Slashdot Mirror

Is it time for more Infinium Pump & Dump already?

2.5 weeks ago, StockPatrol.com has this to say:

Investors and observers who have been awaiting the debut of Infinium Labs Inc..s (OTCBB: IFLB) .Phantom Gaming System. will have to wait a little longer. The Company, which has repeatedly delayed introduction of its Phantom, now claims that its .goal. is to .commence the launch. of the product in the fourth quarter of 2005 . but only if it can first secure at least $11.5 million. That is just the beginning. Infinium says it will need $22.2 million over the next year. At last report, the Company had $4,102 in available cash.

A typical comment on reverse mergers: "It's a perfect setup for a 'pump and dump' stock scam. Take a stock that has been trading for pennies, merge it into a business that has at least the facade of respectability and a presence in a market that is perceived as hot, hype like hell, sell off as many of your shares as possible, and make a run for the border before the price drops like a rock. There have been enough of these to give the whole approach a dubious aura."

A reverse merger, unlike an initial public offering, doesn't raise any money for the company. It costs money, and at the end, you have a publicly traded stock nobody cares about. Which you then have to hype. So they are an inherently suspicious transaction.

Here's an example of a reverse merger involving a company claiming to be engaged in gold mining, biotech, and casino gambling. Reverse mergers tend to be at that level of flakeyness.

Go ahead, try to buy one! You can't. Offer them some investment money... they'll take it!

Did nobody notice that all images of the "phone" are virtual mockups?

How many promos/how much hype for this have I seen in the past three years?

Hmm, BusinessWeek mag was persuadade that they were available back in 1999 and claimed to have tested one.

It was later shown (by opening the case) that Hop-On's "disposable phones" were really Nokia phones with their own plastic casing put around them. ... and costing WAY more than $30 for the parts.

There were some delays admitted-to long after the 1999 "demo", in June 2002

There was a bit of a problem with a Universal Studios tie-in back in 2001:
"In November 2001, Hop-On announced that it would partner with Universal Studios Home Video to give away a limited number of the disposable phone to purchasers of the "Jurassic Park III" DVD/ home video. The "winners" would get a free Hop-On phone if their copy of the video contained a special coupon. The promotion was cancelled when Hop-On failed to deliver the phones... Universal has advised Stock Patrol that it is sending all of those winners - about 1000 in all - $30 checks (the supposed cost of a Hop-On phone) and a free DVD. "

See also http://www.wirelessreview.com/ar/wireless_cutting_ room_floor_2/

and oh, oopsie!!!!
Disposable Cell Phone Company Hop-On Wireless CEO Indicted For Fraud (April 18, 2003 -- for ANOTHER venture of his, not Hop On, but it looks like a familiar tale)

Last year we had the story of how it looked like disposable cell phone company Hop-On Wireless was a scam. Since then, I've seen the company highly touted in many news stories, talking about how it was this great invention... but which no one seemed to be selling. Now, the CEO of Hop-On has been arrested for fraud, relating to work he did on an earlier company - but which brings up many parallels to Hop-On. The earlier company was an online gambling site, which he raised a lot of money for. However, they did so by showing software that was really someone else's software "cosmetically altered" to look like their own. Hop-On's "disposable phones" were really Nokia phones with their own plastic casing put around them.

From the hop-on website:
Q. When will I be able to buy the Hop-on phone?
A. The release date of our Hop-on phone is contingent on a variety of factors. We are doing everything we can to get our phones into the hands of all those who want and need them as soon as possible. If you like, you can e-mail us your contact information, and we'll let you know as soon as our phone is available in your area.

Go ahead, try to buy one! You can't. Offer them some investment money... they'll take it!

Did nobody notice that all images of the "phone" are virtual mockups?

How many promos/how much hype for this have I seen in the past three years?

Hmm, BusinessWeek mag was persuadade that they were available back in 1999 and claimed to have tested one.

It was later shown (by opening the case) that Hop-On's "disposable phones" were really Nokia phones with their own plastic casing put around them. ... and costing WAY more than $30 for the parts.

There were some delays admitted-to long after the 1999 "demo", in June 2002

There was a bit of a problem with a Universal Studios tie-in back in 2001:
"In November 2001, Hop-On announced that it would partner with Universal Studios Home Video to give away a limited number of the disposable phone to purchasers of the "Jurassic Park III" DVD/ home video. The "winners" would get a free Hop-On phone if their copy of the video contained a special coupon. The promotion was cancelled when Hop-On failed to deliver the phones... Universal has advised Stock Patrol that it is sending all of those winners - about 1000 in all - $30 checks (the supposed cost of a Hop-On phone) and a free DVD. "

See also http://www.wirelessreview.com/ar/wireless_cutting_ room_floor_2/

and oh, oopsie!!!!
Disposable Cell Phone Company Hop-On Wireless CEO Indicted For Fraud (April 18, 2003 -- for ANOTHER venture of his, not Hop On, but it looks like a familiar tale)

Last year we had the story of how it looked like disposable cell phone company Hop-On Wireless was a scam. Since then, I've seen the company highly touted in many news stories, talking about how it was this great invention... but which no one seemed to be selling. Now, the CEO of Hop-On has been arrested for fraud, relating to work he did on an earlier company - but which brings up many parallels to Hop-On. The earlier company was an online gambling site, which he raised a lot of money for. However, they did so by showing software that was really someone else's software "cosmetically altered" to look like their own. Hop-On's "disposable phones" were really Nokia phones with their own plastic casing put around them.

From the hop-on website:
Q. When will I be able to buy the Hop-on phone?
A. The release date of our Hop-on phone is contingent on a variety of factors. We are doing everything we can to get our phones into the hands of all those who want and need them as soon as possible. If you like, you can e-mail us your contact information, and we'll let you know as soon as our phone is available in your area.

It sounds like the only thing disposable is the company.

According to stockpatrol, the former CEO was arrested for defrauding investors.

Their 2002 Audited Financials, shows over 98 MILLION shares and lifetime sales of just $4,283 (at an expense of $29,576). The company has moved from online gambling (1998-2000), to DSL provider (2000), to wireless phones(2001-). The audit claims: "[...] the Company has sustained operating losses and expects such losses to continue to the forseeable future. The Company has not generated any significant revenues or product sales [...]". It also mentions that the company currently has two lawsuits against it for unpaid fees.

I know one of the articles said they had a working prototype last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if both wow-com.com and pdacortex.com reprinted the company press release without checking any of the facts.

How could CNN print this crap without checking into the history of this company? Surely someone there remembers that this same company has pulled this scam before. Hop-On keeps issuing press releases every month or so touting how close they are to product release, and how succesful they are even though no one has seen one of their phones.

According to all of their press releases they will have CDMA, TDMA, and GSM phones. Quite an engineering and desgin feat for a company that employs 15 people.