Securities and Exchange Commission

   Litigation Release No. 16336 / October 15, 1999

   Securities and Exchange Commission v. Charles Richard Homa et al.,
   U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Civil
   Action No. 99-Civ-10557 (S.D. N.Y.. October 15, 1999)

   On October 15, 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a
   Complaint in Federal District Court in New York, New York, to halt a
   massive Ponzi Scheme that has allegedly raised approximately $300
   million over several years. On the same day, Judge David N. Edelstein
   of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
   issued a Temporary Restraining Order, which included a prohibition
   against violations of federal securities laws and an asset freeze,
   against the defendants, including Richard Homa, a resident of Atlanta,
   Georgia, Michael Gause of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Bill J. Short, II,
   a resident of Marco Island, Florida, Jimmy B. Roof, a resident of West
   Columbia, South Carolina, Robert C. Ellenburg, a resident of Columbia,
   South Carolina, Steven Shane Nichols, a resident of Aurora, Colorado,
   Philip A. Sharpton, a resident of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Charles
   Edward Dickerson, a resident of Franklin, Tennessee and their related
   entities. The Complaint alleges that Gause and Homa stood at the top
   of a multi-layered marketing scheme that sold notes and bonds as part
   of a massive Ponzi scheme that may have raised as much as $300 million
   since its inception . The Complaint further alleges that the
   defendants violated the federal securities laws by making false claims
   that the money they were raising would be used to fund loans to
   companies engaged in the car title loan industry and the payday loan
   industry. The Complaint alleges that many of the Defendants were told
   that the funds would be loaned to Cash 4 Titles, a company operated by
   Homa. The Complaint alleges that only a small fraction of the money
   was used for its intended purpose. Instead, the Complaint alleges that
   the defendants, after transferring the money to Cayman Islands
   accounts, used the money to pay existing investors, pay commissions
   and pay personal expenses.

   The Complaint alleges that the defendants violated Section 17(a) of
   the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities
   Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The
   Complaint also alleges that defendants who sold the notes and bonds
   acted as unregistered broker-dealers in violation of Section 15(a) of
   the Exchange Act and also committed violations of Section 15(c) of the
   Exchange Act and Rule 15c1-2 thereunder. As part of the relief
   requested, Judge Edelstein issued a temporary restraining order
   against the defendants prohibiting them from any further violations of
   the federal securities laws and ordered an asset freeze. Judge
   Edelstein also ordered a hearing for Monday October 18, 1999 at 11 00