So, this week the power went out for about 7 hours so I was unable to do my studying like I wanted to. I texted my neighbor to see if theirs was out too. She came over to tell me it was and I complained that I couldn't continue to study. She asked what I was studying and I explained very briefly about pennystocks and what I hoped to make my career. She said, "Well, I don't know anything about pennystocks but I did invest in one company back when my husband died about 8 years ago. My sister told me about this company that had this amazing technology..." Right there I heard Tim's voice in my head like a warning, "Don't believe in the technology! All pennystock businesses are shady!" 

She then told me she had gotten a pay out of $10,000 from a union that her husband was part of upon his death. Her sister showed her this "new start up" that had sun-tracking solar panels in little domes that you placed on the roof to power lights. These were installed in "Google, Boeing, IKEA..." She went on and on scrolling through the photos of the technology on their shady looking website. She told me she invested the whole $10,000 and the owner had even paid his respects to her at the time. However, she just wished she had gotten some communication with them all this time since.

She said she had gotten an email "the other day" that said they had "chosen to become a private company". She asked me what that meant. I told her that if they actually "decided" to do this then she should contact them because they would likely be buying her stock back from her and she should get the money for that. She got very excited about that prospect, and went home intending to give them a call. Turns out she was actually receiving emails from them into her spam folder for years... (the older generation and technology just don't mix sometimes). 

I asked her again what the name of the company was... Ciralight Global. So my hubby and I started to dig. I found no ticker or company by that name trading, which I expected. We then found that the original company that was based here in Utah had been foreclosed on, and all the physical assets had been bought up by a company in California, all the way back in 2009 which was when she had invested initially. We found that they were delisted this year due to having not filed anything with the SEC since 2013. Their last filing included indications that they were losing almost $1million a year. "Severe Delinquency of Financials" was a headline in the news in 2011. Basically, her money was absolutely gone and had been for years...yet they had been acting like she was still an "investor".

I had to break the news to her about all that just before the holidays... What kills me is that she is just the sweetest person trying her best to survive. She was recently widowed with four children and this company just took her money and vaporized it instantly.

She told me she would never do that sort of thing again. I hope that's true...

But, what I know is true is that pennystock companies are all garbage.

Thanks for the knowledge, Tim.