Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
HAWAII
Isle trader faces fraud charges
Hawaii resident Barry Schotz has been charged with defrauding California participants in a $3 million commodity-pool scheme and his assets have been frozen, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced yesterday. Schotz, who previously was convicted of fraud in 1994 and served five years in federal prison as a result, allegedly bilked Los Angeles investors, according to a complaint filed by the commission. Schotz and another defendant, Randolph Gale of Hidden Hills, Calif., solicited and accepted approximately $3 million in the name of the Bear Invest Fund from at least 34 pool participants, the complaint said.
Although Schotz's trading consistently lost money, he falsely reported to Gale and others that the accounts were profitable, according to a CFTC press release.
Gale, who was charged solely with soliciting participants without being registered with the CFTC, then reported the false information to pool participants, the release said.
Schotz is also charged with co-mingling customer funds with his personal funds and failing to provide disclosure to pool participants.
Gov. Lingle to speak at awards
Henry Clark, former Castle & Cooke chairman, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at tomorrow's Business Leadership Hawaii dinner, which recognizes leadership in for-profit and nonprofit organizations.Gov. Linda Lingle will provide closing remarks at the event in the Coral Ballroom of Hilton Hawaiian Village. A reception will start at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a dinner at 6:45 p.m. Lingle is scheduled to speak at approximately 8:45 p.m.
About 900 business and community leaders are expected to attend the event.
Tickets are $80. For more information, call Doreen Tavares, 955-8074.
NATION
Delta bondholders respond to offer
Delta Air Lines Inc., seeking to avoid bankruptcy, said bondholders offered to swap $252 million of debt in response to part of an exchange offer for as much as $680 million in new notes.The amount tendered exceeds the minimum required for the offer for $330 million in existing short-term notes, Atlanta-based Delta said.
The airline said the amounts in two other groups of securities are "substantially below" the minimums required, without giving figures.
The offer for each of the three groups expires Nov. 18.
AOL may lay off 700 employees
America Online, the country's leading Internet service, is preparing to lay off as many as 700 of its 13,000 employees in the United States, according to an executive knowledgeable about its plans. AOL, a unit of Time Warner, is continuing to cope with a declining subscriber base and an advertising business that, while rebounding, trails industry leaders like Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN.The layoffs will not be concentrated among any particular department, the executive said, and the exact jobs to be eliminated have not yet been determined.
NEW JOBS
» Office Pavilion has appointed Ron Lanzo sales vice president. He will be responsible for managing and expanding the company's presence in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific Rim. He most recently served in senior positions at National Business Furniture.» The Hawaii Chamber of Commerce has appointed Jeanne K. Schultz as business advocate. She will be responsible for working with federal and state agencies and congressional and legislative committees in support of small business.
» CB Richard Ellis Hawaii Inc. has hired Margo D. Takata as the company's Asset Services Division property manager in its new Kailua-Kona office on the Big Island. She will be responsible for overseeing Pottery Terrace, the Lenders Document Building and the Brewery Block. She previously worked as a Keauhou Shopping Center promotion manager.
» Marriott International has appointed Steve Glen as Kapalua Bay general manager. He most recently served as the operations director for the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Inn in Indian Wells, Calif.
» Mauna Lani Bay has appointed Brian Cassidy regional sales director, working out of Naperville, Ill. He will be responsible for assisting the sales team and in creating and achieving annual budget goals, departmental goals and objectives. He previously served as a vice president of group and incentive sales for Resort Marketing Inc. in Illinois and Florida.
» Pattie Furtado has been named sales and marketing director for the Best Western Plaza Hotel and the Honolulu Airport Hotel. She previously worked for HTH Corp.
