The tragendy of Elgindy

This has no direct connection to REFR, but it does provide a further look into the mindset of what I call the Type 3 investor.

Amr "Anthony" Elgindy was convicted last January of exortion, racketeering, and securities fraud, involving his illegal acquisition of confidential FBI data regarding a number of small companies.

The bitter irony is that the truth that Elgindy went over the line to bring out, was promptly roundly ignored by those who stood to benefit most from the information, the shareholders of the companies involved.

Let me quote from a recent post on the REFR board that says it about as well as possible:

Elgindy was a criminal. He was not lying about honest companies in order to turn a profit. He was using INSIDE information (read REAL FACTS) about CORRUPT companies.

...I remember when Elgindy was recomending shorting a small corporation based in NJ. They sold medical equipment. When Elgindy was charged, the stuckholders of this company were celebrating on the yahoo message board. I tried to explain to them that the charges were that Elgindy had illegal access to information taken from federal investigations. He KNEW their beloved company was a FRAUD, for a FACT. I got nothing but grief for my attempts to explain this very simple concept to them.

The offices of the company were later raided by the FBI. The company was delisted.

That's when I realized that SUCKERS are beyond redemption. You can show them in black and white that they have been had, and IT WILL NOT MATTER.

My summation: The stock market is not a courtroom, and investors are not a jury. One is not bound to disregard evidence simply because the methods for obtaining it may have been illegal. Investments are not presumed good until proven bad beyond a reasonable doubt.

Once reasonable doubt is gone, it's too late to sell anyway.