Anson Funds continue with business as usual, ignoring regulators, and even the DoJ, and bulldozing ahead with a strategy of destroying companies and investor holdings in deals the Fund has targeted for attack.
Having been investigating Anson for years now, even we are shocked at the complete disregard shown for the law.
We have already seen the SEC fine Anson for front running rules violations; but now, credible sources tell us that the SEC will be pressing additional charges against Anson Funds in a matter of months. The extent of these charges is at this point unknown to us; however, based on what we know at MarketFrauds and our assessment that this is only the tip of the iceberg, we expect the charges will be severe.
This is a long report and there is a lot to cover, so make sure you get to the end.
Anson Funds Fake Performance Figures:
The first order of business is the most recent puff-piece press release from Anson Funds, entitled: Anson Funds Hires Legion Partners.
There are two key takeaways from this release:
1) Anson Funds, which invests $1.6 billion, has hired a senior executive from activist investor Legion Partners to build its shareholder activism and engagement strategy
2) Anson returned an average 15% after fees every year since its launch in 2007, a person familiar with the numbers said.
First of all, let’s dive more deeply into that $1.6-billion figure. We spoke with a number of respected money managers about Anson’s situation and they said that any fund under DoJ and SEC investigation would have had funds pulled out.
Funds would not be going in. The word on the street is that the only money still left in the fund is dirty money that needs to be cleaned.
Anson’s main purpose is to act as a front. But for whom? That is the question everyone should be asking, especially regulators.
Regulators need to look closely at who the investors in the fund are and their backgrounds.
With regards to the second point: 15% a year since 2007. These numbers have a very loose, at best, relationship to reality.
An ex-member of staff from the Anson middle/back office informed us that the performance numbers are massaged on a monthly basis.
He/she explained that the trades are settled in-house, where their operations people then fake settle various trades. Additionally, a lot of the counterfeiting is done in offshore accounts that are not audited (another place for the DoJ to look).
Once these false numbers and trade data have been fudged, they move on to the Fund’s third-party administrator to simply tick the boxes as the fraud has already been processed. Then, it’s off to the auditor to add legitimacy to the fake numbers.
There is an interesting part in the Nano Dimension lawsuit against Anson Funds and Murchison, which shows that the SEC is also aware of fraudulent reporting by hedge funds and how they get away with it:
the SEC determined that Murchinson and Bistricer provided false information on hundreds of sale orders of a hedge fund client to its brokers, which led those sales to be listed as “long” when they were actually “short” positions.
The lawsuit can be found here: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1491072/000119312523131774/d264274dex993.htm
This is why Anson is spending so much money on legal expenses related to the SEC and DoJ. The Fund’s fixers are working overtime because if their numbers and back office get a forensic audit, they will all go to jail and the game will come to a very abrupt end.
It’s also telling that with the fund under close scrutiny by regulators they are somewhat hamstrung with the trades they can pull off and their performance numbers have gone from 50% pa for the previous 2 years to less than 7% for the current year (not that we believe the 50% performance figures)
Regulators need to understand how all of the money was made over the last 5 years with a detailed audit of their trades and understand where every % of performance came from. The underlying trades will not lie and this is where the regulators will catch them at their game.
Who is paying Anson Funds Legal Bills
A source very close to Anson Funds has told us that with the various lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada and compounding regulatory troubles, the fund is spending north of $5 million a month–and has been for years. This is a staggering sum and somewhat hard to believe; however, the source is credible and we see no reason why we would be misled.
This leads to the question: Who is actually paying for this? Is it unitholders, or is there an outside party who needs to keep Anson Funds afloat at almost any cost? A source close to Anson tells us it is the latter, and that Anson is being backed by someone who needs Moez Kassam to remain in business. This is something the regulators and DoJ need to investigate thoroughly.
Globe & Mail Gives the DoJ Game Away
David Milstead, another journalist at the Globe and someone who has been doing “favors” for Anson Funds for years, put out a very soft piece recently, which covered Anson Funds recent SEC fine for rules violations. David accidentally showed Anson’s cards when he said: “the Justice Department has not communicated with the company in more than a year.”
Milstead’s aim here was to trick the marketplace into believing that the DoJ has discontinued its investigation, and all is good between the authorities and Anson Funds.
This is not the case. The DoJ and SEC have put huge resources behind their Anson Funds investigation and would not just drop the case, especially with all the information they have gathered. Based on our knowledge of the legal/regulatory system, you stop contacting the targeted party if the investigation is nearing the end and you have enough evidence to prosecute and no deal is expected. So, thank you, David, for letting us know the true state of play.
As a point of reference, Andrew Left was interviewed by Bloomberg back in July of this year. At the time, he was living in fear of whether the Justice Department would be charging him. In the interview, he said the Justice department hadn’t contacted him or his legal team in over 9 months, and that he was in limbo until he heard something from them.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/short-seller-andrew-left-is-living-in-fear-of-the-feds-1.1944009
Left knows the DoJ is coming for him, and Anson Funds knows the same.
Moez moving money to Dubai and Bali:
We have covered the fact that Moez has been moving his money to Dubai where he has a relationship with a number of low-level princes who invested in a string of cannabis deals in the past through him. Working with Moez and investing in cannabis is a huge embarrassment to these people, and they are trying to keep any association with him to a minimum. If more senior royals were to find out, the disgrace would be enormous.
Some of the funds appear to have been moved by the bankers at Canaccord, which has an office there and a very close relationship with Anson (Canaccord’s involvement has not been independently confirmed). What most people don’t know is that Dubai might not be the final destination. Moez is also moving money to Bali, and a source close to him says that might be his final destination should the DoJ press criminal charges. Authorities need to be aware and prepared.
Anson Funds relationship with Grizzly Research and how the Wolfpack works
As we know, Anson Funds works in a ‘wolfpack’ with other funds and short sellers – all coordinating their attacks and sharing inside information. Anson is usually the ringleader, passing off its own research to other short sellers who quite often just copy and paste and then push it out as their own (ask Nate Anderson of Hindenburg Research).
But on this occasion, we are looking at Grizzly Research, specifically.
Now, this is older news, but we only recently came across it and believe many others hadn’t seen it either, but what this does is help explain how Anson Funds work with other short sellers in bringing down a company.
Take a look at the following thread on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FiatLuxPartners/status/1642890310878363649
What this post is showing us is that Anson has a relationship with Grizzly Research. Worse, Anson provided Grizzly with research and failed to remove the metadata links to Anson employees.
Did Grizzly disclose this relationship with Anson Funds? This is something for regulators to look into? Is this a balance sheet arrangement, or something else?
Grizzly Research soon spotted the error and updated the report, which can be found here:
Updated Grizzly Research Report:
The problem for them is that we got there first and managed to archive the original post here:
This is the oldest version of the report:
The metadata is fairly easy to find and capture when you go the archived version and click on a number of links in this section: Divorced Co-CEOs are not a Good Sign you see this: (look closely at the highlights)
And it looks like Anson Funds has a Gerard Toohey on the payroll: https://ansonfunds.com/our-people/
Yet more proof that the Catalyst lawsuit had Anson and Hindenburg dead to rights.
Anson Funds‘ justification for the above would be that it is are merely sharing research with other like-minded funds; however, that is far from the truth. Anson is providing everything – the entire hit piece. This should be very easy for regulators to follow up on.
What is unbelievable to us is that in spite of the regulatory scrutiny and investigation into Anson Funds, the no-holds-barred illegal market manipulation continues. When will these illegal activities be shut down?
Hat Tip to Fiat Lux Partners for spotting this. See the below images:
People Regulators should talk to:
We understand that the regulators have been questioning people about their involvement with Anson Funds and what they know. With that in mind, here is a list of individuals the regulators should be speaking with, if they haven’t already:
David Cynamon – Uncle of Moez by marriage and a very close friend. Regulators need all emails and records. We believe they have been involved in multiple transactions, and the Truth Social Spac is just the tip of the iceberg.
One company regulators need to look at closely is Acasta. We believe Cynamon and Moez played a very dirty game here and have tried to cover their tracks. Cynamon does not want regulators digging too deeply into his affairs as he has spent a lot of money building his reputation. However, his association with Moez could cause great pain for him in future.
Alan Spektor – https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenspektor (works for Herman Funds now) – As an old friend of Moez, he has profited greatly from receiving insider information on deals and advance warning of when short reports will be dropping. We know for a fact that he received a text from Moez Kassam telling him to short Namaste hours before Andrew Left put out a short report: https://citronresearch.com/namaste-citron-has-exposed-complete-fraud-that-underpins-the-business-of-namaste/
We also know that he placed a trade based on this inside information. His trading records should be scrutinized to see how they coincide with multiple short reports. We believe Alan has been working with Moez for years, helping him to grow the network of short sellers, which was used as a wolfpack to target companies.
Dan Sternberg – Parkwood Asset Management – Managing Partner
Involved in front running deals and pre-selling short into deals. Works with Anson Funds very closely in an almost unofficial partnership. This entity has done a large volume of deals in the past, and Dan has already been in trouble with the regulators. Apparently, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and Sternberg has done a lot of business with Anson that regulators should be looking at.
https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/from-the-regulators/hedge-fund-fined-100000-for-improper-registration/
Marissa Kassam – Wife of the Toad
Her AMEX card statements need to be examined by the authorities. It is our belief that there are transactions on here related to buying media and other expenses that will be very difficult for her to explain; particularly, the January/February 2021 period. Her cards have been used by Moez to finance illegal activity numerous times in the past, dating back to 2020. We do not believe that Marissa is aware that her card is being used for these illicit activities.
Dan Davio – Canaccord CEO. Very close with Moez and has been for years. He knows everything about Anson’s illegal activity through its Direct Market Access system and was part of the ruse to let people think Anson was no longer working with Scamaccord.
They have been involved in a lot of things regulators would like to know about. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-daviau-43b794a/?originalSubdomain=ca
Amin Nathoo – https://ansonfunds.com/our-people/ – he knows everything about Anson’s illegal activities. He is also for sale. He is corrupt and very slippery. We believe he would sell out Moez if pressured in the right way.
He has already been in touch with various groups offering to sell Anson out as long as they can guarantee him immunity. He has been upset for some time over the bonuses paid to him and the lack of loyalty and gratitude Moez has shown.
Adam Spears: Old Anson Partner. https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-spears-46580513/?originalSubdomain=ca
Adam used to be a major equity partner in Anson Funds. He is easily frightened and knows a lot about Anson’s dirty dealings.
He let Moez buy him out of the fund for cents on the dollar because he was so concerned about all the illegal activity in which the fund was engaging. He participated in a large number of these illegal dealings and is desperate to avoid being dragged Into all this. He knows everything.
Graham Saunders – Canaccord Capital, Vice Chairman https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/marijuanas-money-man-11576869335
Graham Saunders did multiple deals with Anson Funds during the cannabis craze. He has information on most of Anson’s illegal actions during this time.
A lot of dirty business went on at Canaccord in this period. Saunders and Davio know it all. He absolutely must be questioned.
Jay Rajarathinam – COO at TMX Group. Close relationship with Moez. Has information passed between the two of them? Have favors been done?
This angle should be investigated further. (70) Jay Rajarathinam | LinkedIn
Adrienne Morante – K2, PM – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-morante-cfa-7831b333/?originalSubdomain=ca
Works with Anson Funds very closely in an almost unofficial partnership. A lot of dirty deals have been done between K2 and Anson Funds. Regulators must investigate.
Matthew MacIsaac – MM Capital // Hedge fund, Partner & Co Founder https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/hedge-fund-manager-faces-cocaine-charge/article1351787 Works with Anson Funds very closely in an almost unofficial partnership. They have a keen rivalry but have done a lot of shady things together.
Winston Miles (Trader Tony) – Eight Capital
https://viiicapital.com/institutional-sales-trading
Winston has been working with Moez for years. Many on the street say he owes his career to Moez and would be nowhere without him; hence, he is completely loyal to him. Rumors from within Eight Capital are that Winston despises Moez, who he is, how he operates; but this does not change the fact that he is beholden to him.
Winston needs to be questioned and various British Virgin Island entities he controls should be investigated for payments. Rumor has it they are working together on a pump & dump as we speak (more to come on this in the near future).
Tim Williams – Sales at Eight Capital – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-williams-6a88741b4/?originalSubdomain=ca
Knows a lot of the dirty dealings that have gone through Eight Capital and has facilitated Anson’s illegal trading.
Glen Gibbons and Jeff Banfield – Might have been involved in a number of transactions with Anson. Gibbons has spent a lot of time with Moez over the last 12 months. What have they been working on during all these meetings? Regulators should explore as there might be something interesting here: https://caravelinvest.com/founding-partners/
Diana Blake – Mackie Research broker. All communications with her from 15th April 2021 to 15th May 2021. Also all communications from Mackie research during this date. The following explains why Diana should be questioned: https://web.archive.org/web/20210430151953/https:/www.reddit.com/r/BurnedByAnsonFunds/comments/n1w2al/illegal_trades_in_facedrive_this_morning_by_anson/
Ben Axler of Sprucepoint Management. All communications between all Anson employees and Sprucepint. Of particular interest are all research materials shared between the two regarding GFL Environmantal Inc. https://www.sprucepointcap.com/gfl-environmental-inc/
Josh Flo – He is the person that manipulated Genius Brands and put out fake news, created a fake website and helped Anson get the result they wanted there.
Moez told people he made close to $100m profit on the illegal manipulation of Genius Brands. Regulators need to read this report very carefully: https://marketfrauds.to/genius-brands-the-story-anson-funds-doesnt-want-you-to-read/ – They have to subpoena Josh Flo. Get bank and phone records.
Fraser Perring – Viceroy Research
https://twitter.com/AIMhonesty
https://twitter.com/viceroyresearch
https://twitter.com/Gabe_Bernarde (Gabe Bernarde – works for Fraser)
Highly corrupt short seller who controls the Viceroy Research platform, which has been used by Moez and Anson Funds to attack people and companies on multiple occasions.
He has already been charged for fraud, dishonesty and market manipulation by various government bodies. You can find more information on him here: https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-anson-funds-panic-as-doj-widens-investigation/
Viceroy Research has already been fined by the South African regulators: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/short-seller-viceroy-fined-by-south-africa-over-capitec-note-1
The short-selling outfit also has a criminal complaint filed against it: https://swiftheadline.com/criminal-complaint-filed-against-viceroys-fraser-perring/
Additionally, an online expose about Fraser Perring has been making its rounds over the past couple of years: https://ffj-online.org/2019/11/04/fraser-perring-chronicles-of-deceit-part-one/
Perring himself is a former social care worker who was dismissed for falsifying records:
https://careappointments.com/care-news/england/93345/social-worker-struck-off-for-falsifying-records/
https://ffj-online.org/2019/11/04/fraser-perring-a-short-foray-into-public-service/
John Hempton and Simon Maher of Bronte Capital
These are apparently the people behind Viceroy Research who provide finance and assistance with the various company attacks. https://www.afr.com/rear-window/google-suspends-google-investor-john-hempton-s-blog-20220731-p5b61g
Teri Buhl – Regulators need to question her on her relationship with Moez Kassam and Nate Anderson of Hindenburg Research. Anson and Anderson have used Teri as a bulldog to savage people whose deals they are attacking, or to ruin reputations. https://www.teribuhl.com/
Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin – former CEO and President of Medmen. They were involved in some very shady transactions with Anson that were not disclosed to regulators. Interesting piece on Medmen here and their relationship with Anson: https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-anson-funds-panic-as-doj-widens-investigation/
Hungry Earner – https://stocktwits.com/Hungry_Earner – There is a rumor online that this is Moez Kassam himself on Stocktwits. https://stocktwits.com/Geneo12345/message/283327213
We cannot confirm if this is true, but it’s worth investigating.
More Anson Funds Shenanagins:
Anson Funds involvement in a $1 billion global stock fraud scheme.
https://www.nsnews.com/bc-news/time-ticking-for-vancouver-man-charged-in-1b-international-stock-fraud-scheme-4767826
Most people know Anson Funds for their naked short selling and company attacks, but they are also very involved in various pump and dumps in the North American and European markets.
The following paragraph from the article is very interesting:
Shirazali Jumani Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon Marcus Aurelius Value Morris Capital Inc., Trius Holdings Ltd. Frederick Sharp Paul Sexton Jackson Friesen of Delta Graham Taylor of Vancouver Zhiying Yvonne (Chen) Gasarch of Richmond Mike Veldhuis of Vancouver Courtney Kelln of Surrey Wintercap’s Roger “Rocket” Knox Emerald Health Sciences: Varese Capital Inc. — were allocated hundreds of thousands of shares, according to the registry.
This includes transfers of 250,000 and 100,000 shares from Vancouver accountant Shirazali Jumani and 100,000 shares from a Cayman Islands account belonging to Anson Investments Master Fund, which is controlled by hedge fund manager and short-seller Moez Kassam,” according to news reports.
How was Anson Funds involved in this? It should not be too difficult for regulators to find out.
Terra Tech – How Anson Funds destroyed this company before it had a chance to grow:
This was one of the companies Anson Funds trashed on Seeking Alpha under the pseudonym: The Emperor Has no Clothes.
Anson was sued by Nobilis for attacking the company–and lost. Perhaps this is something Terra Tech executives should consider doing, as well. More on how Anson Funds Used Seeking Alpha to attack companies can be found here: How Anson Funds Used Seeking Alpha to Crush Companies – Market Frauds
In this tainted saga, Anson Funds had a large short position, in addition to a huge social media campaign against the company and hit pieces on Seeking Alpha. Furthermore, Sunny Puri committed libel in an open letter to Clark County Commissioner Nevada as part of a deliberate effort to deny Terra Tech an operating license in that county.
There is a lot of information on this hate campaign against the company here: https://ansonfundconspiracy.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/piercing-the-veil-anson-fund/
and here: https://ansonfundconspiracy.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/chapter-one-the-evil-empire-anson-gates-and-mann/
Anson Funds used Norman Gates (Twitter handle @LaughingPaulRyan), who started a campaign of terror against the company–much of which was covered by The Street here:
– https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/marijuana-twitter-bully-exposed-by-terra-tech-private-investigator-12915893
“According to Gates himself, as he states on InvestorsHub, he has an insider at a Canadian fund with regard to Terra Tech. That fund that Norman Gates is most likely working for is Anson Funds of Toronto (www.ansonfunds.com)”
Hopefully, Terra Tech management will follow in the footsteps of Nobilis and sue Anson Funds. In fact, all of the companies that were featured in The Emperor Has No Clothes hit pieces should be suing Anson Funds.
More reports on Anson Funds new activist strategy will be coming in January and the dirty tactics they are employing there to get their way. Regulators and the companies themselves will be very interested in this.
To catch up on where we are you can find the whole saga on Anson Funds below:
Moez Kassam and Anson Funds: A Tale of Corruption, Greed, and Failure
https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-and-anson-funds-a-tale-of-corruption-greed-and-failure/
Moez Kassam & Anson Funds Part II: Rotten To The Core
https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-anson-funds-part-ii-rotten-to-the-core/
Intelligence Briefing: Anson Funds Active Cyber Crime
https://marketfrauds.to/intelligence-briefing-anson-funds-active-cyber-crime/
DoJ Targets Anson Funds for Illegal Short-Selling, Fraud and Insider Trading
https://marketfrauds.to/doj-targets-anson-funds-for-illegal-short-selling-fraud-and-insider-trading/
Lawsuits against Anson Funds
https://marketfrauds.to/lawsuits-against-anson-funds/
Augenbaum v. Anson Investments Master Fund LP
https://marketfrauds.to/augenbaum-v-anson-investments-master-fund-lp-et-al/
GENIUS Brands – The Story Anson Funds Doesn’t Want You To Read
https://marketfrauds.to/genius-brands-the-story-anson-funds-doesnt-want-you-to-read/
Moez Kassam & Anson Funds: Panic as DOJ Widens Investigation
https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-anson-funds-panic-as-doj-widens-investigation/
Anatomy of an Anson Funds Short & Distort Attack: Recon Africa
https://marketfrauds.to/anatomy-of-an-anson-funds-short-distort-attack-recon-africa/
New Lawsuit Against Anson Funds – Sentia Wellness
https://marketfrauds.to/new-lawsuit-against-anson-funds-sentia-wellness/
How Anson Funds Used Seeking Alpha to Crush Companies
https://marketfrauds.to/how-anson-funds-used-seeking-alpha-to-crush-companies/
Moez Kassam & Anson Funds Part IV: Selling Everyone Out
https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-anson-funds-part-iv-selling-everyone-out/
Moez Kassam & Anson Funds: The Big Secret
https://marketfrauds.to/moez-kassam-anson-funds-the-big-secret/
Was Anson Funds Involved In The Hindenburg Report On The Adani Group
https://marketfrauds.to/was-anson-funds-involved-in-the-hindenburg-report-on-the-adani-group/
Anson Funds Fined By SEC – Just The Beginning
https://marketfrauds.to/anson-funds-fined-by-sec-just-the-beginning/
Anson Funds and Murchison’s Dirty Partnership – Another Lawsuit: Nano Dimension
https://marketfrauds.to/anson-funds-and-murchisons-dirty-partnership-another-lawsuit-nano-dimension/
Its been 4 months did you give up?
never!
laundering money for who is the real question
Heard it’s middle east money out of Iran. Dirty money that is being filtered through their contacts in Dubai. Also local mob money. Can’t make this stuff up. They should make a movie about Anson – Danny DeVito could play Moez – although Danny might be a bit too handsome and skinny.
As the article says – how did Anson make their returns? Hedge funds are notoriously secretive about how their returns are generated and this is where the truth will be found. Audit their books and make it public. Will the SEC actually anything or will it be another slap on the wrist fine.
The naked shorting racket is going full swing, yet the OSC does nothing as Moez the midget has destroyed many companies. Building a massive house and eating and drinking the midget has no fear of anything or anyone sec or mobster scares this midget until the arrest and time in Rikers island, I advise all in this article to ratt out the midget
Moez has been around for years and i knew him from college. He was fat and disliked by almost everyone. He was always cruel though and ive heard he actually likes breaking people and companies from people who know him better than i do. He is 100% a sociopath that needs to be taken down. He will not stop though unless made to and believes money can solve all his problems.
what happened with truth social?
Who is Matthew Siegal? Always see him hanging out with moez always wondered who tf he is
The SEC entered the premises of the Anson Foundation today
I feel sorry for all the victims of this terrible capitalist organization. There are a ton of criminals like Moez Kassam but nothing is ever done because they are too powerful. Criminals like him are extremely wealthy and they use all of that money to bribe politicians and authorities. Although he has hundreds of victims, I don’t think they will ever get the justice they deserve.
My wife used to work at Aphria. She lost her job after he caused the company’s stock to plummet. It was unprecedented. We are ordinary people, we don’t keep a close watch on Wall Street or anything of that sort. So when I learned that Anson Funds was responsible for the downfall of that company, I was mad.
The layoff was a pretty big deal. My wife was able to find a job eventually but we had to exhaust our savings during the time she was looking for that new job. It’s not possible these days to survive on just one salary. With 2 kids, we can’t risk losing our jobs like this.
Still, we were fortunate enough to get some employment. Many of her friends weren’t able to find another job for months. People like Kassam make me realize that the world is truly unfair.
I lost my only source of income because of Anson funds and Moez Kassam. This man is a true sociopath. He doesn’t care about
Where is the next article? what is the pump and dump? what happened with truth social?
What an irony, this brutal scammer became a philanthropist after scamming and making a lot of money through his nefarious firm Anson funds. The psychology behind this is to burn all the past crimes by donating and helping the needy but this is not the way to reach god.
One more thing to keep in mind is that the company’s earnings and profit are touching the target of 45% which is higher as compared to other firms. This point is more than enough to make them answer about the secret ways of making a profit.