Thread by @sharesleuth

In light of the surge in $AWSM's trading volume and share price, some background: It is the product of a merger between InfoSonics Corp. and CoolTech Holdings. The deal was initiated in early 2017 when an group led by John O’Rourke presented InfoSonics with a financing proposal

That is the same John O’Rourke who was hit with fraud charges by the SEC last week in connection with alleged pump-and-dump schemes at three other small public companies.

sec.gov/news/press-rel…

SEC filings show that, during merger discussions last August, InfoSonics raised $2.75 million through the sale of shares and warrants. Most, if not all, went to investors related to Cooltech. They got 1.37 million shares at $2 each, and 1.37 million warrants exercisable at $2.42

Financier Barry C. Honig advanced funds to $AWSM in 2017 He was described as an investor in Cooltech. The SEC charged Honig in the same case as O’Rourke, alleging that he was the ringleader of pump-and-dump schemes at $MGTI, $MBVX and Biozone Pharmaceuticals Inc., now $COCP.

An SEC filing last week listed Delavaco Holdings Inc., headed by Catherine F. DeFrancesco, as holding 650,844 shares of $AWSM, or 9.18 percent of the total outstanding.

Her husband, Andy DeFrancesco, is chairman of $AWSM.

sec.gov/Archives/edgar…

Catherine DeFrancesco teamed up with Barry Honig in a successful proxy fight for control of Bioptix Inc., which later became $RIOT. Various entities she headed owned 515,777 shares of Bioptix, or 11.4 percent of the total outstanding in January 2017.

sec.gov/Archives/edgar…

After Bioptix became $RIOT and its shares soared to $20 and beyond, DeFrancesco's stock had a market value of more than $10 million ($20 million at the peak). She never filed an updated Form 13D disclosing any share sales, or reporting her ownership had fallen below 5 percent

SEC filings show that entities controlled by Catherine DeFrancesco also invested in Majesco Entertainment at the time it agreed to merge with $PTE (formerly $COOL). Barry Honig was CEO at the time. John R. Stetson, another defendant in the SEC pump-and-dump case, was CFO.

In March, we reported that a network of writers had posted nearly 600 bullish stories about Honig-backed companies, including $RIOT AND $COOL, on various financial sites. We noted that several touted InfoSonics, now $AWSM

bit.ly/2oQiTsv

$RIOT $PTE $COOL $AWSM

Sharesleuth.com will have more on all of these connections in a new investigative report on Monday.

One more thing on the Honig/O'Rourke/Stetson link to $AWSM. Corporation records put Delavaco Holdings and other DeFrancesco companies in the same Ft Lauderdale building as HS Contrarian Investments and Stetson Capital Investments, defendants in the SEC case. They're 1 floor apart