SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.

Litigation Release No. 17421 / March 19, 2002

   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. RICHARD GOETTLICH, ET AL., 97
   Civ. 1144 (JAG)(D.N.J.)

   The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") announced today
   that First Interregional Equity Corp. ("FIEC"), a registered
   broker-dealer now in Securities Investor Protection Company ("SIPC")
   liquidation, and First Interregional Advisors Corp. ("FIAC"), formerly
   an equipment lease finance company and now a debtor in bankruptcy
   proceedings under Chapter 11, agreed to settle a civil action charging
   FIEC and FIAC with participating in a massive "Ponzi" scheme that
   resulted in investor losses of over $100 million.

   In a complaint for injunctive and other relief filed on March 6, 1997,
   the Commission alleges, among other things, that defendants FIEC, FIAC
   and their former President, Richard Goettlich ("Goettlich"), defrauded
   investors by offering and selling purported interests in equipment
   leases. Specifically, the defendants systematically purported to
   assign the entire receivable streams from individual equipment leases
   to investors after assigning them to one or more prior investors. As a
   result of the fraud, FIEC, FIAC and Goettlich obtained approximately
   $295 million from investors -- an amount that exceeded FIAC's actual
   lease receivable inventory by over $100 million.

   The Commission's complaint charged FIEC, FIAC and Goettlich, with
   violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities
   Act") and Sections 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, and as to
   FIEC, violations of Section 15(c)(1) of the Exchange Act and Rule
   15c1-2.

   When the action was commenced, the Commission obtained emergency
   relief to halt the fraud, including temporary restraining orders,
   preliminary injunctions, the appointment of receivers and asset
   freezes. In addition, the Commission sought civil penalties and
   disgorgement of the defendants' ill-gotten profits.

   Without admitting or denying the charges brought against them, the
   Chapter 11 Trustee for FIAC and the Trustee appointed under the
   Securities Investor Protection Act ("SIPA") for FIEC consented to the
   entry of final consent judgments permanently enjoining them from
   violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities law
   on February 26, 2001 and December 21, 2001, respectively.

   On May 20, 1999, the Court entered a final judgment by default against