LEEP Inc (OTCMKTS:LPPI) Brought Back From the Dead
LEEP Inc (OTCMKTS:LPPI) was incorporated more than twenty years ago. They started off with an interesting business plan and their LeepCore insulating and building panels appear to be quite clever. Some press releases suggest that even the U.S. Army likes them. Unfortunately, things haven’t been going quite to plan.
Back in September 2002, LPPI admitted that they didn’t have the necessary funding to pay the costs associated with filing their audited annual report and promised that the 10-K will be published as soon as they obtain some short-term financing. Two years later, the report was still not out.
On September 13, 2004, they came up with another 8-K, this time announcing a $4 million financing facility. The cash was supposed to help them with their day-to-day expenses, but they also said that some of it will be used for auditing and publishing all the necessary reports. Nine and a half years later, there are still no up-to-date financial statements.
This will probably deter most investors away from the stock and, looking at the historical records, it has. Yesterday, however, LPPI popped and registered a dollar volume of more than $480 thousand. The ticker jumped up by as much as 587% and closed the day at $0.0165 per share. According to the company profile on the OTC Markets, the market cap currently stands around $1 million.
The commotion was caused by a press release according to which LPPI has filed a $31 million lawsuit against “two domestic companies“. Apparently, back in 2012, LPPI were in some negotiations with an enterprise called Outdoor Venture Corporation (OVC). A joint venture was supposed to be formed, but for reasons that are not very well explained, the deal fell through. Then, LPPI say, OVC, along with an affiliated company, did all sorts of damage.
It was decided that the matter can only be settled in Court and a complaint was filed in January 2013. At the moment, however, LPPI simply don’t have the funds to meet the legal expenses.
Yesterday’s press release informs us that they have started a litigation financing program. Basically, they set up a website (using the WordPress.com free platform) and invited people from all over the world to donate $1,000 to the cause. If you decide to take part, you’ll receive a complementary copy of a book called “Teenagers Guide to Becoming a Millionaire” and LPPI will promise you that if a favorable court decision is reached and if “adequate funds are available“, you’ll get your donation back along with a 200% return.
The Contact Us section on the newly created website tells you that you can get through to LPPI via a gMail account and a telephone number that are different from the ones listed on their own web page. Of course, if the whole donation program is a bit too shady for you, you can always take a look at the company stock.
Unfortunately, things don’t seem too bright there as well. The ticker popped out of the blue yesterday and it provided some great profit opportunities for the people who timed their trades well. If a favorable court decision is reached, and if LPPI finally manage to set their financials straight, the stock could be in for a more consistent run. These things, however, might take a lot of time and penny stock investors aren’t renowned for their patience. A point hammered home by the fact that, after just half an hour of trading today, LPPI is about 17% below yesterday’s close.
