Fame Gone Wrong The Tale Of A Pump & Dump Celebrity
Yet another former celebrity is making news for all the wrong reasons. So is it cocaine, meth, a DUI?
No, of course not You wont find that type of trash here on the respectable pages of Penny Stock Research.
As you might guess, were exposing a former star for their financial misdeeds in particular, a penny stock pump and dump scam.
As the editor of Fridays weekly Pump & Dump Alert, I take a certain amount of joy in exposing these scams. So I couldnt pass up the opportunity to provide just a bit more press for this former pseudo-star. And he should be grateful, right arent stars these days always looking for more attention?
Heres the deal
Being immortalized in a major Hollywood production can open doors even if youre not a Hollywood regular. Thats the deal with former Notre Dame football player, Daniel Ruettiger. Mr. Ruettiger earned his 15 minutes of fame as the subject of the 1993 movie, Rudy.
If youve never seen the movie, the plot is simple its a true underdog story. The story is based on Daniel Rudy Ruettigers relentless effort to play for the Fighting Irish football team. This particular story is great as Rudy was considered too small by virtually all standards.
As many smart people do, Mr. Ruettiger parlayed his fame into a business idea. His idea a nutrition company called Rudy Nutrition (RUNU).
What may have started out as a genuine business sadly ended up a classic penny stock pump and dump scheme
According to an SEC lawsuit against Ruettiger (and 12 others), RUNU was nothing more than a shell company. And not just any shell company but one that included everything from Panamanian companies to crooked lawyers.
Rudy Nutrition ended up in trouble for pumping their sports drink. Interestingly, RUNU actually produced a real product in modest quantities according the lawsuit. Sadly, thats more than a lot of pump and dumps we deal with here. Most are developmental stage companies with no products or revenue.
Now the problem with RUNU is they didnt just hype their product they made false claims about the products success. The claim cited by the SEC is that it outsold Gatorade by a two-to-one margin in a major southwest test market. Even worse, RUNU had the temerity to print these claims on mailers and send them to millions of investors!
In total, the SEC lawsuit claims the defendants made over $11 million by running a multi-layered pump and dump scheme. The lawsuit states the scheme centered on fraudulent promoting (touting) and manipulative trading.
I have to admit, in this case, Im a bit disappointed. Thats why Im happy to give Rudy his due press
Most times Im not surprised when I see stars behaving badly. And Im never surprised to uncover a penny stock scam. But Rudys life story was an inspiration for the underdog. He had an amazing work ethic and solid character or at least thats what the movie portrayed.
To see someone of that quality end up on these pages is a big disappointment.
Until next time,
Brian Walker
Category: Penny Stock Alerts, Pump & Dump Alerts
