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   UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

   LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 15734 / May 7, 1998

   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. First Americans Bank Ltd. et
   al., Civil Action No. Civ. 98-0645 R (USDC WD Okla.)

   The Commission announced today that it obtained an emergency
   restraining order halting the sale of securities of the Native
   American Free Trade Association ("NAFTA"), an Oklahoma entity, whose
   officers have made false statements, particularly that NAFTA is
   operating an FDIC-insured bank on Apache tribal land in Anadarko,
   Oklahoma. The Commission alleges in its complaint that the Apache
   tribe never authorized NAFTA to operate a bank as claimed. The
   Commission further alleged that in connection with the offerings,
   NAFTA's officers, Owen K. Stephenson and Ron Sparks, both California
   residents, failed to disclose to investors past enforcement actions
   taken against them by federal banking and securities regulatory
   authorities.

   According to the Commission's complaint, in offering material
   disseminated to prospective investors nationwide, NAFTA, Stephenson,
   Sparks and others have falsely claimed to be operating a bank called
   First Americans Bank Ltd. (FAB), in which they have been offering
   interests since early 1997. The Commission's complaint alleges that
   Sparks and Stephenson raised at least $1 million from as many as 100
   investors who purchased interests in NAFTA and two related entities,
   ANB Limited and ANB Trust. According to the complaint, investors have
   been promised that their funds would double at the end of two years.
   The complaint further alleges that Sparks and Stephenson have raised
   additional funds from investors in the form of purported deposits in
   the non-existent bank.

   The Commission alleged that Sparks and Stephenson falsely claimed that
   FAB offered full service checking accounts and that deposits at FAB
   were insured by both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the
   Securities Investor Protection Corporation. The complaint alleges
   that, contrary to representations to investors, FAB has no operations
   in Anadarko, Oklahoma. According to the complaint, investments in
   NAFTA, ANB Limited and ANB Trust have been commingled with deposits of
   FAB, improperly used to pay personal expenses of NAFTA employees, and
   in part transferred offshore.

   The Commission's complaint alleges that Sparks, Stephenson, NAFTA,
   FAB, ANB Limited and ANB Trust violated the antifraud provisions,
   Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the