He called it "Liar's Poker" for a reason

Good evening!

`I am an unbelievable liar,'' Niren said in a note filed as an exhibit in a 1992 divorce. ``I fool everyone because I am such a good actor that I sometimes am even able to fool myself.''

His game may be coming to an end. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 29 sued Niren for fraud for buying shares or stock options of five companies and then announcing phony takeovers to drive up prices, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New York. The SEC told Niren he's also under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors, he said in court papers. Niren says he's preparing his defense in Argentina, where he has a home, a fiancee and cats.

The case of Niren, who devoured Franz Kafka literature and Beatles music in his youth, shows how someone with a lot of guile and a bit of information can roil markets in the Internet age. He used e-mail and online message boards to broadcast takeover bids of little substance to investors around the world, court records and interviews show.

If anyone ever questions the number of quacks and snake oil salesmen in this business, please refer them to the above.

Listening to: Kanye West - Stronger