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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...