Is There Sleaze In The Vonage IPO?

How badly does Vonage want its IPO to go through the roof? Apparently, it's turned to VoIP spam as a way to stir up interest. Subscribers are receiving unsolicited spam VoIP messages from Vonage, telling them to buy the stock. Beyond that, there are reports that the SEC has been unhappy with Vonage founder Jeff Citron over a previous alleged stock scam. The Silicon Valley Sleuth Web site reports that Vonage is sending its subscribers unsolicited voice mail messages, asking them to buy into the upcoming IPO. The site says that the VoIP spam is a follow-up to similar email messages.

Those who want to listen to the Vonage VoIP spam can listen to it from this Web page.

The spam is bad enough. But Techdirt reports that when Vonage filed its IPO, the company was forced to push aside founder and CEO Jeffrey Citron and make him "chief strategist" because of problems he's had with the SEC.

The site says that Citron had previously been forced into a settlement with the SEC about an alleged scam while he worked for the online trading site Datek.

Techdirt cites the Vonage IPO filing as saying that Citron's settlement with the SEC "resulted in extensive fines, bans from future association with securities brokers or dealers and enjoinments against future violations of certain U.S. securities laws".Not a pretty picture.

I've already been leery of this IPO. There's just too much VoIP competition these days for Vonage, from both the low end (Skype, AOL), and the high end (cable companies and telcos). I don't see how the company can make it in the long run.

The VoIP spam and Citron's problems with the SEC make me more leery of it than ever.