CEO Admits Embarrassing Reaction to SEC Deception; Stalin Would’ve Applauded.
ersy and Connecticut.
Interviewer: “Mr. Ran, the SEC has recently reported that Manhattan Bridge Capital, Inc.’s financial results for the year 2022 were falsified. As the Chairman of the Board and CEO, can you provide some details and insight into why this occurred?”
Mr. Ran: “Well, I’ll be perfectly honest with you. We were not entirely forthcoming about two key points in our disclosure to the SEC for the 2022 fiscal year. First, the increase in interest rate on our adjustable-rate line of credit was not accurately reported. We inflated it by a few percent to make it look like it had a larger impact on our overall financial situation. Second, the reduction in our outstanding balance of the credit line was exaggerated. We inflated the amount issued during the public offering of our common shares in July of 2021.
The truth is, I felt tremendous pressure to deliver those results. In hindsight, I realize it was a mistake I made in my personal haste to deliver the numbers. And I was only willing to make a few slight embellishments here and there in order to make the results look better. I’m embarrassed by my decisions, to say the least. It was a reaction that even Joseph Stalin would have praised.
The ironic thing is that the real numbers were actually much better than I expected. Despite the less competitive real estate market, our low debt-to-equity ratio allowed us to present an all-time annual earnings record. It was the increased interest rate on our adjustable-rate line of credit which ultimately reduced our earnings per share to $0.45 for the 2022 fiscal year.
Needless to say, I feel awful about my deception. I hope my oversight does not reflect poorly on the reputation of Manhattan Bridge Capital, Inc. and our incredibly dedicated team.
Original Release: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/03/10/2625203/8691/en/Manhattan-Bridge-Capital-Inc-Reports-Results-for-2022.html