The Deceptions of Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) and Judd Bagley (Director of Social Media at Overstock.com)

Be careful about what you say and write

As a criminal I thought I could get away with lying under oath in many depositions conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and others who investigated the crimes at Crazy Eddie.

I lied with a straight face to the investigators under oath. I was determined to obstruct justice at every opportunity and to escape responsibility and accountability for my crimes. I simply did not care about the victims of my crimes and fought justice at every opportunity.

Had I not been caught by the government I would still be a criminal today.

I learned a very hard lesson from my experiences of lying under oath before I began my cooperation with the government and civil plaintiffs in early 1989. Be careful of what you say and represent to others, it may come back to haunt you.

Examining statements by Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley about the smear web site antisocialmedia.net

During the last few months I have been examining the actions of Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) and Judd Bagley (Director of Social Media at Overstock.com). In particular, I have followed their posting of messages on internet message boards.

Drawing on my experience from testifying as a criminal and later as a government witness I started posting “deposition style” questions addressed to Patrick Byrne, Judd Bagley and other message board posters who were collaborating with them.

Note: I was eventually restricted from posting questions altogether on InvestorVillage.com for the following reason as written in a letter by the InvestorVillage.com administrator:

However, we are putting our foot down on the misuse of our OSTK board for your own agenda, which, for whatever reason, seems to include clogging our forum to conduct an informal and unofficial campaign of "deposition-style" messages targeting other members of InvestorVillage.

Link here to my previous blog post “Investor Village Et al Limits Sam E. Antar from Asking Questions on Overstock.com - Shame on Them!”

Until I was kicked off the Investor Village board (after Patrick Byrne expressed irritation at my questions), he and Judd Bagley would sometimes respond to the “deposition style” questions I asked them.

The responses that they provided to me and other message board posters such as the blogger known as Scipio Africanus (O-Smear blog) indicated a troubling pattern of deception and maliciousness.

One area in particular that I became concerned about was the relationship between the smear web site antisocialmedia.net (initially run anonymously by Judd Bagley the Director of Social Media at Overstock.com) and Patrick Byrne and Overstock.com. Antisocialmedia.net is running a smear campaign against critics and persons examining the actions of Patrick Byrne, Judd Bagley, and Overstock.com on behalf of Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com).

Patrick Byrne denied involvement with antisocialmedia.net and once wrote:

“Overstock and I [meaning him] have precisely 0 to do with AntiSocialMedia.”

See my previous blog post “Don't Mess with Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.”

Another area of concern was deceptive representations by Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley relating to the smear web site antisocialmedia.net.

Examine the timeline according to Patrick Byrne’s comments

After Judd Bagley’s role with the web site antisocialmedia.net was revealed on January 2, 2007 by Roddy Boyd’s New York Post article “Overstock.com Lashes Out at Critics on Web”, on January 31, 2007 in a post (message # 4287) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne made the following representation:

Oh yes: somewhere in there (after Judd was already working for us) I became aware of ASM. I asked him about it: he suggested that he had a right to expect a "Don't ask don't tell" policy regarding his research and writing. I pointed out to Judd that, if he were involved, he could not be doing anything on our company time, and that he must refrain from doing anything to discuss Overstock from and investment point of view. Only a month or two later, when it began to draw attention, did he confirm his involvement to me. All the questions about "Do you know this guy in Orem who knows this guy and do you fund this or that" are all non-starters. Overstock and I have precisely 0 to do with AntiSocialMedia.

Except for the fact that I am an avid reader and raving fan.

In the past, I did not know what was going to go up on ASM before it went up. However, I have sat with Judd and learned about all the ammo he has held in reserve. So I do know, now, what COULD go up, but not necessarily what WILL (or, in fact, if anything else will).

According to Patrick Byrne, when he became aware of antisocialmedia.net, he discussed the web site with Judd Bagley. By Byrne’s account, they decided on a “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy” to insulate Patrick Byrne from knowledge of Judd Bagley’s actions by reason of plausible deniability. As late as January 31, 2007, Byrne purports that "In the past, I did not know what was going to go up on ASM before it went up."

Before, Judd Bagley was revealed as being behind antisocialmedia.net, Patrick Byrne posted (message # 2964) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias Hannibal on December 23, 2006 and represented the following:

2) I am not behind antisocialmedia.com, offer it no support, it has nothing to do with overstock. Technically, I do not "know" who out there is behind it (the person who is behind it has made an effort to shield me from that knowledge), though admittedly, I have a very good idea.

Patrick Byrne’s representation does not indicate that Judd Bagley had confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net as of December 23, 2006. Therefore, according to Patrick Byrne the purported “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy he had later described on January 31, 2007 was in effect on December 23, 2006.

According to Patrick Byrne’s posts on InvestorVillage.com, the latest possible date that Judd Bagley could have confirmed his involvement in the smear web site antisocialmedia.net with Patrick Byrne is on January 2, 2007. Roddy Boyd had exposed Judd Bagley’s involvement in antisocialmedia.net in his New York Post article entitled “Overstock.com Lashes Out at Critics on Web”.

Analyzing Patrick Byrne’s time line

According to Patrick Byrne, as of December 23, 2006, Judd Bagley had not yet confirmed to Patrick Byrne his involvement in antisocialmedia.net. Based on Patrick Byrne’s representations, the latest date that Judd Bagley could have confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net to Patrick Byrne is January 2, 2007, when Roddy Boyd of the New York Post revealed Judd Bagley as the person behind antisocialmedia.net.

Patrick Byrne purports that the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was discussed from one or two months prior to the conversation which he claims that Judd Bagley confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net to him.

Therefore, based on Patrick Byrne’s comments, the earliest conversation he claims he could have discussed the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with Judd Bagley was on October 23, 2006 and the latest date of his purported conversation was on November 2, 2006.

However, Patrick Byrne’s accounting of his time line is implausible. He knew about antisocialmedia.net in September 2006 and probably about Judd’s planned formation of it earlier.

In addition, posts by Judd Bagley on antisocialmedia.net in September 2006 indicate Patrick Byrne's prior knowledge of Bagley's posts on the web site.

Another time line based on Patrick Byrne’s and Judd Bagley’s comments

March 2006:

According to Judd Bagley, he began his antisocialmedia.net “research” project.

On January 13, 2007 in a post (message # 3474) on InvestorVillage.com under the alias De Daumier-Smith Judd Bagley wrote:

AntiSocialMedia.net the mojo started in March of 2006 when I first became aware of you clowns and the honorless way you pay your alimony and rent at the trailercourt.

August 2006:

Judd Bagley is hired by Patrick Byrne as “Director of Social Media” at Overstock.com

September 8, 2006:

Judd Bagley anonymously registers the domain name antisocialmedia.net.

September 9, 2006:

Judd Bagley’s very first post on antisocialmedia.net is an anonymous vicious attack on well known investigative reporter, blogger, and vocal Byrne critic, Gary Weiss entitled “Gary Weiss: The Strawman Cometh.”

According to Patrick Byrne’s account, antisocialmedia.net drew his interest after its first post.

September 25, 2006:

Judd Bagley anonymously posts another commentary entitled “Veni, Viki, Wiki?” on the web site antisocialmedia.net.

Judd Bagley wrote in his commentary:

Please note that what follows is my recounting of a story very recently related to me by the subject, Patrick Byrne, with his permission. I invite Mr. Byrne to follow up with any corrections or clarifications that may be warranted. 

This post indicates that Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley conversed about the content of antisocialmeda.net when he writes “recounting of a story very recently related to me by the subject, Patrick Byrne, with his permission.” In the following post on antisocialmeda.net, Judd receives an email from Byrne. Judd Bagley’s comments indicate that Byrne had prior knowledge of his posts on antisocialmeda.net.

Judd Bagley's post on antisocialmeda.net contradicts the comment (message # 4287) made by Patrick Byrne under his alias Hannibal, on InvestorVillage.com on January 31, 2007 (4 months later):

In the past, I did not know what was going to go up on ASM before it went up. However, I have sat with Judd and learned about all the ammo he has held in reserve. So I do know, now, what COULD go up, but not necessarily what WILL (or, in fact, if anything else will).

Judd Bagley's posts on antisocialmeda.net indicate that Patrick Byrne did have prior knowledge of the September 25 and September 28 posts on antisocialmedia.net.

September 28, 2006:

Judd Bagley anonymously posted a follow up commentary entitled “A Peek into the Mind of Wikipedia’s SlimVirgin” in which includes an email from Patrick Byrne.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As I feared, my recollection of Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne’s past experiences with Linda Mack (aka SlimVirgin) did not get it quite right.

Byrne recently emailed me a fuller, written version of the story which I intended to add as a comment on the original post; however, due to its length (and quality), I’ve opted instead to publish it here.

After reading Byrne’s account, all I can say is: my version really sucked and you owe it to yourself to read what follows, in its entirety.

Patrick Byrne’s email to Judd Bagley (posted on the antisocialmedia.net web site) is posted and signed “Humbly submitted, Patrick.”

In contrast to Judd Bagley’s September 25 post, the September 28 post purports to show an arms length relationship between Bagley and Byrne and conceals their personal and professional relationship.

In fact, Byrne and Bagley work in the same building. Judd Bagley deceptively conceals his employment relationship with Overstock.com and Patrick Byrne. Mr. Byrne later described Bagley as a “friend” relating to that time frame in a post on InvestorVillage.com. Apparently, Bagley tried to retract the accidental disclosure of his personal conversation with Byrne in his September 25 post with his September 28 post.

October 23, 2006 to December 2, 2006:

These are possible dates of Patrick Byrne’s purported “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy conversation with Judd Bagley, according to Byrne’s post (message # 4287) on InvestorVillage.com.

December 23, 2006:

Based in Patrick Byrne’s comments on InvestorVillage.com (message # 2964), he does not claim that Judd Bagley had confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net as of December 23, 2006.

January 2, 2007:

Roddy Boyd exposes Judd Bagley’s involvement in antisocialmedia.net in his New York Post article entitled “Overstock.com Lashes Out at Critics on Web.”. This is the latest date according to Patrick Byrne's statements, that Judd Bagley could have confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net

January 31, 2007:

Patrick Byrne purports that Judd Bagley confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net “Only a month or two later, when it began to draw attention…” in a post (message # 4287) on InvestorVillage.com. Patrick Byrne claims that they discussed a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy after he became aware of antisocialmedia.net

Issues and questions relating to Patrick Byrne’s time line

On January 14, 2007 in another post (message # 3566) on InvestorVillage.com under the alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne made the following disclosure:

“THE FIRST I EVER SPOKE WITH JUDD ABOUT ASM IS WHEN I WENT TO TELL HIM ABOUT THIS COOL NEW SITE I HAD FOUND. THAT IS THE SUM TOTAL OF MINE OR OVERSTOCK'S SUPPORT. WHILE I GRADUALLY CAME TO THINK JUDD WAS INVOLVED, HE NEVER ACTUALLY WOULD TELL ME THE TRUTH UNTIL RECENTLY.”

Note: Patrick Byrne’s response was written in capital letters.

According to Patrick Byrne’s account, he and Judd Bagley discussed the antisocialmedia.net web site around September 9, 2006, when Bagley posted a false and malicious smear attack against vocal critic Gary Weiss.

Patrick Byrne described a close personal relationship with Judd Bagley by calling him a “friend” on InvestorVillage.com (message # 2964) under his alias Hannibal while denying that it was the reason why he was hired:

I know Judd. He has become a friend in recent months, but that is not why we hired him.

Patrick Byrne’s disdain for Gary Weiss is well known. He has posted threats on InvestorVillage.com and has made several defamatory comments about him.

Aside from the other people smeared on antisocialmedia.net, Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley share a common and especially vile hatred towards Gary Weiss. In a post (message # 6276) on InvestorVillage.com Judd Bagley under the alias De Daumier-Smith wrote:

No...Weiss is evil. I'll stand by that. More than evil, he's soul-less evil.

Judd Bagley’s comments are indicative of the vile hatred he and Byrne share of Gary Weiss and the malice they have directed against him

In various posts on InvestorVillage.com, Patrick Byrne taunted Gary Weiss and others about the future content of antisocialmedia.net.

For example, after a previous smear commentary on antisocialmedia.net was published against Gary Weiss, on November 26, 2006 Patrick Byrne wrote the following post (message # 2426) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias Hannibal:

I hear that GW is melting down, melting down, melting down.....

On December 23, 2006, Patrick Byrne wrote the following post (message # 2976) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias Hannibal:

This antisocialmedia site seems to have Gary’s knickers in a twist. So for the record:

1) Overstock has no resources supporting antisocialmeda.com. It is someone’s hobby.

Some of Patrick Byrne’s posts on InvestorVillage.com provided links to antisocialmedia.net and others showed his full support for Judd Bagley. In his post (message # 4287) on InvestorVillage.com on January 31, 2007, under his alias Hannibal Patrick Byrne wrote:

"...I am an avid reader and a raving fan."

On November 26, 2006, in a post (message # 2426) on InvestorVillage.com, under the alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne urged fellow message board participants to read antisocialmedia.net's latest smear:

For those who have not seen it, I suggest reading this.

...www.antisocialmedia.net/

Overstock.com's web site links to antisocialmeda.net. Patrick Byrne uses a smear article on Gary Weiss in antisocialmedia.net to attack him on Overstock.com's web site:

Unfortunately for Gary, he appears to have a relationship with the DTCC, that corporation at the heart of the scandal (http://antisocialmedia.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?

It is very possible he knew about Judd Bagley’s plan to launch antisocialmedia.net previous to Bagley’s August 2006 hiring at Overstock.com.

On January 13, 2007, he wrote the following comment about Judd Bagley’s hiring at Overstock.com in August 2006 in a post (message # 4287) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias Hannibal:

Then he spent about 9 months selling his company, and working for the new owner, but taking as his hobby a kind of cat-a-mouse game with Gary and his minions, all over the Internet. These Tools of Satan left IP footprints all over Wikipedia and Yahoo and other places that Judd was able to unscramble and connect. He built an enourmous map of their connections. It turns out that some of them trace back to a woman in my distant past (see wikipediareview.com for details). All of this was done on his own, and while we had occasional conversations about it, I doubt if, in all those months, we met more than a few times, or spoke more than a dozen or two dozen times.

In the process of all of this, he became quite astute about Web 2.0 and the way some had learned to hijack the discourse. In August he approached me about developing an alternative. I agreed, and he joined Overstock. [Emphasis added.]

The above comment by Patrick Byrne indicates his prior knowledge as to the planned formation of antisocialmedia.net.

Patrick Byrne’s explanation of his hiring Judd Bagley is discussed in a post (message # 3451) on InvestorVillage.com by him, under his alias Hannibal:

In the 2.0 paradigm (which is to say, mine and Judd's) it looks like this: an unhealthy alliance has emerged among certain hedge funds, corporate media, and the corporate media's hedge-fund-shills (who call themselves "reporters")…. These guys are so arrogant and stupid they cannot yet grasp that they are the targets of an investigation by honest journalists (that would be the rest of us), we are exposing them, and they are twisting around in shrill complaint like the corporate flacks they are.

That 2.0 paradigm just has not sunk in: they are not journalists, they are the evil corporations, and we citizens are the journalists. "DOES NOT COMPUTE" for Gary, Seth, etc. One of the most interesting things I have ever seen is watching how these shill-journalists react as the tables get slowly turned on them.

In the same post above (message # 3451) on InvestorVillage.com by Patrick Byrne under his alias Hannibal he writes:

PS By the way, for the record once again, ASM receives support from neither myself nor Overstock, and was started, I believe, before Judd joined Overstock.

Prior to that post by Patrick Byrne there was no explicit indication that Judd Bagley had started his antisocialmedia.net research prior to the web site’s inception on September 8, 2006.

Judd Bagley quickly responded with damage control in a post (message # 3474) on InvestorVillage.com, under his alias De Daumier-Smith:

Because the initial posts to ASM the website were based on mojo that was months old, Patrick probably assumed the site had been around that long. That he's unclear on the actual date doesn't surprise me because I never felt any reason to tell him about it -- neither its launch nor subsequent posts.

In this post Judd Bagley purports that he “…I never felt any reason to tell him about it [antisocialmedia.net] -- neither its launch nor subsequent posts.” However, Patrick Byrne’s own representations in various posts and Judd Bagley’s own posts on antisocialmedia.net completely contradict this deceptive statement.

Judd Bagley comments on antisocialmedia.net indicate that he personally spoke to Patrick Byrne to obtain his input for the September 25, 2006 post entitled “Veni, Viki, Wiki?” In addition they show their close personal relationship as friends. His comments on antisocialmedia.net indicate Byrne’s knowledge of the web site and complicity with it previous to September 25, 2006. He later purportedly obtains an email from Byrne for his September 28, 2006 post entitled “A Peek into the Mind of Wikipedia’s SlimVirgin.” In addition they indicate Byrne’s prior knowledge of posts to be made on antisocialmedia.net by Bagley.

Was Patrick Byrne deceptive about his knowledge of Judd Bagley’s actions relating to antisocialmedia.net?

It appears that Patrick Byrne was being deceptive when he wrote on January 31, 2007 (after it was revealed by Roddy Boyd in the New York Post that Judd Bagley was behind the previously anonymous we site antisocialmeda.net):

“…somewhere in there (after Judd was already working for us) I became aware of ASM. I asked him about it: he suggested that he had a right to expect a ‘Don't ask don't tell’ policy regarding his research and writing. I pointed out to Judd that, if he were involved, he could not be doing anything on our company time, and that he must refrain from doing anything to discuss Overstock from and investment point of view. Only a month or two later, when it began to draw attention, did he confirm his involvement to me…. Overstock and I have precisely 0 to do with AntiSocialMedia.”

In addition in his post on December 23, 2006 (before Roddy Boyd’s New York Post article revealing Judd Bagley’s involvement with antisocialmedia.net) Byrne wrote:

Technically, I do not "know" who out there is behind it (the person who is behind it has made an effort to shield me from that knowledge), though admittedly, I have a very good idea.

Based on a timeline from Patrick Byrne’s posts on InvestorVillage.com, he represents that in effect his first purported conversation relating to the “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy was around October 23, 2006 to December 2, 2006. According to Patrick Byrne’s account, since Judd Bagley had not confirmed his involvement in antisocialmedia.net to him as of December 23, 2006. The purported “Don’t ask, don’t tell” conversation between them based on Byrne’s account would have taken place a minimum of six weeks and possibly as much as almost three months after Byrne claims antisocialmedia.net came to his attention during September 2006.

Based on Patrick Byrne’s representations about his first discussion of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy conversation with Judd Bagley it is improbable that such a conversation was discussed at such a late date if such conversation and policy ever existed at all.

Patrick Byrne had already read antisocialmedia.net in September 2006 and possibly had advance knowledge of its formation. Patrick Byrne purported that he discussed with Judd Bagley the “COOL NEW WEB SITE” he had found during September 2006. Judd Bagley discloses his discussions with Patrick Byrne about the content of two posts published on antisocialmedia.net in September 2006. Judd Bagley's discussions with Patrick Byrne as posted on antisocialmedia.net show that Byrne apparently had advance knowledge of posts on antisocialmedia.net despite such denials by him. Patrick Byrne describes a close personal relationship with Judd Bagley by referring to him a as a “friend.”

Therefore, the more plausible time line is that Patrick Byrne hired Judd Bagley in August 2006 to conduct counter critics of Overstock.com and his activities. He needed to distance himself from Judd Bagley’s smear campaign and he retroactively created a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as an excuse for his plausible denial relating to Judd Bagley’s activities. He calls Judd Bagley’s activities a “hobby.” Patrick Byrne purportedly lets Judd Bagley set his own hours at Overstock.com (see previous blog post “Don't Mess with Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne”) so he can pursue his critics. Therefore, Judd Bagley can freely pursue his smear campaign on his own time including normal week day office hours at Overstock.com. Patrick Byrne now has his deceitful rational basis for his following statement:

“I am not behind antisocialmedia.com, offer it no support, it has nothing to do with overstock. Technically, I do not "know" who out there is behind it (the person who is behind it has made an effort to shield me from that knowledge), though admittedly, I have a very good idea. ”

Perhaps Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley will some day be subpoenaed (if not already) to testify under oath in a deposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to its investigation of Overstock.com. Maybe at that time Byrne and Bagley can provide a clear, truthful, and unambiguous account of their actions.

Judd Bagley's deception

It appears that Judd Bagley and Patrick Byrne have not adequately coordinated their stories.

Judd Bagley was deceptive about his communications with Patrick Byrne relating to antisocialmedia.net. On January 13, 2007, in a post (message # 3474) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias De Daumier-Smith, Judd Bagley wrote:

Because the initial posts to ASM the website were based on mojo that was months old, Patrick probably assumed the site had been around that long. That he's unclear on the actual date doesn't surprise me because I never felt any reason to tell him about it -- neither its launch nor subsequent posts.

I still don't see any reason to talk to him about the site.

As late as January 13, 2007, Judd Bagley expected people to believe he had not discussed antisocialmedia.net with Patrick Byrne despite Byrne’s own posts purporting such conversations on InvestorVillage.com and Judd Bagley’s comments on antisocialmedia.net about his discussions with Byrne.

In addition, that very same day on InvestorVillage.com Patrick Byrne posted (message # 3451) the following threat to Gary Weiss under his alias Hannibal:

But from what I know, I suspect that the largest blows to Gary are still to come. You ain't seen nothing."

My advice to Patrick Byrne from a person who has “been there, done that”

I learned long ago that when you can no longer spin, shut up. I sent that advice several times to Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley through my posts on blogs and internet message boards. Evidently, they just cannot shut up.

Therefore, I offer the following advice from a convicted felon to Patrick Byrne:

Don’t lie under oath if you cannot tell the truth. Exercise your constitutional right against self incrimination if you have anything to hide. If you lie and get caught, you may not get as lucky as me and avoid a long prison sentence. After all, if you and others working in concert with you have committed any crimes, remember that you Mr. Byrne are the “big fish.”

My advice to Judd Bagley:

Patrick Byrne is the “big fish.” You are not far behind Byrne in status. I almost waited too long covering up the activities of Eddie Antar another “big fish.” I advise you to seek responsible legal counsel.

Being held accountable for what you say and write

Judd Bagley recently wrote in the following post (message # 6719) on InvestorVillage.com under his alias De Daumier-Smith:

I simply feel very strongly about people being held accountable for their words.

My guess is that both Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley will ultimately be held responsible for their words too, as the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Overstock.com continues. Other government law enforcement entities may soon follow.

Written by:

Sam E. Antar (former Crazy Eddie CFO & convicted felon)

Update:

Update: After the above blog post, Judd Bagley (Director of Social Media at Overstock.com) changed the purported site description for antisocialmedia.net.

Previous Purported Site Description

About AntiSocialMedia.net

The unique strength of social media (another term for peer-generated, web-distributed content) is also its unique weakness: the fact that anybody can get involved.

Our mandate is broad but our scope, as you’ll read, is less so: focusing primarily on the use of social media as a tool in support of illegal stock manipulation efforts. The principal editor of this website is employed by one of the many companies mentioned in these pages, but is not a shareholder and receives no support whatsoever from his employer.

Please use the comment feature or email to submit tips or additional information.

Current Purported Site Description

ABOUT ANTISOCIALMEDIA.NET

AntiSocialMedia.net seeks to hold accountable those who abuse social media for personal gain, particularly when used as a means of spreading disinformation by stock market manipulators.

Judd Bagley, a former journalist and the primary contributor to AntiSocialMedia.net, has made a hobby of investigating what calls “user-generated discontent” since December of 2005.

In August of 2006, Judd was hired by Overstock.com in a marketing capacity, and continues his investigating on his own time, without support from his employer. Overstock happens to be one of the companies Judd alleges is targeted by these manipulators (in fact, that intersection of facts brought Judd into contact with Overstock.com).

Overstock.com has specifically requested that Judd stipulate that Overstock.com disclaims responsibility for the content on this site, and that nobody other than Judd has knowledge of what he is researching or writing before it is published here.