I bought stock in a Chinese company before the widespread fraud in the Chinese sector came to light too. From the Chinese people I know, I felt the Chinese were generally more ethical. It turns out there are just as many crooks in China as in the U.S.. People are the same everywhere.

It's great you listened to that 'basher' and looked at the data which saved you money. I don't doubt some PTOI investors also took an objective look at PTOI after being alerted and bailed on the stock. The impassioned 'pathos' type of investors remain, though.

I will say that years of following PTOI and other scam stocks has given me a better insight into warning signs and I feel that's made me a much better investor. Acts of impropriety like Mr. Bordynuik lying about Somerset or Mr. Heddle withholding information about the plant being broken top the list. You just can't have unethical principals running the show. And if the head guy is brought up on fraud charges by the SEC...that's certainly not to be poo-pooed.

Some scams do hide their misrepresentations better so then it's good to look at whether they're following a 'normal' course. In PTOI's case it has been six years without a real proof-of-concept...which should have been the very first step. That's a huge waving red flag. Companies with actual value try to communicate that value. Scam companies work hard to suggest value and give incomplete information.

If you find a company that claims huge value...but cycles through numerous business plans because none of them quite work...when 90% gross margins should mean they could make any plan an immediate resounding success...there's a problem.