Sunday, May 13, 2007

Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, Cannot Answer a Simple Question

On January 30, 2007, in a post (message # 4246) on InvestorVillage.com, I asked the Board of Directors (including Patrick Byrne, who is a board member) of Overstock.com a simple question:

To The Board of Directors of Overstock.com
It is my understanding that Overstock.com is releasing an earnings report on February 5, 2007 and the company will file a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on that date.
I respectfully submit the following questions:
Has the Board of Directors considered any additional disclosure relating to the SEC subpoena of Overstock.com?

Patrick Byrne and his henchman Judd Bagley (Director of Social Media at Overstock.com) later responded with an array of personal attacks against me. Patrick Byrne complained about my questions openly on the InvestorVillage.com message board for Overstock.com:

For example, on February 2, 2007, in a post (message # 4463) on InvestorVillage.com, under his alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne wrote:

So let us get this straight: Sam, who seems not to understand that I let weeks or months go by without checking in on this board, and operating under some ill-founded assumption that he is Junior Prosecutor and is owed immediate and full answers from me to any questions he posts here, criticizes me for not answering his inane and repititive questions fully and immediately…..
Is there anyone here who suspects that Sam is just trying to clog, or waste my time, or misdirect this discussion board? If you agree, please recommend this post. If we get over 20, I say that is proof that it is time we all agree to ignore Sam forever.
Patrick

Note: Despite Patrick Byrne's representation that he "let weeks or months go by without checking in on this board," Mr. Byrne has posted about twenty messages on InvestorVillage.com in the previous three weeks. He had posted about a dozen messages in the previous seven days.

Eventually, I was booted off the InvestorVillage.com by its administrator for asking Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley “deposition style” questions. They sent me a personal message which stated:

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.

On May 9, 2007, Overstock.com released its 10–Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, which contained the following disclosure:

On May 9, 2006 the Company received a notice of an investigation and subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Salt Lake City District Office. On May 17, 2006, Patrick Byrne also received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Salt Lake City District Office. These subpoenas requested a broad range of documents, including, among other documents, all documents relating to the Company’s accounting policies, the Company’s targets, projections or estimates related to financial performance, the Company’s recent restatement of its financial statements, the filing of its complaint against Gradient Analytics, Inc., the development and implementation of certain new technology systems and disclosures of progress and problems with those systems, communications with and regarding investment analysts, communications regarding shareholders who did not receive the Company’s proxy statement in April 2006, communications with certain shareholders, and communications regarding short selling, naked short selling, purchases and sales of Company stock, obtaining paper certificates, and stock loan or borrow of Company shares. The Company and Mr. Byrne have responded to these subpoenas and each continues to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission on this matter. [Emphasis added.]

The following disclosures were omitted from previous financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Overstock.com:

On May 17, 2006, Patrick Byrne also received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Salt Lake City District Office.

And

The Company and Mr. Byrne have responded to these subpoenas and each continues to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission on this matter.

Patrick Byrne cannot seem to answer some simple questions such as:

Why did Overstock.com disclose his subpoena now after excluding this disclosure from previous SEC filings by the company?

We still do not know why Overstock.com delayed its disclosure of the subpoena that its CEO Patrick Byrne received from the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not know why Overstock.com waited for almost a year to disclose Patrick Byrne's subpoena. We do not know why Overstock.com decided to disclose Patrick Byrne's subpoena now.

Instead, Patrick Byrne and his henchman Judd Bagley (Director of Social Media at Overstock.com) have continued their smear campaign against me, members of the press, and others examining their actions.

So far, Patrick Byrne has offered no answer to my simple question.

Patrick Byrne's brutal campaign of deflection and smears continues.

However, the ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of Overstock.com continues, despite Patrick Byrne’s attempts to divert attention from his actions.

Written by:

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

For additional information:

Gary Weiss blog: Bagdad Byrne's Weekend Delusion-a thon

The Fraudfiles blog: A little slight of hand by Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, by Tracy Coenen

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