Does it Matter When Ms. Moscowitz Takes Over Your Company?

Yes, friends, that is today's philosophical question. Does Moscowitz matter? I learned from an Internet rumor today that a receiver had been appointed to take over naked shorting poster child Universal Express, that her name was Moscowitz and that she's now running the show.

Then I turned to the company's website. Nothing. Edgar: nothing, no SEC filings. No Moscowitz.

So then I checked the electronic filings of the U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan, and there she be: Moscowitz!

I found an order by Judge Gerald E. Lynch, dated Aug. 31 and filed on Sept. 4, that said as follows:

For the reasons stated in the order of August 30, 2007, and upon due consideration of potential candidates, it is hereby ordered that Jane W. Moscowitz of Miami, Florida be appointed receiver for Universal Express Inc. to determine Universal Express's actual financial state, to collect and conserve what assets the company has, and to report its findings to the court.

Just so you don't think I'm making this up, here is a screen shot of the decision:



What this means is that Universal Express's loudmouth CEO Richard Altomare, the sergeant-at-arms of the naked shorting conspiracy loons, is out out OUT! (As Ralph Kramden would have said.) Moscowitz is in.

Now, back to my question. Is this important? I mean, when the court names a lady to come in to your offices and "collect and preserve" your assets -- isn't that worth disclosing to your shareholders?

As a matter of fact, as I pointed out the other day, when the judge issued his initial decision on August 30, Altomare issued a press release not mentioning that a receiver was going to be appointed. So I guess the company wouldn't want to mention that the receiver has been named, that her name is Moscowitz, and that the loudmouth is out out OUT.

Which leads me to another question that I have raised before: Where is the Justice Department? Is there any particular reason why Universal Express isn't the subject of more than an SEC lawsuit?

UPDATE: It will be interesting to see what kind of slugs Ms. Moscowitz can find under the rug. One just outed himself yesterday -- C. Austin "Bud" Burrell, who operates a pink sheet outfit called Private Trading Systems when he isn't yammering nonsense about naked shorting. Here's a pretty good take on that company and its interesting ownership.

Burrell, a shrill defender of Universal Express, and now a leading defender of that other naked shorting "victim" Overstock.com, disclosed yesterday on Phil Saunders' "thesanitycheck.com" website that he had been on the Universal Express payroll up till about two years ago. He also said that he is a "very significant unsecured creditor."

He later said, " I provided litigation support to the in house General Counsel for over 4 years. What they owe me is privileged."

Note to Ms. Moscowitz.

It will be interesting to see how much money this naked shorting poster child -- and Universal Express's brethren like Overstock.com and Novastar Financial -- has been flushing down the toilet with characters like this.

© 2007 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.



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