TheStreet.com Settles with the SEC

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Securities and Exchange Commission problems with TheStreet Inc. (NASDAQ: TST) were worse than previously reported — much worse. According to the New York Post:

TheStreet.com and three former executives settled a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into accounting fraud at the company yesterday.

The SEC said the fraud occurred from 2008 to 2009 while slapstick CNBC stock picker Jim Cramer served as chairman of the financial website.

The SEC’s lawsuit claims the accounting fraud was aimed at making Cramer’s online darling at the time appear more successful.

In settling the troublesome probe, TheStreet.com didn’t admit or deny any guilt.

Cramer was not named in the suit.

The SEC said three former executives — ex-CFO Eric Ashman and former co-presidents Gregg Alwine and David Barnett — concocted fake sales contracts using crude cut-and-paste forged documents that were shuffled back and forth among several unidentified counterparties to give an appearance of growth and profits.

“Alwine and Barnett used crooked tactics, Ashman ignored basic accounting rules, and TheStreet failed to put controls in place to spot the wrongdoing,” said Andrew Calamari, director of the SEC’s New York office.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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