March 27, 2008
To The SEC Commission and Financial Industry at Large:
Naked shorts in the United States = "counterfeit shares." The case of CMKX represents the greatest "counterfeit shares" fraud in the UNITED STATES. CMKM DIAMONDS, INC. suffered THE LARGEST NAKED SHORT IN HISTORY. Trillions of stock shares traded and changed hands UNTIL CMKX revoked itself and had every stock holder pull physical stock certificates out of brokerages, and out of street name, to trap those whom had committed fraud. CMKX is also the LARGEST STOCK CERTIFICATE PULL IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES"
Naked short selling is a case of short selling the shares without first arranging a borrow. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 stipulates a settlement period up to three business days before a stock needs to be delivered, generally referred to as "T+3 delivery". The SECs public position as of the Spring of 2005 was that naked shorting did not exist. With enactment of Regulation SHO, the subsequent elimination of the SHO grandfather exemption, and now the promulgation of this rule, the SEC has finally admitted the error of its ways.
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation has also been criticized for its approach to naked short selling. DTCC has been sued with regard to its alleged participation in naked short selling, and the issue of DTCC's possible involvement has been taken up by Senator Robert Bennett and discussed by the NASAA and in articles -- disagreed with by DTCC -- in the Wall Street Journal and Euromoney Magazine. Robert J. Shapiro, former undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs, has, however, found that naked short selling has cost investors $100 billion and driven 1,000 companies into the ground.
Naked shorting is illegal because it allows manipulators a chance to force stock prices down without regard for normal stock supply/demand patterns. It is in fact, institutional fraud further, counterfeiting of securities is a crime of U.S. Constitutional magnitude. This criminal conduct, once asserted by the SEC not to exist, has destroyed many, many companies, lives and opportunities. But now the word is out on naked shorting it must be stopped, and all whom conspired put in jail. This naked shorting fraud rule must be passed - NOW.
Sincerely,
A. Clifton Hodges
HODGES AND ASSOCIATES