GREEN INC. & SPAM
A penny-stock company that recently added former New York Gov. George Pataki and political rainmaker Charles Gargano to its board of directors is being scrutinized by investors concerned that the company may have been pumping its own stock through third-party spam e-mails and promotional brochures.
The company, Perf Go-Green Holdings, sells eco-friendly biodegradable plastic trash bags and was founded as a private company late last year.
Soon after Perf Go-Green went public, investors told The Post they began receiving e-mails with pictures of Pataki saying they could “make millions from the soaring green sector” and should buy the stock “before it becomes mainstream and skyrockets.”
The pitch also appeared on various Web sites, including http://www.hototc.com, http://www.stockegg.com and http://www.bullseyestockpicks.com.
Disclaimers in the promotional e-mails warned investors to treat the information as a paid advertisement and disclosed that two companies, Universal Management Services and Jayco Consulting Ltd. each paid $30,000 to Xtreme Internet Advertising to “enhance public awareness” of the stock.
Perf Go-Green, with headquarters on Fifth Avenue, now has five employees, including CEO Anthony Tracy, who owns 13.7 million shares. He has invented gadgets like bagel slicers that have been sold on the Home Shopping Network.
Its chief operating officer is Michael Caridi, a New Yorker who’s dabbled in real estate, concrete, security services and ship salvaging and corporate janitorial services.
Caridi, who owns 2.5 million shares, has described himself as a close associate of Gargano, the former chairman of the Empire Development Corp. and the former vice chairman of the Port Authority.
Arthur Stewart, the company’s CFO, was an accountant for the Teamsters.
Investors have pointed out that earlier this month Perf-Go Green hired a Swiss-based investor relations firm called Euro Invest News to promote the company to investors. It also agreed to pay EIN up to $750,000, plus out-of-pocket expenses and has the ability to issue up to 750,000 shares of its stock to EIN.
It’s unclear if EIN hired the promotional firms.
Caridi told Dow Jones yesterday that EIN was hired to help market its stock in Germany, but didn’t know exactly where the company was based.
Perf Go-Green issued a statement yesterday saying it “recently became aware” of the promotional materials and has no relationship with any of the entities or Web sites that claim to have produced the e-mails.
In conjunction with joining the board, Pataki was issued options to buy 1 million shares at 50 cents each. The shares are locked up for 18 months.
After hitting a high of $3.08 earlier this month, Perf Go-Green shares slid 8 percent yesterday to $1.79.
A spokesman for Pataki said yesterday that the former governor believes in Perf Go-Green’s technology and had no knowledge of the promotional materials.
The SEC has suspended trading in over 50 companies this year as part of its Anti-Spam Initiative. [email protected]