United States Securities and Exchange Commission

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 17111 / August 30, 2001

   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. ROBERT D. POIRIER, ROBERT J.
   PALM, JAMES R. VINCENT and RICHARD E. WENSEL, Defendants; Civil Action
   No. CV-96-2243-PHX-EHC (USDC/AZ)

     SEC OBTAINS $3 MILLION AND OTHER RELIEF AGAINST FOUR DEFENDANTS IN
                            "PUMP AND DUMP" CASE

   The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on August
   13, 2001, the Honorable Earl H. Carroll, United States District Judge
   for the District of Arizona, having previously found that two
   undisclosed controlling shareholders of Garcis, U.S.A., Inc., Robert
   D. Poirier and Robert J. Palm, and their offshore nominee, James R.
   Vincent, had committed securities fraud, entered final judgments
   against the three, and ordered them to pay disgorgement and
   prejudgment interest in the amount of $2,660,161. The Court also
   ordered Poirier, Palm and Vincent to each pay a civil penalty of
   $100,000. In addition, the Court entered final judgment against
   Richard E. Wensel. Without admitting or denying the Commission's
   allegations, Wensel agreed to the entry of the order, which (1)
   permanently enjoins him from future violations of Section 10(b) of the
   Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, (2) requires him to pay a
   $25,000 civil penalty, and (3) bars him from serving as an officer or
   director of any publicly held company.

   Previously, on March 29, 2001, the Court had entered summary judgment
   against Poirier, Palm and Vincent. The Court found that Poirier and
   Palm assumed substantial control over the operations of Garcis, a
   distributor of athletic supplies and apparel, obtained a controlling
   block of unregistered shares of Garcis and promoted Garcis and its
   securities to the public using materially false and misleading
   information. The Court also found that Poirier and Palm intentionally
   concealed their control over Garcis and caused press releases to issue
   that misstated revenue and sales and made false claims about
   non-existent business contracts.

   The Court found that Vincent helped Poirier and Palm obtain control of
   a substantial block of unregistered Garcis shares, avoid the
   registration requirements of the federal securities laws and sell
   those shares into the market at a profit. In addition, the Court found
   that Poirier, Palm and Vincent failed to file with the Commission
   certain forms required of shareholders owning more than five and ten
   percent of a class of stock registered under § 12 of the Exchange Act,
   and obtained an extension of credit from their broker for purchases of
   Garcis when they had no intention of paying for the stock. In the