$1,000 Reward for Information Leading to the Conviction of the Person(s) Illegally Promoting Wellstone Filters - OTCBB:WLSF - with Junk Faxes
Despite the lawsuit for the junk faxes, CEO Learned Hand continues to protect the criminals. President and wife Carla Cerami Hand and her father Anthony Cerami made millions of dollars from the sale of the Wellstone Filters, Inc. shares, illegally pumped to recored highs in December 2004.
(LITIGATION NEWS) May 27, 2005—Wellstone Filters, Inc. (Symbol WLSF) was illegally promoted through unsolicited faxes in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), resulting in artificially high share prices in 2004.
The TCPA entitles the recipients of unsolicited faxes to minimum statutory damages of $500 per junk fax with awards up to $4,500 per fax due to willful and numerous violations.
After receiving countless unsolicited faxes, Christine Baker filed suit against Wellstone Filters, its CEO Learned J. Hand and others for violations of the TCPA on October 5, 2004, in Kingman, Arizona, Superior Court, CV-04-915.
As her deadline to serve the defendants approached, Ms. Baker called Wellstone Filters twice and she spoke with Rosanne Baack, Public Relations, about the junk faxes. Ms. Baack acknowledged that they were aware of the fax promotions and she promised a call by attorney Jehu Hand. When she did not receive the promised call, Ms. Baker had Wellstone Filters served.
Wellstone Filters retained attorney Douglas Irish, partner at Lewis and Roca in Phoenix. He contacted Ms. Baker and she offered to dismiss Wellstone if its CEO Learned J. Hand provided a notarized affidavit stating that nobody at Wellstone was involved with or profited from the illegal fax promotions. Ms. Baker also requested the results of their internal investigation and all available information about the identity of the junk faxers.
The Wellstone Filters response was a Motion for Summary Judgment with a declaration by CEO Hand, stating he did not order the faxes “nor did any other person connected with or related to Wellstone Filters, Inc., and I would be in a position to know if any such person had done so.�?
Ms. Baker agrees that as CEO of Wellstone Filters, Mr. Hand is in a position to know who sent the unsolicited faxes for over one year. The Wellstone Filters shares were pumped to record highs of $1.60 in December 2004 and traded around $.41 on 5/24/05 according to Pink Sheets. For current quotes please check http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=WLSF or http://otcbb.com/
The Wellstone Filters officers should have reported the unauthorized promotions to the SEC for investigation and to possibly halt trading. The stock tout junk faxes were sent to millions of people with little or no trading experience.
Links to the court filings and some of Ms. Baker’s research are posted at http://fight-back.us/forum/index.php?showtopic=744 and she strongly recommends that potential investors review the filings with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar PRIOR to investing in any company. It is astounding how the SEC filings differ from the company press releases and faxed or e-mailed stock touts.
Wellstone Filters management is not cooperating at all and Ms. Baker agreed to dismiss Wellstone Filters because she does not have the legal skills and resources to successfully litigate that as the beneficiary of the illegal promotions and because they apparently failed to try to stop the illegal junk fax promotions, Wellstone Filters and its officers are liable for the faxes.
Ms. Baker is offering a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to the conviction of the shareholder(s) responsible for the illegal fax promotions.
Usually quite a few people are involved with the faxing and trading and apparently several fax broadcasters were hired for the Wellstone Filters promotions, possibly on behalf of several shareholders who independently manipulated the market. This reward will be available until 12/31/05, details are posted at http://fight-back.us/forum/index.php?showtopic=747
An excellent primer on penny stock fraud is junk fax expert Steve Kirsch’s “Anatomy of Stock Fraud? at http://www.junkfax.org/fax/profiles/wsp/wsp.htm
Mr. Kirsch’s research lead to the 2/14/05 SEC suit against some of the persons involved, including Concorde America (CNDD) president Hartley Lord. Details are in the SEC litigation release “Court Freezes Assets of Penny Stock Pump and Dumpers. Sec Files Suit against Eight Defendants in Pink Sheet Stock Manipulation�? at http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr19085.htm
It is very important that junk faxes are saved as it is quite possible that substantial settlements become available years later.
The Indiana junk fax class action Kenro, Inc. v. APO Health, Inc., No 49D12-0101-CP-000016 (Ind. Super. Nov. 5, 2001), was settled for $4.5 million and the judge recently awarded $535,000 to charities because these funds remained unclaimed.
The junk fax class action against Hooters Restaurants resulted in an $11.9 million verdict for the recipients of 7,825 unsolicited faxes. Nicholson v. Hooters of Augusta, No. 95RCCV616 (Richmond Super. March 21, 2001) http://www.keytlaw.com/faxes/hooterscase.htm
For more information about junk faxes please visit Ms. Baker’s web sites http://junkfaxsuit.info and http://fight-back.us/forum/index.php?s=&showforum=17
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The Pink Sheets 24-months chart and the junk faxes
The chart illustrates how the share prices as well as trading volume correlate with the junk fax promotions.
Exhibit F-1: the 10/15/03 Wellstone junk fax
Please contact Ms. Baker if you received a fax prior to 10/15/03.
Exhibit F-4: the 9/12/04 Wellstone junk fax
“Major coverage beginning, watch this stock trade.”
