Rentech Case: Steven Hourmouzis

If what you really want to know is if my technology to predict roulette spins is effective, then visit me personally for a demonstration, or download the free system on my website for a test. This page is to explain a case that happened decades ago, which is used by 'competitors' who find it easier to discredit me rather than develop better technology.

Almost 20 years ago when I was 21 years old, my occupation was a stock promoter. This began because I operated a successful and well known promotional company, and had been approached by numerous companies to promote them. I usually received company shares as payment for my promotional services. Essentially, I promoted company press releases to attract investors.

For one particular promotion, I researched numerous companies to determine which had the strongest potential for growth. The idea was to promote under-valued companies. A company called Rentech fit my criteria. Normally I would be paid in shares by the company, but this time I purchased $50,000 in shares by myself. As usual, I intended only to promote the company's news.

The problem was that I misunderstood some of the Rentech's statements from press releases, and I published inaccurate information. My material was based on the following facts:

 

1. Rentech generates revenue by licensing patented technology

2. Rentech had a pending patent for new technology.

3. Rentech was facing delisting from the NASDAQ stock exchange because their share price had fallen below the minimum required value. Therefore, Rentech asked NASDAQ for a time extension to make several important announcements that they believed would sufficiently increase their share price, and keep them on the NASDAQ exchange. NASDAQ granted Rentech the extension after a hearing, so clearly they were satisfied that the pending announcements were likely to increase the share price.

4. The company's representative (Mark Koenig) personally told me they did indeed have critical positive news that will soon be released, although details were confidential at the time.

5. Rentech's technology is widely used by large companies including Texaco oil company. Therefore Rentech's new technology may be extremely profitable for them.

Based on these facts, I assumed that Rentech was going to announce new technology that would be used by Texaco and other oil companies, and this will dramatically increase its share price. It may be a clumsy assumption, but at 21 years old, I believed it was reasonable. Based on various factors, I believed Rentech's share price would increase by over 900%, and I published my estimations throughout the Internet.

The reality was that Rentech did indeed have multiple positive announcements scheduled for release that were likely to increase the share price. And they did have a pending patent. But their announcements had nothing to do with Texaco. So the core of the case was I published my assumptions which were not quite correct. Nevertheless, Rentech's developments and press releases increased their share price by 1500%, which was even greater than my prediction. But this occurred after my sentence, which was too late.

My initial promotion of Rentech would increase the share price in the short term, but the majority of the increase was expected after Rentech's expected announcements we made. The material I published was more intended to have people watching Rentech's announcements to verify my suspicions, which is why the material I published claimed there was "imminent outstanding news" the company would soon release. So I intended to sell my shares some time after Rentech's announcements, and if I had done this, I would have made approximately a $700,000 profit. This would have been perfectly legal if I had only published exact copies of Rentech's press releases, instead of including my assumptions as I did.

After my promotion, message board postings from investors indicated I had made a mistake, although at the time I did not know what it was. In panic, I sold all my shares and made only a small profit.

ASIC initially alleged that I deliberately misaligned facts to mislead investors. They also claimed that my 900% price rise prediction was absurd. Initially I was charged with "intentionally" making misleading statements. But after meeting with ASIC to explain what happened, the charge was changed to "recklessly" making misleading statements. As the publishing of my assumptions was arguably "reckless" regardless of my young age, I pleaded guilty and served 3 months.

The dramatic 1500% share price increase occurred after my sentence, so it could not be used to support my case. It is shown below:

Rentech

ASIC alleged that the victims of my crime were the investors. The reality is anyone who purchased the shares and sold at the right time, or stil held shares today, would have profited substantially. But again, the price rise occurred after my sentence, which was too late.

Not everything was completely innocent though. For example, I falsely claimed that "analysts" had made the predictions when it was in fact me. However, I was not charged for this. Additionally, under a fabricated name, I posted messages on chat forums encouraging investors to investigate Rentech's company news and purchase shares. Although these postings were designed to encourage investors to research Rentech, not to mislead them.

Otherwise, I truly believed in the accuracy of my claims and honesty of my actions - specifically that Rentech will be announcing news that will dramatically increase its share price. And I was correct about this, with the share price increasing by approximately 1500%.

I had conducted numerous similar promotions that ASIC was aware of. But I was only charged with this promotion because it was the only time I used bulk email, and published clumsy assumptions instead of precise copies of company press releases.

Again this happened nearly 20 years ago when I was quite young and inexperienced, but involved with strict regulations of the SEC and ASIC. I accept that I made mistakes and learned from them. But this case is more a matter of publishing clumsy assumptions than deliberate deception. Unfortunately various people use these events against me for their benefit, without consideration of the truth.

If what you really want to know is if my technology to predict roulette spins is effective, then visit me personally for a demonstration, or download the free system on my website for a test.