UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

   Litigation Release No. 16918 / February 28, 2001

   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. CHIDWHITE ENTERPRISES, INC. AND
   JERRY L. CHIDESTER Civil Action NoA01-CV-131 (W.D. Texas, Austin
   Division)

   On February 28, 2001, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC")
   filed civil fraud charges in federal district court in Austin, Texas,
   against Chidwhite Enterprises and Jerry L. Chidester (collectively,
   the "Defendants") in connection with an unregistered Internet offering
   of so-called "free" stock credits. The complaint alleges that the
   Defendants used spam e-mail and a web page to defraud over 6,000
   investors throughout the United States and the world, raising nearly
   $96,000 in the fraudulent offering.
     * Chidwhite Enterprises, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered
       in Austin, Texas, was formed in March 2000 purportedly to develop
       and operate , an Internet website devoted to selling consumer
       optical goods.
     * Jerry L. Chidester, 26, of Austin, Texas, is the founder, sole
       shareholder, and chief executive officer of Chidwhite Enterprises.

   The SEC's complaint charges the Defendants with securities fraud in
   connection with a promotion for Chidwhite Enterprises in which the
   Defendants offered 100 stock credits "free" to each applicant on an
   internet website who paid an "administrative fee" of $10. The
   Defendants claimed that investors could redeem their stock credits for
   common stock when Chidwhite Enterprises completed a purportedly
   impending initial public offering ("IPO") of its securities.

   The SEC's complaint alleges that the Defendants made numerous
   misrepresentations and omissions of material facts in connection with
   the offering including, among other things, that the SEC had approved
   the offering, that Chidwhite Enterprises would conduct an IPO upon
   completion of the offering, and that Chidwhite Enterprises stock would
   be valued at $20 to $50 per share at the time of its IPO. However, the
   SEC never approved the offering and Chidwhite Enterprises never
   undertook any meaningful steps to conduct an IPO. Moreover, Chidwhite
   Enterprises never established offices, never acquired any inventory,
   and never offered any products or services, via or otherwise. The SEC
   claims that Chidester misappropriated all of the administrative fees
   generated in the promotional offering and converted the fees to his
   own use.

   The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions against future violations of
   the registration and antifraud provisions of the federal securities
   laws, specifically Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities