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nitpicked
nitpicked's Journal
nitpicked's Journal
January 24, 2023
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday is holding a hearing to examine “how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industries harms customers and artists alike,” as a response to the recent Taylor Swift tickets fiasco with major distributor Ticketmaster.
Senate panel holds hearing focused on Taylor Swift Ticketmaster fiasco
https://thehill.com/homenews/3827854-watch-live-senate-panel-holds-hearing-focused-on-taylor-swift-ticketmaster-fiasco/The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday is holding a hearing to examine “how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industries harms customers and artists alike,” as a response to the recent Taylor Swift tickets fiasco with major distributor Ticketmaster.
January 13, 2023
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Former Chief Financial Officer Of Email Security Company Pleads Guilty To $50 Million Scheme To Defraud Investors And Lenders
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that NIHAT CARDAK, the former Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) of the Virginia-based email security company GigaMedia Access Corporation, d/b/a GigaTrust (“GigaTrust”), pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court in connection with a scheme to defraud investors and lenders of millions of dollars through false and misleading misrepresentations, including fabricated bank statements and audit reports, and by impersonating a purported customer, auditor, and GigaTrust lawyer. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe accepted the defendant’s guilty plea.
(snip)
According to the allegations in the Indictment and other filings and statements made in court:[1]
From in or about 2016 through at least in or about 2019, GigaTrust was a private company headquartered in Virginia that purported to be a market-leading provider of cloud-based content security solutions. Robert Bernardi founded GigaTrust and served as its Chief Executive Officer, while CARDAK and Sunil Chandra were GigaTrust’s CFO and Vice President of Business Development, respectively. The defendants devised a scheme to defraud investors and lenders by (i) fabricating and disseminating false and misleading bank account statements that overstated GigaTrust’s cash deposits; (ii) fabricating and disseminating false and misleading audit materials that purported to have been issued by GigaTrust’s auditors and overstated GigaTrust’s performance; (iii) forging and disseminating a false and misleading letter purporting to be from GigaTrust’s New York-based counsel; and (iv) impersonating or causing others to impersonate a purported customer and auditor of GigaTrust on telephone calls with a prospective lender.
Specifically, Bernardi sent fabricated audit materials to a New York-based investment firm, and Bernardi and CARDAK used fabricated bank statements to obtain multiple rounds of loans and investments for GigaTrust worth millions of dollars. After a New York-based bank (“Bank-1”), which had loaned GigaTrust $25 million, declared that GigaTrust had defaulted on the terms of its loan agreement, Bernardi and CARDAK induced additional investments in GigaTrust through, among other things, forging a letter purporting to be from GigaTrust’s New-York based counsel. Shortly thereafter, while negotiating another $25 million deal with a lender (“Lender-1”), Bernardi and CARDAK devised a scheme to impersonate a GigaTrust customer and auditor on requested diligence calls, which induced Lender-1 to make a $25 million loan to GigaTrust. Bernardi recruited Chandra to pose as one of GigaTrust’s alleged customers on a call with Lender-1. Bernardi and CARDAK also fabricated bank statements and sent them to Lender-1 right before closing the $25 million deal.
(snip)
Former ((CFO)) Of Email Security Company Pleads Guilty To $50 Million Scheme To Defraud Investors
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-chief-financial-officer-email-security-company-pleads-guilty-50-million-schemeDepartment of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Former Chief Financial Officer Of Email Security Company Pleads Guilty To $50 Million Scheme To Defraud Investors And Lenders
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that NIHAT CARDAK, the former Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) of the Virginia-based email security company GigaMedia Access Corporation, d/b/a GigaTrust (“GigaTrust”), pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court in connection with a scheme to defraud investors and lenders of millions of dollars through false and misleading misrepresentations, including fabricated bank statements and audit reports, and by impersonating a purported customer, auditor, and GigaTrust lawyer. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe accepted the defendant’s guilty plea.
(snip)
According to the allegations in the Indictment and other filings and statements made in court:[1]
From in or about 2016 through at least in or about 2019, GigaTrust was a private company headquartered in Virginia that purported to be a market-leading provider of cloud-based content security solutions. Robert Bernardi founded GigaTrust and served as its Chief Executive Officer, while CARDAK and Sunil Chandra were GigaTrust’s CFO and Vice President of Business Development, respectively. The defendants devised a scheme to defraud investors and lenders by (i) fabricating and disseminating false and misleading bank account statements that overstated GigaTrust’s cash deposits; (ii) fabricating and disseminating false and misleading audit materials that purported to have been issued by GigaTrust’s auditors and overstated GigaTrust’s performance; (iii) forging and disseminating a false and misleading letter purporting to be from GigaTrust’s New York-based counsel; and (iv) impersonating or causing others to impersonate a purported customer and auditor of GigaTrust on telephone calls with a prospective lender.
Specifically, Bernardi sent fabricated audit materials to a New York-based investment firm, and Bernardi and CARDAK used fabricated bank statements to obtain multiple rounds of loans and investments for GigaTrust worth millions of dollars. After a New York-based bank (“Bank-1”), which had loaned GigaTrust $25 million, declared that GigaTrust had defaulted on the terms of its loan agreement, Bernardi and CARDAK induced additional investments in GigaTrust through, among other things, forging a letter purporting to be from GigaTrust’s New-York based counsel. Shortly thereafter, while negotiating another $25 million deal with a lender (“Lender-1”), Bernardi and CARDAK devised a scheme to impersonate a GigaTrust customer and auditor on requested diligence calls, which induced Lender-1 to make a $25 million loan to GigaTrust. Bernardi recruited Chandra to pose as one of GigaTrust’s alleged customers on a call with Lender-1. Bernardi and CARDAK also fabricated bank statements and sent them to Lender-1 right before closing the $25 million deal.
(snip)
November 23, 2022
Stephen King jokes that Mike Lindell's My Pillow will soon be the only advertiser left on Twitter
Beatrice Nolan Nov 23, 2022, 6:34 AM
Stephen King has continued his Twitter feud with Elon Musk, this time taking aim at Twitter's ongoing advertising problems.
"Pretty soon the only advertiser left on Twitter will be My Pillow," the best-selling author tweeted on Tuesday, referring to the bedding company led by controversial Donald Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell.
Twitter has been struggling to retain some advertisers that are nervous about Musk's new vision for the social-media platform.
In less than a month Twitter has lost half of its top 100 advertisers, according to a report from media watchdog, Media Matters. According to the research, 50 of Twitter's top 100 advertisers have either announced or seemingly stopped advertising on the platform.
(snip)
Stephen King jokes that Mike Lindell's My Pillow will soon be the only advertiser left on Twitter
https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-king-mike-lindell-my-pillow-elon-musk-twitter-2022-11Stephen King jokes that Mike Lindell's My Pillow will soon be the only advertiser left on Twitter
Beatrice Nolan Nov 23, 2022, 6:34 AM
Stephen King has continued his Twitter feud with Elon Musk, this time taking aim at Twitter's ongoing advertising problems.
"Pretty soon the only advertiser left on Twitter will be My Pillow," the best-selling author tweeted on Tuesday, referring to the bedding company led by controversial Donald Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell.
Twitter has been struggling to retain some advertisers that are nervous about Musk's new vision for the social-media platform.
In less than a month Twitter has lost half of its top 100 advertisers, according to a report from media watchdog, Media Matters. According to the research, 50 of Twitter's top 100 advertisers have either announced or seemingly stopped advertising on the platform.
(snip)
November 11, 2022
Children's hospital says it's completely full due to RSV surge
1h ago
A Michigan pediatric hospital is reporting it is completely full due to a surge of cases linked to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor -- which is about 44 miles west of Detroit -- said it has seen 259 children sick with RSV this season, a 46% spike from the same number seen this time last year.
Hospital officials said they are worried that this surge -- coupled with an earlier flu season and a potential new COVID-19 wave -- could put more stress on the health care system.
(snip)
The situation in Michigan is just the latest example of some hospitals across the country reporting they have reached capacity due to a high number of RSV cases.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, weekly RSV cases nationwide have risen from 5,872 the week ending Oct. 1 to 8,597 the week ending Nov. 5.
(snip)
((MI)) Children's hospital says it's completely full due to RSV surge
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/children-s-hospital-says-it-s-completely-full-due-to-rsv-surge/ar-AA140yb3?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=d628998387b8449ebefb3c62e56b5165Children's hospital says it's completely full due to RSV surge
1h ago
A Michigan pediatric hospital is reporting it is completely full due to a surge of cases linked to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor -- which is about 44 miles west of Detroit -- said it has seen 259 children sick with RSV this season, a 46% spike from the same number seen this time last year.
Hospital officials said they are worried that this surge -- coupled with an earlier flu season and a potential new COVID-19 wave -- could put more stress on the health care system.
(snip)
The situation in Michigan is just the latest example of some hospitals across the country reporting they have reached capacity due to a high number of RSV cases.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, weekly RSV cases nationwide have risen from 5,872 the week ending Oct. 1 to 8,597 the week ending Nov. 5.
(snip)
November 10, 2022
DON'T ditch the masks yet
My aunt and her husband both got run over by COVID. (they lived, but...)
Despite being shot and boosted.
The latest 28 day totals for US cases and deaths:
1,071,089 | 9,695
November 10, 2022
My predictions for 2023
The National Defense Authorization bill will pass.
So will the re-namings of post offices, courthouse and VA clinics.
Anything else? Your guess is as good as mine.
November 3, 2022
Rats, I almost certainly will have to vote in person
I filed to vote absentee, and they claimed the ballot got sent out, but I never received it.
That means I will either have to stagger into the polling place,or be Very Aggravating and insisting on curbside service.
Lesson learned: Ask to vote absentee early and often? so that if the Merry Mail Manglers and Mislayers do this again, there will be time to get another ballot.
November 3, 2022
COVID is STILL not over
Got a call yesterday from my aunt.
Despite being jabbed and boosted, both she and her husband got COVID, laying them out for about 2 weeks.
So please keep masking up!
October 27, 2022
A forced renaming
Used to be nitpicker
Now after a computer reboot blanked my link, I had to settle for nitpicked.
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