Political Quotes

“as the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I want to take this opportunity to highlight a growing problem with securities fraud in this country--a problem which affects thousands of American families who are now investing their hard earned savings in a booming stock market. The problem involves the fraudulent manipulation of the stocks of small companies in scams which can literally wipe out investors who place their trust in unscrupulous brokers and stock promoters. Fraud in the sale of small company stocks has been increasing at an alarming rate. In the typical case, unscrupulous brokerage firms, often operating through intermediaries, purchase large positions in a company which is worthless or of very limited value and then drive its price higher through manipulation. They do this by aggressively cold calling thousands of unsuspecting individuals, often inexperienced in investing, and persuading them to purchase the company's stock by greatly exaggerating its financial prospects. The inevitable effect of this massive sales campaign is to push the price higher, at which point the brokerage firm dumps its shares, leaving the public holding investments which rapidly become worthless.”