Data Storage Corporation Issues Statement About Promotional Activity Concerning Its Common Stock

MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Storage Corporation (OTCQB: DTST) (“DSC” and the “Company”), a provider of diverse business continuity, disaster recovery protection and cloud solutions, announces that it has been notified by OTC Markets Group Inc. (“OTC Markets”) about recent trading and promotional activity concerning the Company’s common stock. 

On October 15, 2019, OTC Markets informed the Company that (i) it became aware of certain promotional activities concerning Data Storage Corporation and its common stock, including the distribution of promotional newsletter emails by unaffiliated third-party sources, including, BeatPennyStocks.com, owned and operated by Stellar Media Group, LLC, and MakePennyStocksGreatAgain.com, owned and operated by Link Media, encouraging investors to purchase the Company’s common stock and (ii) that this promotional activity has had an effect on trading activity and the market for the Company’s securities. The Company understands this promotional activity coincided with higher than average trading volume and fluctuations in the Company’s stock price. The Company was unaware of the promotional activity until informed by OTC Markets, and is unaware of the full nature of the promotional activity, the extent of the dissemination, or the responsible parties.  The Company is not affiliated in any way with the authors of the promotional materials identified by OTC Markets.

The Company has reviewed the statements in the promotional materials provided by the Issuer Compliance of the OTC Markets.  While it appears that certain statements and claims made in the promotional materials were factually correct as they were taken from the Company’s website, historical press releases and other public documents, the Company has determined that certain statements included in these promotional materials related to the Company and its business might be read as false and/or misleading and readers should not place undue reliance on these promotional materials.

In addition, the Company understands that there are statements made in the promotional materials which may be deemed to encourage investors to purchase the common stock of the Company.  Such statements only express the view of the authors. The Company disclaims any potentially exaggerated or misleading statements contained in the promotional materials.

Readers of the promotional materials should not place undue reliance on the promotional materials. Specifically, the Company does not condone the use of sensational language to describe the Company’s business prospects or the growth potential of the Company’s industry.

The Company encourages investors to review the business of the Company on its own merits. The Company does not condone any statements made regarding the urgency of investing in the Company’s common shares or any other similar statements. The Company notes that investing in the Company’s securities involves certain risks and uncertainties which investors should review prior to making any investment decision. The Company directs potential investors to rely solely on its filings and disclosures made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.

The Company has made inquiries of its executive officers, directors, controlling shareholders (i.e., shareholders owning 10% or more of the Company’s securities) and the third-party service provider regarding the promotional activities concerning the Company. Neither the Company, nor its executive officers, directors nor, to the Company’s knowledge, its controlling shareholders nor the third party service provider, were involved in any way with the creation or distribution of the promotional materials identified by OTC Markets.  Additionally, neither the Company’s executive officers, directors nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any controlling shareholders or any third-party service providers, sold or purchased shares of common stock of the Company within the last 90 days. 

Charles Piluso, the Company’s CEO, stated, “We continue to execute on our business model and remain extremely encouraged by the outlook for the business.  While some of the information stated in these promotional materials, as it relates to DSC, does represent the core of our business solutions and the marketplace, we do not stand behind any future growth rates stated in the promotional materials, nor do such statements represent any guidance from DSC. Further, the Company is not involved in Artificial Intelligence or Virtual Reality, as stated in the promotional materials, but remains focused on our core solutions.  Nevertheless, we strongly advise the public to continue to rely only on our press releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for any material information regarding the Company.”

The Company’s investor relations firm engaged since April 1, 2019 is Crescendo Communications, LLC (“Crescendo”).  Prior to Crescendo, the Company engaged Andrew Barwicki Incorporated (“Barwicki”) from January 18, 2017 to March 31, 2019.  Crescendo and Barwicki deny any prior knowledge of or involvement in the creation or distribution of the promotional materials. The Company has not engaged any third parties to provide investor relations services, public relations services or other related services since January 1, 2017 other than the above-mentioned firms.

The Company has not issued any shares or convertible instruments allowing conversion to equity securities at prices constituting a discount to the current market rate at the time of the issuance.

About Data Storage Corporation

The Company provides a highly secure, enterprise level cloud for IBM i Power systems and Windows, assisting companies in the migration process, while reducing capex and providing flexibility for seasonality with on-demand compute power. Clients have access to an array of solutions: Infrastructure as a Service, disaster recovery, voice and data, security, and email compliance & data analytics. The Company provides solutions to business, government, education and healthcare industries.

For more information, please visit http://www.DataStorageCorp.com.

Safe Harbor Provision

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created thereby.  All statements other than statements of historical fact contained herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives, are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "estimates," "anticipates," or "believes" or the negative thereof or any variation thereon or similar terminology or expressions.  Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from results proposed in such statements.  Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and its other filings and submissions with the SEC.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.  Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Contact:
Crescendo Communications, LLC
212-671-1020
DTST@crescendo-ir.com

Released October 17, 2019