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28 Apr 2009

Hedge Fund Manager and Financial Services Expert Added To Dow Jones Media Team

Dow Jones & Company has added London based hedge fund manager Paul Sharma as telecommunications, media and technology columnist, and NY's award winning Donna Childs, as a financial services columnist.

"The appointments of Paul and Donna are part of our overarching strategy to enhance our editorial teams with top industry talent. We are drawing on the hedge fund and banking communities to deepen Dow Jones's reporting and commentary on companies, industries and events for investment bankers and corporate advisors," said Adam Smallman, global managing editor for investment banking coverage at Dow Jones Newswires. "During this time of great change in markets, our editorial focus is firmly on delivering to investment bankers the intelligence that powers deals and transactions. With their industry experience, Paul and Donna will offer a unique perspective on firms, sectors and events for our investment banker readership."

Sharma was a partner at a London-based hedge fund, Cheyne Capital Management, where he managed a telecommunications value fund. Prior to that, he was the director of telecommunications sales at HSBC and spent four years as vice president and lead telecommunications analyst at J.P. Morgan in London.

Before joining Dow Jones, Ms. Childs led the microfinance firm Childs Capital LLC, which she founded in 1998. Prior to this, she was president and chief operating officer of ERC Financial Market Products in New York, an investment banker in the financial institutions group of Goldman Sachs and a director at Swiss Reinsurance Company in Zurich. Ms. Childs has won multiple awards throughout her career, including the National Association of Women Business Owners' '2007 Woman Business Owner of the Year'. She was named one of the '40 under 40' rising stars of New York in 2005 by Crain's New York Business.

Multi-Million Dollar Hedge Fund Fraud in Conneticut

The SEC has frozen the assets of a Connecticut-based hedge fund manager, alleging that he forged documents, promised false returns, and misrepresented assets managed by the funds to illicitly raise more than $30 million from investors.

According to the SEC's complaint, Francesco Rusciano solicited investments for two hedge funds he controls, Ponta Negra Fund I, LLC and Ponta Negra Offshore Fund I, LTD, which is the principal of Ponta Negra Group, LLC, located at his residence in Stamford, Conn.

The hedge fund manager also sent out an e-mail to investors saying that his Ponta Negra hedge funds had $59 million in assets under management as of February 2009. According to the SEC's complaint, the hedge funds had less than $10 million.

The SEC says that Rusciano forged brokerage account statements to make it appear that another hedge fund account had more than $43 million in assets, when it had less than $3 million.

"Rusciano went to great lengths to deceive investors, and the SEC is committed to ensuring that money managers who provide inaccurate information to investors and fail to uphold their fiduciary duties are held responsible for their misconduct," said Rose Romero, Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office.

The SEC's investigation is continuing.