ML-Implode News - NYTimes "Unintentional Plagiarizer" Kouwe Surfaces As Spokesman For Controversial Short-Seller

Hat tip to Zero Hedge for spotting this. Zach Kouwe, former NYTimes reporter who "retired" for "unintentional plagiarism", has apparently resurfaced working for Carson Block, founder of controversial short selling outfit Muddy Waters (of Sino Forest controversy fame).

Kouwe is well-known around here because his "crimes" including lifting (without credit) considerable portions of our coverage of the IndyMac Bank sale to a Soros-backed group in late 2008.

Carnes, who at one time worked with Muddy Waters LLC founder Carson Block, is among short sellers who have published fraud allegations as they try to drive down share prices. While the high-stakes strategy paid off for Carnes, who posts his anonymous reports on his website alfredlittle.com, it has also brought him lawsuits and physical threats to some of his associates. Carnes' experience in China and his decision to help the SEC may illustrate the limits of short selling in a country where foreign investors have fewer legal rights compared to North America.
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Muddy Waters said in a November 2010 report that Rino had exaggerated its revenue. Rino said in a filing eight days later that two years of financial statements weren't reliable. The shares tumbled 67 percent that month in U.S. trading.
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Zach Kouwe, a spokesman for Block, and Rino Chief Financial Officer Ben Wang declined to comment.

As far as we know the jury is still out on how substantial the Muddy Waters et al. folks' allegations are -- but the inclusion of Kouwe in the lot of them isn't exactly confidence-inspiring. To us at least.

Relevant:

NYTimes "Unintentional Plagiarizer" Kouwe Surfaces As Spokesman For Controversial Short-Seller