SEC Complaint
In January 2004, Calandra resigned from Marketwatch after an internal probe into his trading activities that followed an SEC request for data on personal stock trades and e-mail messages. A year later, the SEC accused him of selling stocks shortly after his investment newsletter's positive recommendations of the stocks caused their prices to rise, without disclosing the sales. In 2005, Calandra settled the charges by paying a fine, without admitting or denying the allegations.
In settling with the SEC, Calandra agreed to pay a $125,000 fine and give back $416,109.
The SEC said that " Calandra made over $400,000 in illegal profits through a practice known as "scalping" — buying shares of thinly-traded, small-cap companies, writing highly favorable newsletter profiles recommending the companies to his newsletter subscribers, and then selling the majority of his shares when the increased demand generated by his favorable columns drove up the stock price."
The SEC said that from March to December 2003, Calandra made over $400,000 through buying shares of 23 different small-cap stocks while writing favorable newsletter profiles recommending the stocks, and then selling the his shares after the stocks rose after his columns were published. The SEC also accused Calandra of failing to disclose that he was compensated from a stock promoter affiliated with two companies that he profiled.
"Calandra received undisclosed consideration in the form of substantially-discounted stock from two companies that he profiled in TCR (The Calandra Report), Goldmarca and IMC Ventures. Calandra purchased discounted shares in Goldmarca and IMC Ventures from a Canadian stock promoter that Calandra knew was associated with both companies. On October 28, 2003, Calandra purchased 155,000 shares of Goldmarca at $0.23 per share, a 39% discount from the market price of $0.38 per share. Similarly, he purchased 70,000 shares of IMC Ventures on the same day, at the discounted price of $0.37 per share, a 59% discount off of the company's market price of $0.91 per share.
Calandra then provided the companies with positive publicity in TCR. He wrote on multiple occasions about both Goldmarca and IMC Ventures, but never disclosed his receipt of discounted shares to his readers. The SEC also accused Calandra of failing to disclose that he was compensated from a stock promoter affiliated with two companies that he profiled.
Calandra sold the majority of his shares of Goldmarca and IMC Ventures immediately after touting the companies in TCR, making total profits of $52,022.75 and $61,496, respectively."
The SEC said in a statement that Calandra "betrayed his readers' trust" by using his newsletter to engage in trading profits. "Calandra's readers were entitled to know about his trading activity, so that they could evaluate the credibility and impartiality of Calandra's investment advice for themselves," SEC District Administrator Helane Morrison said in a statement.
Read more about this topic: Thom Calandra
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