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Part 139: Grand Theft Kmart Style:
January 31, 2005:
I have found one more reason why we need Groundswell to emerge. Recently there was some big news that Kmart was offering to buyout Sears. It seems they will pay an enormous sum of money to do that. I began to wonder where they got so much money since the last I heard, they were in bankruptcy court. I also began to wonder about some Kmart common stock I owned. It was showing a NA in the value column on my Fidelity statement. That did not agree with the number the news show gave for Kmart stock value. Something was not right.
I soon found the difference. The number the news show had was for a company called Kmart Holding Corporation, KMRT. The stock I had was for Kmart Corporation, KM. I began to have a sneaking feeling that I had been had. It did not take me long to confirm that. I sent an e-mail to Fidelity to find out what had happened. I received a nice reply telling me that my stock had not been converted in the bankruptcy game.
I went to the Kmart website to further confirm what I had learned. That is when I discovered the rotten truth. My government had once again betrayed me. It seems the officers of the bankruptcy court colluded with Kmart to allow them to steal my money. They did this without telling me about it. They just did it. They set the value of my stock to zero and converted their special stock to a new issue under a new stock symbol. They changed the stock symbol from KM to KMRT and left me holding the bag. They stole not just my money, but the investments of untold thousands of stock holders. In fact, they stole billions of dollars. That is where they got the money to buy Sears.
From me personally they stole $6579.85. I am not a virgin. I have been robbed before by other people, but this is the most blatant example of betrayal I have encountered. I will get over it. What I will not get over and will never forgive is they also stole money from my granddaughter. They stole $1906.00 from her trust account. That is money that I set aside for her education. For the record, the following is the pertinent information I found on the Kmart website under their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) listing.
Is there still a trading market for Kmart Corporation common
stock?
No. In accordance with the Plan of Reorganization, when the Company
emerged from Chapter 11 on May 6, 2003, the previously issued
common stock was cancelled and, as such, trading has ceased.
What distribution are previous equity holders receiving under
the Plan of Reorganization?
A Creditors' Trust was established for the benefit of the Company's
creditors to pursue all causes of action arising out of the Company's
Accounting and Stewardship Investigations. Except possibly for
a minor part of the proceeds, if any, of the Creditors' Trust,
holders of Kmart Corporation's former common stock are not going
to receive any distributions following emergence and their equity
interests have been cancelled.
What is the Creditors' Trust?
It is a trust that was established upon Kmart's emergence from
Chapter 11 to pursue and resolve any legal claims that may arise
out of the Company's Stewardship and Accounting Investigations.
The Company, after consulting with the Statutory Committees established
in connection with the Chapter 11 proceedings, had determined
that a creditors' litigation trust – the Creditors' Trust
– was the right vehicle to address these matters.
As part of the Plan of Reorganization, a trustee of the Trust
was charged with the responsibility of determining which claims
to pursue and litigating those claims. The Company will share
with the trustees all the evidence gathered during the investigation
that is relevant to such claims.
Why aren't the holders of Kmart's former common stock receiving
any distribution following the Company's emergence from the Chapter
11 reorganization process except possibly for a minor part of
the proceeds, if any, of the Creditors' Trust?
Under U.S. federal bankruptcy law, holders of common stock of
a company in Chapter 11 are the lowest in priority in bankruptcy
and are after secured and general unsecured creditors in terms
of their ability to receive a recovery on their claim. In Kmart's
case, there wasn't enough money to distribute to the other creditors
to allow for shareholders to be eligible to receive a recovery
-- other than the potential recovery from the proposed Creditors'
Trust.
Will holders of Kmart's former common stock receive a certificate
reflecting their interest in, or right to receive proceeds, if
any, from the Creditors' Trust?
No. In accordance with the terms of the Creditors' Trust, no certificates
are to be issued with respect to these interests in, or rights
to receive proceeds, if any, generated by, the Creditors' Trust.
So there you have it. Kmart went into chapter 11 bankruptcy for the purpose of colluding with the officers of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois to steal their stockholder's investments. Not only did they steal our money, they did not even bother to tell us they had done it. Read that last statement. The court says they can rob us and they don't even have to tell us. They can just leave us wondering. Now there is more to this that I do not show here. It is typical legalese jargon. If you want to read all of it, go to, http://www.kmart.com/. You will find the documentation of the theft under Investor Relations.
Recently we have seen a case or two where the government arrested and prosecuted a corporate crook. They make a big show of telling us that. However, the truth is the government will not take down a crook unless media driven public opinion forces them to. Then, for every crook the government takes down, they allow two more to spring up. For example we have the recent case of the FDA letting Merck run wild. We also have the fact of our Michigan legislatures' betrayal in that case and now the case of our bankruptcy courts colluding with Kmart to rob the stockholders. It goes on and on and the government is usually a partner on the side of the crooks. To prevent that we must get a government that does not betray the people at every turn. This Kmart theft is jut another example of government betrayal. We must bring Groundswell to power.
The question arises, what can I do about this? The short answer is, not much. My money has been stolen along with the money of numerous other innocent victims. My government has given its consent to the theft. I live a simple life while the officers and executives of this corporation are living large on our money. Their stock has skyrocketed and they are laughing at us. It is a rotten situation and I do not like it.
What I can do is everything in my power to make sure the new Kmart does not succeed. I want to see the officers of this criminal company brought to their knees. I will make sure Kmart never gets another penny of my money. I am asking all of my friends and acquaintances to boycott Kmart and Sears. I also urge everyone who reads this account of the crime to boycott Kmart and Sears. Other than that, all I can do is wait for opportunities. It will probably never happen, but If I ever have a chance to legally destroy any of these people, I will not hesitate. Like the proverbial elephant, I will never forget.
There is a final chapter to this criminal activity in the December 5 issue of The Detroit News. Once again our federal regulators and courts have betrayed us. The regulators charged the officers of Kmart with fraud because, with help from managers of other companies, they engineered a 24 billion dollar fraud. The other companies were Eastman Kodak, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, and Frieto-Lay. All of these companies have crooks for managers. Five of them settled with the SEC. Guess what their fines were? You know! They paid up out of their pocket change. For a 24 billion dollar fraud case they were fined a total of $161,000. Again, they walked away laughing at us.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Our government is continuously
betraying us at every turn in the road. We have criminals in government
who are aiding and abetting the corporate criminals. In this conspiracy,
the citizens do not have a chance. We need Groundswell. We need
ethical people in government. So long as you, the rabble, continue
to vote for your own short term advantage over your neighbors
that these scumbags hold out to you, you will be victims. Sooner
or later, we will all be victims of the evil people we put in
power.
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