ALL VISITORS SHOULD READ THIS TO MINIMIZE FRUSTRATIONS
Finding Fraud has been redesigned and updated with data on over 13,000 Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) current as of April 1, 2019. A few key points:
- DON'T BE A MORON! The name Finding Fraud should not be construed as a general indictment of RIAs listed on the site. The name was selected to remind users what rigorous due diligence should focus on. Operating from the assumption that everyone's honest and well-intentioned is naive and negligent. Get it?
- The “MORE DETAILS” pages are still in development, so avoid clicking them for now. Those pages will contain tables with additional useful data (contact info, asset breakdowns, etc.), but they’re not ready to fly yet. There are a few other odds and ends requiring attention too. Patience. I'm not a web developer, I just play one on the internet.
- Disclosure on disclosures: The number of firms showing disclosure events (bad stuff) has risen dramatically. Originally the programming only flagged “yes” answers to first question in Item 11 of the ADV. Now a “yes” answer to any of the 25 questions in Item 11 triggers the disclosure warning. You'll need to drill down into the ADV for further details.
- When you use the site, it will become abundantly clear that my personal crusade continues. Think of it what you will. In a few weeks, I’ll be celebrating three years of willful silence from regulators and the media. I started out patient and polite, but the joke’s not funny anymore. So here we are.
- There are three different ways to search the site:
- The LEGACY INDEX (November 2018) This takes you to OLD DATA that will never be updated. Ever. There seems to be some confusion about this, but I hope that visitors start migrating to the new stuff. It's still online because there may be times viewing this data is useful.
One of the coolest things about creating this site has been realizing that my audience, while small, is an astute bunch. 99% of the world has no idea what an SEC Form ADV is and most of the 1% who know can’t or aren’t interested in extracting knowledge from them. The experience of having an executive laugh and declare, “No one reads that stuff!” like he was being insightful, will be forever stuck in my teeth. I launched this site to make digging through an ADV a little less painful, and I’m very happy to know that means something to some. If you’re reading this, you’re not a lazy moron, so congratulations and thank you. (Sincerely)
People who aren’t morons will have no difficulty understanding the following:
I did not intend this website to become a sounding board for a single story (i.e. Crawford Lake). I thought media outlets would look at the indisputable facts and cover the story, and we could all move on. Silly me. As the media ignored the story, traffic to Finding Fraud was increasing steadily, but few were seeing the story. Considering that this site was created to assist due diligence professionals (who understand how spectacularly Crawford Lake fails), I decided to hide my index pages, essentially forcing visitors to see the story or go elsewhere. It's that important to me. I may need to do it again. If that happens, go here, or go away.
Thanks for your support!
~atsj
IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO READ THIS TOO
(ORIGINALLY POSTED 04/16/2019)
If you use this website, you’re going to know this story.
My site, my rules.
The original post on Crawford Lake Capital Management can be found here, but here are the key points:
- The fund currently known as Crawford Lake Onshore Partners was co-founded by Elka Shereshevsky in 2001 with $9.9 million. Her husband is currently serving over 20 years in connection with the Wextrust fraud. There are no records indicating that this money was ever noticed by prosecutors or the Wextrust receiver. UPDATE: I've uploaded a video showing exactly how to find the Shereshevsky connection on the SEC website.
- The current operators of Crawford Lake have marketed an impressive performance record, beginning in January 2006 (High returns with low volatility), however publicly-available SEC filings related to the firm did not resume until April 2012, 9 months after Shereshevsky was sentenced. At that time the firm reported $8.8 million in sales.
- I have been unable to find any media whatsoever related to the firm prior to April 2015, when LL Cool J bromancer Jeff Schachter joined as president.
- In August 2018, Steven Dov Lando was appointed general counsel and chief compliance officer at Crawford Lake Capital Management. Apparently, the weasel in charge of the press release did not feel comfortable informing the public that Lando also serves as co-president of the board of trustees at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (named in honor of Jared's grandparents).
- Crawford Lake is now claiming over $1 billion in assets under management and there is no indication that the firm has been put under serious investigation (I wonder why?). SEC accountant John Duncefartz (pseudonym, to protect the incompetent) doesn’t count. There's much more to this story, but I have chosen to stay well inside the boundaries of what I can tell you for now.
- Spoiler: If you’re a financial professional who's OK with Crawford Lake Capital Management, a lot of people already know you’re an idiot, but I’m just getting started.
- Last but not least: A big shout out to the US media, who have proven cowardly beyond my wildest imaginings. Over 35 major media outlets declined the Crawford Lake story and Reddit actively censored it. They're not interested in truth or the selective enforcement of justice, they're just just upset about who currently holds the keys to the kleptocracy. Keep up the great work!
I could go on but I have delayed you long enough. The site is in the process of being redesigned and updated with fresh data. To access the original Index, click the banner below. ~atsj |
