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                SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                         WASHINGTON, D.C.

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 15108 / October 3, 1996

UNITED STATES v. MICHAEL TROPIANO (D.N.J.)

     The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney
for the District of New Jersey announced that on October 3, 1996,
Michael Tropiano, 36, of Haddonfield, New Jersey, pled guilty to
a seventy-count information charging him with mail fraud,
securities fraud, commodities fraud, and tax evasion, arising out
of Tropiano's operation of a fraudulent investment scheme in non-
existent commodity pools.  Tropiano faces a maximum term of
imprisonment of five years on each of the mail fraud, commodities
fraud, and tax evasion charges, and a maximum term of
imprisonment of ten years on the securities fraud charge, along
with a maximum fine of approximately $4.8 million.  Sentencing
has been scheduled for January 3, 1997.

     The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures
Trading Commission filed a joint civil injunctive action in U.S.
District Court for the District of New Jersey on January 11,
1996, based on the same course of conduct alleged in the criminal
action.  Tropiano was charged with violations of the antifraud,
securities registration, broker-dealer registration, and
commodity pool operator registration provisions of the Securities
Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Commodity
Exchange Act.  Simultaneously with the filing of the action,
Tropiano consented to the entry of a Preliminary Injunction
enjoining him from engaging in violations of those provisions,
freezing his personal assets as well as all investor funds in his
possession or under his control, and ordering him to account for
the use of investor funds.  (See Litigation Release No. 14778)

     The Commission's Complaint alleged that, between 1990 and
1995, Tropiano raised approximately $2.9 million from 118
investors.  After initially conducting some commodity futures
trading, Tropiano ceased all trading activity, generated false
account statements reflecting fictitious profitable trades and
continued to raise money from investors by falsely representing
that he had engaged in profitable trading.  He misappropriated
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the investor funds for his personal use.