'Crazy Eddie' Exec Alleges Fraud at Overstock.com

[Ian David]

'Crazy Eddie' Exec Alleges Fraud at Overstock.com
By Betsy Schiffman EmailMarch 10, 2008 | 4:25:57 PMCategories: Overstock.com

Sam Antar, a self-described convicted felon, takes credit for helping mastermind the Crazy Eddie securities scheme, one of the largest fraud cases of its time (it predates Enron). Because of his experience, Antar says, he knows fraud when he sees it -- and he thinks he sees it in Overstock.com.

The feud between Antar and Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has to be one of the weirdest dramas unfolding in business today. It has all the makings of a made-for-TV movie, or at the very least, an episode of Arrested Development. Antar obsessively argues that Overstock.com is falsifying its financial results and misleading investors. Byrne, for his part, denies the charges -- and has implied that Antar has a financial interest in trashing Overstock.com.

Byrne, the subject of Antar's research, comes from a reputable family. His father, John Byrne, was former chairman of Berkshire Hathaway's GEICO subsidiary. Patrick Byrne isn't your typical dot-com CEO: He took over as CEO of Overstock.com in 1999, after obtaining a masters degree from Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar and a Ph.D. in philosophy at Stanford. He's no dummy, but he is a loose cannon: He famously said on a conference call with financial analysts a few years ago that there was a "Sith Lord" conspiring to drive down his stock.

Antar is a colorful character in his own right. After helping falsify profits and financial records for the Crazy Eddie chain, Antar says, he escaped jail time because he squealed on his cousin Eddie Antar, the eponymous "Crazy Eddie" in the electronics retail chain, known for its insaaaane prices.

More:
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/crazy-eddie-fra.html

Who do you trust?

Or

[Saturday]

1. Not sure, but I think the "sith Lord" he was referring to was

naked shorting. And he has a valid point if that was it. I've been following Overstock because of his outcry against naked shorting. Thanks for the article.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Patrick Byrne = BIG voucher proponent

If he was given a silver bullet, Byrne says he would shoot the National Education Association -- the largest teachers union.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38726-2005Apr8.html

He is a frootloop.