SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

   LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 16650 / August 10, 2000

   SEC v. Kenneth R. Payne, et al., S.D. IN; No.IP00-1265C

   COURT TEMPORARILY ENJOINS SIX DEFENDANTS IN $29 MILLION PONZI SCHEME

   The Commission announced that on August 10, 2000, Judge Tinder of the
   United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
   entered a temporary restraining order against Defendants JMS
   Investment Group, LLC, Heartland Financial Services, Inc., Kenneth
   Payne, Johann Smith, Daniel Danker and Constance Brooks-Kiefer for
   defrauding 330 investors, many of whom were elderly, out of $29.1
   million. The Complaint alleged that from at least March 1999 to the
   present, the defendants offered and sold initial public offerings of
   financial institutions and Internet and technology companies,
   represented by a unit of JMS. In addition, the defendants sold shares
   of a bank located in Belize. The Complaint further alleged that the
   defendants held Heartland out to the public as a brokerage firm and
   accepted money to purchase unit investment trusts, mutual funds and
   money markets. In reality, of the $29.1 million raised from investors,
   less than $2 million was used for legitimate investment purposes,
   while $2.2 million was paid to the defendants, $1.3 million was
   withdrawn in cash, nearly $1 million was used for travel and
   entertainment expenses and $15 million was used to repay investors in
   the Ponzi scheme.

   The Court granted the Commission's emergency motion and temporarily
   enjoined all of the defendants from violations of the antifraud
   provisions of the federal securities laws, Section 17(a) of the
   Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act
   of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; temporarily enjoined Defendants
   JMS, Smith, Payne and Danker from violations of the registration
   provisions, Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act; and
   Defendants Heartland, JMS, Smith, Payne and Danker from violations or
   aiding and abetting violations of the broker-dealer registration and
   antifraud provisions, Sections 15(a) and 15(c) of the Exchange Act and
   Rule 15c1-2 thereunder, respectively. Finally, the Court entered
   orders freezing the assets of all of the defendants and prohibiting
   the destruction of documents.
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Modified 08/16/2000