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January 17, 2011 – Comments (8) | RELATED TICKERS: MDTL

From my deep and dark CAPS past (2007), I got into a bit of a spirited exchange with a gentleman by the name of David Redstone who took umbrage at my characterization of the financing that Medis Technologies (MDTL.pk) executed in late 2006. http://caps.fool.com/Blogs/medis-controversy/3831

I heard this morning that Mr. Redstone died just before Christmas and that he took his own life. Though I disagreed with him on MDTL and was offended several times during our exchange, I never doubted his sincerity or integrity and did not regard him as a dishonest pumper of MDTL stock. He was an environmentalist who was passionate in his belief that fuel cell technology was the future for us all. He was certainly wrong about Medis - and there are rumors he was investigated by the SEC, but I can't find anything about his death or about those investigations anywhere.

Is there anyone out there in our CAPS community who can share more about this unfortunate development?

Thanks,

bbmaven

8 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On January 20, 2011 at 9:35 AM, Tilyoulives (< 20) wrote:

Unfortunate development?

For once, I agree with David Redstone's actions. David was a crook and creep of the first order, and he was complicit for 10 years in the Medis Technologies scam that burned through $400 million in shareholder dollars. I first called it a scam in 2002 and time has proven me correct.

Rarely has a company been more obviously a scam than Medis technologies. Medis boasted for 12 years about it's medical device cellscan -- claiming new uses, foreign distributors, improved models and (at one point) the CEO of Medis accepting an award for it. Yet in 2004 the CEO admitted it did not work -- admitted that even the fundamental principles behind it were in doubt. In 2005 the President of Medis admitted the same thing.

Why would anyone believe Medis after that? Especially when it made a laughably wild series of claims to have invented a radical new motor (in 2 sizes -- one for cars, and another for pilotless planes); and an anti-cancer vaccine (in an "advanced stage"); and a super-green battery, and a device for removing fresh water from the air, and inherently conductive polymers for explosives production... and a sterling engine, and air conditioning technology, and a technology usable to levitate trains... and many many more.

David Restone became the biggest cheerleader for Medis, repeating and amplifying its lies, and specifically urging people to buy. For example he widely touted on several boards the claim that Medis had received the "largest order for fuel cells in history" despite the fact it was transparent fiction. It was a shell company without any assets or operations. The purchase order was not just fake, but sloppily fake (it contained a non-working "Fax" and an incorrect website address). The fact was soon revealed that the purchaser was not arm's length -- Andrew Udis at Medis who brought in the "deal" and his wife and her father controlled the purchaser, and its affiliated company (a seller of fake label perfumes).

David Redstone lied about the capacities of the power pack, mad idiotically grand claims about his visit to the Medis facility in Israel (it's machinery reminded him of Frankenstein movies, which was proof it could not be reverse engineered). And he lied when I reported what I saw at the 2004 Medis demo in New York -- namely that the Medis fuel cells did not charge a phone. Eventually he was forced to admit I was telling the truth, but only because others had the same experience.

David's willingness to tout the Medis party line had no boundaries. He once actually wrote that he'd "never seen Medis fail!" Later he ammended that to "never seen it technologically fail." The amazing fact is for its entire history, MEDIS NEVER EARNED REVENUE ON THE SALE OF PRODUCTS. Medis never had a "product" -- it had only "McGuffins" to be able claim with a wink that they had tried.

David did worse than lie about Medis. He specifically urged people to buy even though he knew better than anyone the stock was a scam. "And now is the time" Redstone wrote. Buy now!

The highlight of the Medis scam occurred when it announced that Microsoft planned to purchase and resell *millions* of Medis power packs under its own trademark. Needless to day, Microsoft HAD to disown the deal -- which had no basis in fact. Naturally the Medis price predictably started to plummet -- and is it any coincidence that Citigroup had been lent shares to SHORT not long before the announcement? Like any good scam, Medis played the suckers up, and it made money on them on the way down.

David Redstone cheerleaded to the end, and past the end. He NEVER conceded that the company had been dishonest, or that he was their chief cheerleader leading many suckers to financial slaughter.

Speak not dishonestly of the dead.

He knew what he was doing.

Tilyou Lives

PS and yes, he was being investigated by the SEC beginning in the summer of 2009.

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#2) On February 08, 2011 at 8:11 AM, TMFMileHigh (72.93) wrote:

@bbmaven,

I remember that exchange well since I was the Fool that kicked the hornest's nest by quoting your pitch in this piece. My apologies for the trouble I caused.

I'm also sorry to hear that Mr. Redstone took his own life. Unfortunate, indeed, but in no way diminishing of your Foolish pursuit of the truth in the face of criticism.

Foolish best,

Tim (TMFMileHigh and @milehighfool on Twitter)

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#3) On March 08, 2011 at 8:42 PM, bbmaven (100.00) wrote:

I forgot about that Tim. No need to apologize at all - I learned alot through that exchange about my own way of writing disrespectfully. Fortunately, only a few snippets of adolescent lashing out got through to the final copy I posted. The only thing that really annoys me is that I closed the pick as score leader for MDTL and didn't anticipate the S&P rising so much that it added points to those who kept the pick open.

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#4) On June 29, 2011 at 10:56 PM, TigerPack1 (99.72) wrote:

Mr. Wagner,

KUDOS - I have been watching your steady rise in CAPS the last 6 months.

I am adding you to my favorites list (where you should have been years ago, absent my oversight).

You have definitely proven yourself as one of the top 20-30 stock picking minds on CAPS!!!! Keep up the great work.

Any slip up by BullishBabo will likely get you to the coveted #1 spot and everlasting immortality of the red ribbon thingy.

-TigerPack

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#5) On January 12, 2012 at 10:56 PM, bbmaven (100.00) wrote:

Quantemonics1 - what a gracious message - I am flattered. I am not a very active blogger and don't even visit my own blog very often to see comments. I missed this comment six months ago - my apologies for not acknowledging it.

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#6) On March 14, 2012 at 6:32 PM, chk999 (99.98) wrote: