Mark Cuban Launches Corporate Scandal Website

On July 1st, billionaire Mark Cuban and business reporter Christopher Carey launched sharesleuth.com, a website whose intent is to uncover corporate corruption and to shine a spotlight on companies that are committing fraud. Carey promises to present both documents and photographs to show evidence of the wrongdoing that they uncover. In addition to the companies they expose, the website will also investigate and report on the people behind the companies. So, corporate executives who are profiting at the expense of shareholders will also be in their crosshairs. Sharesleuth.com’s first investigative report should be published by the end of July, but until then it is operating as a blog.

Mark Cuban, the outspoken entrepreneur, has never been afraid to take chances or to voice his opinion. If he believes something to be the truth, he will tell that truth at any cost. As owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban has been fined over one million dollars for criticizing the NBA and its referees over the years. The fines, however, have not deterred him and he continues to speak his mind.

Think what you will of Mark Cuban, but you can’t argue with his business success. As co-founder of Broadcast.com, he had the good sense to sell his company and to cash out of his internet stock when most others were buying. As owner of the Dallas Mavericks, he brought his team to the NBA Finals within six years. If past success is any indication, this new venture should find solid footing as well. In the next few years, my hunch is that www.sharesleuth.com will make big waves on Wall Street, in the media, and in corporate boardrooms across the country.

Ever the entrepreneur, Cuban’s intent is not only to expose corporate fraud, but also to profit from it. The website discloses that Cuban, sharesleuth.com’s majority partner, plans to make personal investments based on the information that they discover. Some media outlets have criticized Cuban for attempting to profit from this investigative journalism. In my opinion, his actions are no different than Wall Street brokerage firms that research company stocks and then invest based on that research. If Wall Street can do it, why shouldn’t Mark Cuban?

Carey, the site’s president and editor, has been a business reporter for more than twenty years. As a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he specialized in uncovering fraudulent companies by combing through SEC filings and court records. Some of his previous work can be found at this link. Carey, unlike Cuban, promises not to make investments based on the research he does. This should help to ensure the journalistic integrity of the site. It seems to me that Carey simply enjoys the process of researching and exposing corporate evildoers.

Sharesleuth.com may not have been launched with a ton of fanfare, but in the coming months I believe it will gain much more exposure. Even though Mark Cuban plans to profit from the research, I believe the website will benefit the public in the long run. If the site is successful, it will be a deterrent to unscrupulous companies and executives everywhere. After all, the crooks prefer dark corners and do not want to be in the spotlight.