West Hollywood, California (Monday, March 2, 2009) - West Hollywood’s National Lampoon might get booted from its Sunset Strip digs for non-payment of rent. 
National Lampoon’s Sunset Strip headquarters. WeHo News - West Hollywood’s ONLY Newspaper, ONLY ONLINE! |
That news comes in six weeks after the firm’s CEO, Daniel S. Laikin, was arrested charged with securities fraud for his alleged role in scheme to boost the West Hollywood firm’s stock price.
Now the landlord for home of the magazine and its film division, which began with the storied “Animal House,” filed papers claiming the firm owes back rent totaling $39,246, amounting to nearly four months’ rent of not-quite $11,000.
Tim Durham, President of the Lampoon, told TMZ, "It's no secret the Lampoon has been struggling for the last several months."
Mr. Durham expects to maintain the offices, catching up on the lease.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) named Daniel S. Laikin, age 46, as a perpetrator of fraud in a criminal case filed by the Justice Department in Philadelphia charging that he sought to boost the firm’s stock from below $2 to $5 per share.
National Lampoon’s world headwquarters is on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. Photo by WeHo News - West Hollywood’s ONLY Newspaper, ONLY ONLINE! |
Authorities described the arrest as a result of a “broad crackdown on stock manipulation” that netted the FBI seven people involved in three separate schemes.
The common element in the triad is alleged to be Eduardo Rodriguez from Livingston, N.J.
Authorities say that Mr. Rodriguez also manipulated stock prices for Advatech Corp. of West Palm Beach, FL and restaurant called SwedishVegas Inc. based in Arcadia.
Apparently 40 percent of National Lampoon stock is in Mr. Laikin’s hands, and he and Las Vegas consultant Dennis Barsky allegedly paid Mr. Rodriguez $68,000 to artificially inflate the stock price by paying kickbacks to promoters for buying shares.
Mr. Barsky was also arrested and charged with securities fraud.
Printer-friendly
E-mail to friend
