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EX-10.1 2 d59811exv10w1.htm STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT Exhibit 10.1 IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE                               )             )           IN RE: INFOUSA, INC. )         CONSOLIDATED SHAREHOLDERS LITIGATION )         C.A. No. 1956-CC   )             )                         STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT           This is a Stipulation of Settlement (“Stipulation”) made and entered into...

Excerpt - OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Database provider InfoGroup Inc. said Thursday its founder Vinod Gupta has stepped down as chief executive. Gupta's resignation Wednesday was part of a proposed settlement of a shareholder lawsuit, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The lawsuit alleged the company misspent millions -- some of it on former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. ~ snip ~

Footnote to the Democratic primary: Among the worries of the party faithful about New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the business baggage of Bill Clinton, including his lucrative relationship with Vinod Gupta, founder and CEO of the infoUSA database and marketing firm. Make that former CEO. Gupta was replaced as chief executive of the Omaha-based firm as part of a proposed settlement of a shareholder suit which accused him of misspending millions in company funds, part of that on the Clintons. Gupta, who still owns a hefty chunk of infoUSA shares, remains a board member, but turns over the...

Excerpt - A committee investigating allegations that InfoGroup founder Vin Gupta misspent millions of dollars has identified $818,748 as personally benefiting Gupta last year and $646,931 in 2006. ~ snip ~ Another allegation that attracted attention was that Gupta had spent $900,000 in company money flying former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on pleasure and political trips aboard the company's leased aircraft. Gupta also signed Bill Clinton to a multi-million-dollar consulting contract. ~ snip ~

Citing excessive spending, a special committee of InfoGroup Inc. trimmed founder Vin Gupta's executive powers, removed him as chairman and arranged for him to pay back the company $9 million.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Database provider InfoUSA Inc. said Friday it received a Nasdaq delisting notice earlier this week because it still hasn't filed its annual report. InfoUSA said in a statement it expected the notice that trading of its shares could be suspended, but the Omaha company plans to appeal, which would delay any action by the Nasdaq Stock Market. InfoUSA said last month its annual report would be delayed because of an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a shareholder lawsuit that questions the company's spending. The annual report was due March 17. Investment manager Cardinal...

NEW YORK - Concerns that infoUSA Inc.'s announced delay in filing its 2007 annual report could trigger a loan default led two credit rating agencies Wednesday to consider downgrading the database provider's debt rating. On Friday, infoUSA said its 2007 annual report will not be filed by a March 17 due date. The company said the report will be late because of an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a shareholder lawsuit. The SEC is investigating entertainment expenditures and certain stock trades. And a lawsuit filed by Cardinal Value Equity Partners and hedge fund Dolphin LP alleges that...

OMAHA, Neb. - Database provider infoUSA Inc. said Friday it's annual report will be late because of an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a shareholder lawsuit that questions the company's spending. InfoUSA said in a news release it won't be able to meet the SEC's March 17 deadline for timely filing of its annual report. InfoUSA formed a special board committee of five directors in December to respond to an SEC investigation and a shareholder lawsuit that claims the company misspent millions, some of it on Bill and Hillary Clinton. Under its investigation, the SEC requested infoUSA...

Clintons' InfoUSA Ties Scrutinized by Peter Overby All Things Considered, February 13, 2008 · Political campaigns spend thousands, even millions of dollars to acquire good mailing lists. Last year, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton took the unusual step of renting out some of her lists. The transaction once again highlights the Clintons' connections to a businessman who now faces questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reports from Clinton's campaign show that on Dec. 3, it collected payment for renting out three mailing lists, the sale of which netted them $8,225. It was an unusual transaction, according to Roger Craver,...

Last year, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton took the unusual step of renting out some of her lists. The transaction once again highlights the Clintons' connections to a businessman who now faces questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Link to the Wired.com article - http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/02/offensive-super.html The article also contains a link-back to Free Republic archives, and the infamous photo of Bill Clinton and Gupta that was exposed on this forum.

Excerpt - On Thursday, all the Presidential candidates had to file their campaign finance disclosures for the fourth quarter of 2007. I gave the frontrunners' reports a quick scour both to get an updated read on the money race (summary statistics here) and to hunt for any fresh instances of the irregularities that have made this cycle so engaging in the past. So far, one schedule has made a special impression: Senator Clinton's Itemized Receipts, Line 21. Excerpted from the filing: Line 21 is typically very boring, generally nothing more than interest income on bank deposits. But it's also where...

Throughout the year, CNN has been 'supportive' of Hillary's Presidential campaign. Polls commissioned by CNN and conducted by Opinion Research have usually been lagging in reflecting negative Clinton campaign news that have been picked up by other polls. That's primarily because CNN's polling partner, Opinion Research, was bought by a 'Friend of Bill' and major Clinton donor Vinod Gupta. With Opinion Research's parent company infoUSA now under SEC investigation because of questionable practices that have allegedly been used to benefit the Clinton's, CNN seems to be turning to other polling entities to gather accurate, in-state information on many of...

Bloomberg is link only.STORY.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Database provider infoUSA Inc. said Wednesday it formed a committee for internal investigation and related litigation in response to a shareholder lawsuit and SEC investigation into the company. The shareholder lawsuit claims the company misspent millions, some of it on Bill and Hillary Clinton. The suit questions why infoUSA founder Vin Gupta used private corporate jets to fly the Clintons on business, personal and campaign trips, why Gupta gave Bill Clinton a $3.3 million consulting contract and why the company paid for extravagant luxuries Gupta enjoyed. ~ snip ~

Last January, an exclusive report was published on FreeRepublic.com, revealing CNN had hired a major Hillary Clinton backer named Vinod Gupta to conduct their presidential polling for the 2008 election. Since then, several reports have appeared in the mainstream media, and on this site, detailing the antics of Gupta with the Clintons - the millions of dollars in corporate funds and services he has given to them, his conflict of interests in acting as CNN's pollster after declaring that "she'll be our next president", etc. As the negative publicity about him grew, Vinod Gupta eventually claimed that he had severed...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into spending by database marketer InfoUSA Inc. The Omaha-based company said in a filing Tuesday that it would cooperate with the SEC's request for documents related to expense reimbursement, transactions with related parties, some corporate expenditures and certain trades of company stock. The company did not specify what spending the SEC is looking for, but a lawsuit two hedge funds filed earlier this year may offer some clues. InfoUSA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday. The hedge funds — Cardinal Value Equity Partners and Dolphin Limited Partnership...

View the photo essay at the link - http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2007/11/questions-for-clintons-vin-gupta-and.html

InfoUSA now faces an SEC probe, one that could indirectly, at least, involve Bill and Hillary Clinton in the middle of an election campaign. The data processing company spent millions on Bill Clinton as a consultant and has flown Hillary around on its corporate jets. Now the SEC wants a look at the company's books, spurred on by stockholders who sense something amiss in the benefits showered on the former First Couple: The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into InfoUSA, a Nebraska company that used corporate funds to fly Hillary Rodham Clinton around the country, and one...

Excerpt - The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into InfoUSA, a Nebraska company that used corporate funds to fly Hillary Rodham Clinton around the country, and one of only two companies to put Bill Clinton on its payroll after he left the White House. The firm, a major provider of database-processing services, disclosed little about the nature of the probe in a filing to shareholders released yesterday. The two-sentence filing said only that InfoUSA received a letter last week "informing the Company that the SEC is conducting an informal investigation . . . and is requesting the...

Three years after the William J. Clinton Presidential Library opened its doors, the list of donors who helped the former president build his $165 million complex remains a secret from the public.Yet the Blotter on ABCNews.com has learned that the Clinton Foundation sold portions of the list through a data company headed by a longtime friend and donor.  "The fact that they've sold the list and then turned around and said that these names must be kept anonymous completely undercuts their argument," said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based government watchdog group that tracks the...

      UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549   FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 14, 2007   infoUSA Inc. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)           Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)   0-19598 (Commission File Number)   47-0751545 (IRS Employer Identification No.)       5711 South 86th Circle Omaha, Nebraska (Address of principal executive offices)   68127 (Zip Code)   Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:...

          Trips byHuma Abedinamericanradioworks.publicradio.org Total cost of 29 trips: $49,870.97 Trips traveled under the office of Hillary Clinton Destination: ASPEN, CO Sponsor: infoUSA.com Inc Purpose: SPEECH Date: Jul 17, 2004 (1 day) Expense: $2,083.00source   Find new prospects and grow your sales with our sales leads.List of 14 Million BusinessesList of 210 Million Consumersinfousa.com Richard Guthrie, 92, was tricked into giving banking data to telephone callers, who then stole money from his account, investigators say. Bilking the Elderly, With a Corporate Assist By CHARLES DUHIGG May 20, 2007nytimes.com The thieves operated from small offices in...

WABC Radio just played a Vin Gupta "Sales Genie" commercial in the last five minutes of today's Rush Limbaugh show. For those of you who don't recognize the name Vinod "Vin" Gupta, here are a few links: gupta clintongupta senior scamgupta clinton scamgupta site:freerepublic.com Note the advertising contact at WABC: For advertising information contact Joe O'Loughlin at (212) 613-3881.

Excerpt - NEW YORK: InfoUSA has hired Sloane & Company to provide strategic and crisis communications support, as the company counters negative press coverage and activist hedge funds challenging senior leadership. ~ snip ~ "Ultimately, we're going to support infoUSA's branding and reputation in the marketplace," said Sloane CEO Elliot Sloane. "We're going to talk to the long-term strength of the business, the 40-year track record of this company. We're going to promote the depth and strength of management." He would not name the activist hedge funds that are challenging infoUSA's management. The value of the contract is undisclosed.

Excerpt - Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., expressed concern about older Americans being "scammed" in a Des Moines, Iowa, speech Wednesday morning, even though her campaign has benefited from the largesse of a Democratic donor whose company is being investigated by the Iowa attorney general for its role in the very same issue -- defrauding seniors. "Fraudsters prey on seniors," Clinton told more than 300 Iowans at Waukee High School. "They offer prizes and sweepstakes and lotteries that lure people into a web of deception." Clinton warned the crowd, "We've got to send out the alarm: seniors should be extremely careful...

DOVER, DEL. - A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit alleging that the chief executive of data company InfoUSA Inc. misspent millions of dollars of corporate money, some of it on Bill and Hillary Clinton. In a 79-page opinion handed down Monday, Chancellor William Chandler III dismissed some shareholder claims but kept others, including allegations that InfoUSA CEO Vinod Gupta tried to buy the company on the cheap in a sham going-private transaction in 2005. Chandler refused to dismiss claims asserting that Gupta improperly awarded 100,000 share options to Bill Clinton without board approval, and that...

~ snip ~ Mr. Gupta said his hiring practices were not motivated by politics, although he acknowledged that having a consulting contract with Mr. Clinton “is definitely worth it.” Such expenditures caught the attention of fund managers who had invested in infoUSA. The funds filed a lawsuit last year accusing Mr. Gupta of wasting millions of dollars on the payments to Mr. Clinton, as well as houses, cars and a yacht for himself and corporate-jet flights for the Clintons and Mr. McAuliffe. Mr. Gupta denies misspending company money. The funds have also questioned Mr. Gupta’s decision to pay a...

The latest report from the Federal Election Commission shows that CNN pollster Vinod Gupta donated $14,250 to the Democratic National Committee in May. Here is Gupta's list of donations for the 2008 election cycle - 3 . Gupta, Vinod 2/20/2007 $1,000.00 Omaha, NE 68127 infoUSA Inc./Chairman/CEO [Contribution] HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE INC. 4 . Gupta, Vinod 5/18/2007 $14,250.00 Omaha, NE 68127 infoUSA/CEO [Contribution] DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE 5 . Gupta, Vinod 2/27/2007 $10,000.00 Omaha, NE 68127 Info USA/Chairman [Contribution] DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE With Hillary's biggest supporter running the presidential polls at CNN, and his declaration that...

Excerpt - Matt Sheffield's post over at Ace's place ("The Attempted Crucifixion of Frank Luntz") noted the heat PBS had received for having GOP pollster Frank Luntz participate as an analyst at last Thursday's Democrat debate: The blog left's puppet master, David Brock, sends out an "alert" informing them that someone who might possibly be conservative is going to be allowed to report as a "mainstream" journalist. ..... Thankfully, PBS has not backed down. Luntz, who is a respected pollster and is often quoted in liberal publications is not getting the shaft, making him one of the very few Republicans...

Bill and Hillary Clinton’s ties to InfoUSA Chairman Vinod Gupta have raised conflict-of-interest concerns over the firm’s links to CNN. In December, database company InfoUSA acquired the polling firm Opinion Research Corp., which provides CNN with polling services for its coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign. Gupta is actively campaigning for Hillary, and as a result the polling firm’s findings "could be perceived as being colored by Gupta’s connections to the Clintons,” TheDeal.com observed. "In May, for example, CNN cited results of an Opinion Research poll that showed Hillary Clinton gaining momentum among liberal voters, without disclosing that the...

Just looking through Hillary Clinton's financial disclosure papers, released today and available at this link - http://tray.com/pfd/S07pfd/00001/00001217.pdf Some interesting new developments - Bill Clinton is the sole owner of "WJC International Investments LP, LLC" in New York, NY. It holds such interests as - Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund, LP (investment partnership that invests in securities of corporations that conduct significant operations in foreign countries) (general partner is YGOF GP, Ltd, c/o 1930 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90069) Garrard Worldwide Holdings Ltd (retail jeweler with flagship store in London, England). Garrard is the Crown Jeweller, and appears to...

Database company InfoUSA, under fire from a shareholder lawsuit for the millions paid to the Clintons, is pushing its tentacles deeper into the bowels of the Democratic Party. ~ snip ~

Earlier this week, CNN pollster Vinod Gupta bowed out of the Hillary fundraiser, after several reports of his shady dealings with telemarketing scammers who prey on the elderly, and his financial largesse to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Also this week, Gupta conducted the annual meeting of the company he runs - InfoUSA - which lasted just five minutes and refused to accept questions from shareholders, including questions about the millions of dollars of company money that Gupta wasted on his influence-peddling scheme with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Gupta gave the Clintons over $900,000 in private jet travel to places including...

Excerpt - Embattled businessman Vinod Gupta is bowing out of Thursday night’s fundraiser for Hillary Clinton – even though he is the vice chairman of the event. Gupta is evidently seeking to keep a low profile following revelations about his financial links to Bill and Hillary Clinton. But Gupta simply told the New York Post: "I’ve got other things to do.” ~ snip ~

Excerpt - Vin Gupta, who is not above dropping Bill Clinton's name, says he gets a little name-dropping in return and that it is worth several times over the millions of dollars InfoUSA pays the former president. ~ snip ~ Without going into specifics, Gupta said, Clinton gives advice on how to extend the company's services into new markets. His expertise is used in the side of InfoUSA that sells services to political parties and candidates and nonprofit organizations, Gupta said. Beyond consulting with the company and speaking to gatherings of employees and clients, the former president also opens doors,...

A database company that has showered money on Bill and Hillary Clinton – and is alleged to have aided scam artists – now appears to have close links to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's family as well. The firm InfoUSA, headed by major Clinton backer Vinod Gupta, has placed Pelosi's son, Paul Pelosi Jr., on its payroll – even though he has no experience in the company's main business activities, NewsMax has learned. As NewsMax previously reported, InfoUSA repeatedly rented marketing databases to unscrupulous persons who used the information to defraud the unsuspecting elderly, investigators found. The company is also under...

Gupta's InfoUSA Pays Pelosi's Son Ronald Kessler Tuesday, June 5, 2007 A database company that has showered money on Bill and Hillary Clinton – and is alleged to have aided scam artists – now appears to have close links to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's family as well. The firm InfoUSA, headed by major Clinton backer Vinod Gupta, has placed Pelosi's son, Paul Pelosi Jr., on its payroll – even though he has no experience in the company's main business activities, NewsMax has learned. As NewsMax previously reported, InfoUSA repeatedly rented marketing databases to unscrupulous persons who used the information to...

Excerpt - In the Democratic competition for campaign cash, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to turn to every friend she has – even controversial ones. An invitation to a million-dollar Clinton presidential fundraiser next Thursday night in Manhattan lists Vinod Gupta, chief executive of InfoUSA Inc., as a “vice chair” of the event, which means he has committed to raise $50,000 from ticket sales. Mr. Gupta, a friend and benefactor of Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, faces a lawsuit from company shareholders accusing him of excessively spending millions of dollars, including $900,000 worth of travel on the Clintons....

Excerpt - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that she followed all Senate rules when she accepted rides on a private jet from a longtime benefactor. "Whatever I've done, I complied with Senate rules at the time. That's the way every senator operates," the Democratic presidential contender said in an interview with The Associated Press during a campaign stop in Las Vegas. Clinton's travel, along with and consulting fees paid to her husband, the former president, have come to light recently in a lawsuit against Vinod Gupta, a Clinton contributor and chief executive of the data company, InfoUSA Inc. The...

Since he left office in 2001, former president Bill Clinton has been paid by $3.3 million by InfoUSA, an Omaha, Nebraska company that has been identified as a key provider of specially designed databases that have been sold to criminals who use the detailed information to defraud the unsuspecting elderly. The consulting fees to the former president were only part of the largess InfoUSA showered on the former president. Vinod Gupta, the CEO of InfoUSA, lent the Clintons the company's jet which took them to places like Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica and Mexico. The jet service was worth a staggering $900,000....

NRI entrepreneur flays NYT over 'smear campaign Vinod 'Vin' Gupta, 60, the multi-millionaire chairman and CEO of infoUSA and focus of a major article in the New York Times in the Washington Post on May 26 regarding a lawsuit that brands his using the company's private jet to fly former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on personal, business and campaign trips as a 'waste of corporate assets,' has said it's all an effort to embarrass Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. infoUSA is one of America's leading marketing information companies that provide electronic, print...

A longtime Indian-born Clinton benefactor used corporate jets to fly the former president and Hillary Rodham Clinton on business, personal and campaign trips that a lawsuit brands as wasteful company spending. The supporter, Vinod Gupta, also secured contracts worth more than $3 million for Bill Clinton to provide consulting services to Gupta's company, infoUSA, from 2003 through 2008... Since 2002, Gupta spent $900,000 flying the former president to international locations on presidential foundation business and flying Hillary Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York, to political events. a "serial misuse of corporate assets and resources". "All flights were reimbursed and...

A lawsuit against Vinod Gupta, CEO, InfoUSA, has accused him of wasting the company?s money on high-profile guests, according to a report on the website of The New York Times. The report said when former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took a family vacation in January 2002 to Acapulco, Mexico, Vinod Gupta provided his company?s private jet to fly them there. "The company, infoUSA, one of the nation?s largest brokers of information on consumers, paid $146,866 to ferry the Clintons, Mr. Gupta and others to Acapulco and back, court records show. During the next four years, infoUSA...

NY Times Accidentally Does Opposition Research on Clintons, Attempts Containment Posted by Tom Blumer on May 26, 2007 - 12:54. In an excellent investigative report last Sunday (may require free registration) that is part of a series on how "how businesses and investors seek to profit from the soaring number of older Americans, in ways helpful and harmful," the New York Times' Charles Duhigg exposed the despicable tactics of elder-scam artists and the "information services" companies that supply them the "sucker lists" they need.He may not have known that he was simultaneously exposing information that could, and arguably should, damage...

Excerpt - For the past four years, the Clintons have jetted around on Vinod Gupta's corporate plane, to Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico -- $900,000 worth of travel. The former president secured a $3.3 million consulting deal with Gupta's technology firm. His presidential library got a six-figure gift, too. Gupta, whose big donations to the Democratic Party earned him a Lincoln Bedroom overnight when Bill Clinton was president, has emerged as a key benefactor of Clinton's post-presidency -- and Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential candidacy. Gupta's generosity toward the Clintons has proved so controversial within his firm -- a major provider of...

When former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took a family vacation in January 2002 to Acapulco, Mexico, one of their longtime supporters, Vinod Gupta, provided his company’s private jet to fly them there. The company, infoUSA, one of the nation’s largest brokers of information on consumers, paid $146,866 to ferry the Clintons, Mr. Gupta and others to Acapulco and back, court records show. During the next four years, infoUSA paid Mr. Clinton more than $2 million for consulting services, and spent almost $900,000 to fly him around the world for his presidential foundation work and to fly...

When former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took a family vacation in January 2002 to Acapulco, Mexico, one of their longtime supporters, Vinod Gupta, provided his company’s private jet to fly them there. The company, infoUSA, one of the nation’s largest brokers of information on consumers, paid $146,866 to ferry the Clintons, Mr. Gupta and others to Acapulco and back, court records show. During the next four years, infoUSA paid Mr. Clinton more than $2 million for consulting services, and spent almost $900,000 to fly him around the world for his presidential foundation work and to fly...

WATCH THE VIDEO AND PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS There is a reason that CNN has been known as CLINTON NEWS NETWORK. Rick Kaplan made it so. And now, it gets even better. The man in charge of the polling for CNN is a personal friend and big donor of the Clintons. Learn all about Vinod Gupta. He is in the perfect position to skew poll questions to benefit Hillary. BILL'S UGLY BUDDY (PAYMENTS FROM SCANDAL-TIED FIRM) CNN Pollster Vinod Gupta donates $1000 to Hillary Clinton - "She'll be our next President" CLINTON PAL EYEBALLED (InfoUSA CEO Vinod...

Since he left office in 2001, former president Bill Clinton has been paid by InfoUSA, an Omaha, Nebraska company that has been identified as a key provider of specially designed databases that are sold to criminals who use the detailed information to defraud the unsuspecting elderly. Because Senate financial disclosure rules do not require Hillary Clinton to reveal exactly how much -- or for what -- the company has paid her husband over the past five years, we don’t know all the details. But we do know this: former presidents – especially Bill Clinton – don’t come cheap. And, just...