Benzinga

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Benzinga
HeadquartersDetroit, Michigan[1]
Founder(s)Jason Raznick
URLBenzinga.com
LaunchedMay 18, 2009

Benzinga is a financial news and conference company in Detroit, Michigan. The company employs an editorial staff of about 30 members, and publishes hundreds of stories per day, "including paid promotions written by a dedicated team," according to the Columbia Journalism Review.[2][3][4][5] In addition to providing news, analytics and sponsored promotions, Benzinga also produced conferences aimed at small investors interested in cannabis, crypto-currency and "fintech.".[4][6][7][8][9][10] Benzinga also supplied unspecified services to online brokerage companies such as Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, Questrade, and Morningstar.[11][12] Beringer Capital of Toronto acquired Benzinga in 2021 in a private transaction that "valued Benzinga at more than $300 million," according to Benzinga, although this assertion was never independently verified.[13][14][11]

History

Jason Raznick founded Benzinga from his home in Birmingham, Michigan in 2010.[15] [16] Raznick, who has said he favors "rule breakers, dreamers and doers," received a 2022 award for "disrupting financial media" from the Michigan Venture Capital Association, which described itself as "the voice of Michigan's investment community."[17][18] In 2010, during its initial stages when the company operated from Raznick's home, Raznick acknowledged using telephone conversations to impersonate several nonexistent employees, as he believed that a solo presence might not be taken seriously in business.[19] In 2015, Benzinga from suburban Detroit region to a site in Downtown Detroit.[15]

'Pump and Dump'

Although not a defendant, in 2017 Benzinga was implicated in two separate civil lawsuits filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning fraudulent stock promotion.[20][21] The SEC charged 27 firms and individuals in the two suits,[22] in which defendants ultimately paid individual fines ranging up to about $61,000.[23]

Related to this action, the SEC issued an "investor warning" noting that: "Articles on an investment research website that appear to be an unbiased source of information or provide commentary on multiple stocks may be part of an undisclosed paid stock promotion.".[24]

Benzinga said it was "a victim, not a culprit" in the fraudulent stock promotions, and unaware of problems with articles at issue with the SEC that Benzinga published during a nearly four-year period.[25] The purported news items, numbering in the "hundreds," were also published by SmallCapNetwork.com, InvestorVillage.com, Fool.com, and several other comparable websites, according the SEC, which did not charge any of the sites with wrongdoing.

At least one of the defendants who agreed to an SEC settlement in 2018 [26] continued to provide material published by Benzinga as of August 2023, through her financial communications company.[27]

Plagiarism

In 2011 Benzinga plagiarized an entire op-ed essay from The Wall Street Journal written by Berkeley law professor Orin Kerr. Benzinga published this work under the pseudonymous byline "Patrick Harvard." Kerr's essay was published separately around the same time by Forbes.com under the byline of Benzinga CEO "Jason Raznick," who was among more than 1,000 unpaid Forbes "contributors" at the time.[28][29] Kerr said subsequently of the plagiarism that he was "more amused and intrigued by this than annoyed or upset."[28]

Voyager Bankruptcy Coverage by Benzinga

Benzinga's Raznick was among the seven largest unsecured creditors of crypto-currency broker Voyager Digital. This relationship was undisclosed in Benzinga's Voyager news coverage, including its June 13 "Exclusive" in which Voyager's CEO claimed that its customers' assets "are safe."[30] Within weeks of this, two federal agencies jointly ordered Voyager to "cease and desist" from false statements about its deposit insurance status "directly or by implication."[31][32] Voyager had suspended operations July 1.

Further reading

  • Pershan, Caleb. "When bullish finance stories are not exactly what they appear". Columbia Journalism Review. Oct. 20. 2021*
  • Kerr, Orin, Sept. 16, 2011 "Is Benzinga.com Just A Front for Plagiarists?" Volokh Conspiracy (law blog) [4]
  • Benton, Joshua, Feb. 9, 2022 "An incomplete history of how Forbes.com became a platform for scams, grifts and bad journalism" [5] Nieman Journalism Lab, Harvard University
  • Fortson, Danny, "D-list actress ‘ran fake news scam to push up shares’" London Times April 16, 2017

References

  1. ^ Benzinga CEO sees growth after Beringer takes majority stake. Bloomberg.
  2. ^ https://www.cjr.org/analysis/when-bullish-finance-stories-are-not-exactly-what-they-appear.php
  3. ^ Reindl, J. C. "Financial news start-up heading to Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  4. ^ a b Reindl, J. C. "Financial media firm Benzinga to stay in Detroit after sale". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Danny (2021-12-13). "Benzinga Majority Acquired by Beringer Capital". thejewishnews.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  6. ^ "3 Takeaways from Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference: This Week in Cannabis Investing". Kiplinger.com. 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  7. ^ Dales, Shadd (2023-09-26). "Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference 'Star Studded'". The Dales Report. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  8. ^ "'Star Studded' Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Arrives At A Time Where Critical Reform In On The Horizon". markets.businessinsider.com. 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  9. ^ Smith, Benjamin A. (2023-09-28). "Illinois Governor Pritzker Delivers Remarks At The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference In Chicago". The Dales Report. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  10. ^ Radoycheva, Evelina (2023-10-25). "Devexperts Will Attend the Benzinga Fintech Deal Day & Awards". Devexperts. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  11. ^ a b Galea, Irene (2021-10-27). "Beringer Capital buys majority stake in news outlet Benzinga". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  12. ^ Klug, Emma (September 29, 2016). "Detroit's Benzinga Closes $3M Investment Round, Dan Gilbert Among Investors". DBusiness Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  13. ^ Reyes, Max (2021-10-26). "Benzinga CEO Sees Growth After Beringer Takes Majority Stake". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  14. ^ "Benzinga CEO Jason Raznick on Beringer Capital acquiring majority stake". Squawk Box. CNBC. October 25, 2021. Private equity firm Beringer Capital is acquiring a majority stake in Benzinga.
  15. ^ a b Walsh, Tom. "Benzinga aims to use new digs to show off Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  16. ^ Kelly, Ryan (2012-10-26). "Benzinga to be featured in Windows 8". crainsdetroit.com.
  17. ^ Capelj, Renato (September 30, 2022). "Detroit's Benzinga Awarded For Disrupting Financial Media, Boosting Financial Literacy". Benzinga. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  18. ^ "About". Michigan Venture Capital Association. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  19. ^ Ghiran, Nadeen (25 March 2022). "A Bootstrapped Business: The Subscription Way". SUBTA: Subscription Trade Association.
  20. ^ SEC Case No. 17-cv-2541
  21. ^ SEC Case No. 17-2540
  22. ^ Pershan, Caleb (October 29, 2021). "When bullish finance stories are not exactly what they appear". Columbia Journalism Review. New York City: Columbia University.
  23. ^ SEC "Final judgment Thomas Meyer" https://www.sec.gov/files/Judg17-cv-02541Meyer.pdf
  24. ^ U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 23802 / April 12, 2017 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Lidingo Holdings, LLC, et al., No. 1:17-cv-02540 (S.D.N.Y filed April 10, 2017) Securities and Exchange Commission v. CSIR Group, LLC, et al., No. 1:17-cv-02541 (S.D.N.Y. filed April 10, 2017) [1]
  25. ^ Walsh, Dustin (April 17, 2017). "Benzinga says it was among victims in pump-and-dump schemes". Crain's Detroit Business.
  26. ^ "Promoters Barred From Penny Stock Offerings". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  27. ^ (See contact name at bottom of benzinga press release at
  28. ^ a b Kerr, Orin (September 16, 2011). "Is Benzinga.com Just A Front for Plagiarists?". The Volokh Conspiracy. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  29. ^ Bilton, Ricardo (9 April 2014). "How publishers-turned-platforms pay their amateur contributors". digiday.com.
  30. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Voyager Digital CEO Says 'Customer Assets Are Safe' Amid Crypto Collapse" by Adam Eckert, Benzinga, June 13, 2022 [2]
  31. ^ "July 28, 2022 FDIC and Federal Reserve Board issue letter demanding Voyager Digital cease and desist from false statements about its deposit insurance status. [3]
  32. ^ Ackerman, Andrew (28 July 2022). "Bankrupt Crypto Brokerage Voyager Ordered to Cease False Promises About U.S. Banking Insurance". Wall Street Journal.
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