shareholders to assist them in a multi-year investigation of one of the largest frauds in the history of the U.S. stock market.
Among those they enlisted to help them in their investigation was Urban “True Believer” Kevin West, who, in a bizarre turn of events, was chosen by Urban Casavant to succeed him as CEO. West brought in Bill Frizzell, who had represented thousands of CMKX shareholders during SEC revocation hearings, to file a series of lawsuits against former company insiders. On July 2, 2008, CMKM Diamonds was awarded a $33,675,365 judgment in a Nevada District Court against company insider John Edwards, and has begun to seize Edwards’ assets as they continue to move forward with other lawsuits. On April 2, 2008, almost three years after revoking the company, the SEC finally filed civil complaints against 11 individuals and 3 companies in the CMKX case.
In yet another bizarre twist to this already complex story, Kevin West recruited stock market reform advocate and author Mark Faulk to lead a shareholder-supported crusade to force federal officials to reopen the seemingly stalled four year-old criminal investigations into CMKX. Those efforts led to a two day meeting in Las Vegas between West, Faulk, and Frizzell, and a Federal Task Force led by DOJ attorney Timothy Vasquez and consisting of officials from the DOJ, FBI, IRS, and SEC, where the company provided over 300,000 pages of evidence to federal officials.
Finally, in September of 2009, seven years after the CMKX saga officially began, over four years after the company was revoked by the SEC, and a year-and-a-half after the SEC civil charges were filed, the Department of Justice indicted six individuals in the largest penny stock fraud in history.
Alleged mastermind John Edwards was arrested on September 7, 2009 in England, where he is awaiting extradition, while indicted former CEO Urban Casavant, believed to be in Canada, is still at large.
As of June 2010, CMKM Diamonds continues to take legal action against the crooks, corrupt brokers, attorneys, transfer agents, and major banking institutions, while the DOJ moves forward with their criminal cases.
The Naked Truth illuminates the pandemic problems in our financial markets, and is a microcosm of issues that have been plaguing our system for years. The human and often emotional story of CMKX exposes the rampant corruption that exists throughout the stock market, from corporate corruption to a financial system that facilitates fraud at every level and a government that only seems to care about keeping the money flowing. In the end, it is the story of a handful of dedicated advocates who fought back against organized crime and an equally corrupt financial system and who, along with 50,000 CMKX victims, refused to just go away.
Book Reviews
The Naked Truth tells a story that may shock some of those who are unfamiliar with the netherworld of penny-stock promotion. It is a story that juxtaposes some of the best of human impulses against some of the worst. A fascinating and detailed account; I recommend this book heartily.
The Federal Lawyer, June, 2009
Mark Faulk has not only been a tireless advocate in the battle to clean up our financial systems clearance and settlement mechanisms, he has covered the story with the kind of critical thought largely absent from New York financial journalism. Mark has managed to do this, moreover, with clean, crisp writing that avoids cant and is easily understandable to the general public.
Patrick Byrne, CEO, Overstock
Faulk dives deep into the issue of naked short selling, providing readers with a behind the curtain look at one of the most controversial and misunderstood subjects in the U.S. financial markets today. With a focus on the company CMKX Diamonds, this spellbinding story will entertain and inform investors, gadflies and conspiracy theorists alike.
Will Shanley, The Denver Post
It is an old tale. Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, suddenly sees the light, and his life has to change. Several one-time admirers of Urban Casavant, notably John Martin and Kevin West, have had their own road-to-Damascus moments. Each has had to realize that he had been acting blindly, and each has had to turn toward the light. This book, with the benefit of Mr. Faulk's superlative narrative labors, is a progress report on that painful conversion and on its aftermath.
Christopher Faille, Hedgeworld.com
Better Late Than Never: SEC Files Charges in CMKX Case
From the ashes: CMKM Diamonds refuses to "just go away"
DOJ Issues Six Criminal Indictments in CMKM Diamonds Case
For more information, go to:
www.thenakedtruthbook.com
www.myspace.com/thenakedtruth
ORDER NOW HERE
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