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SEC LITIGATION RELEASE
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EXTRACTED KEY WORDS
BERGER PIRANHA SECURITIES SUBPOENA COMMON STOCK UNITED STATES EXCHANGE COMMISSION DISTRICT COURT TEXAS RICHARD ALLEGES TECHNOLOGY TRADING VIOLATE UNDERSTATED AMORTIZATION EXPENSES DISCLOSE UNAUTHORIZED PAYMENTS INFLUENCED TRADING SHARES PIRANHA TRADE PER-SHARE DECREASE FORMER CFO SINGLE SHAREHOLDER MEMBER DIRECTORS VIOLATE PROVISIONS FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS |
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 17415 / March 14, 2002
Misc. Action No. 4-02-MC-008-Y, USDC, NDTX (Fort Worth Division)
On March 14, 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed an
Application for an Order to Show Cause in the United States District
Court for the Northern District of Texas against Richard S. Berger,
the former Chief Financial Officer of Piranha, Inc. The Application
seeks to have the Court order Berger to produce documents, pursuant to
a document subpoena issued and served by the Commission in connection
with an ongoing Commission investigation. In its Application, the
Commission alleges that Berger's failure to comply with the subpoena
has impeded the Commission's investigation.
Piranha Inc., is a Richardson, Texas, development stage company in the
business of data-compression and other computer and Internet related
technology. Piranha's common stock is registered with the Commission
and is quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board (symbol BYTE), an electronic
quotation service operated by the National Association of Securities
Dealers. Berger is a resident of Chicago, Illinois.
According to the Commission's Application, its investigation involves
whether Berger, Piranha or others issued false and misleading press
releases, overstated the value of assets in its Commission filings,
understated amortization expenses and failed to disclose over $600,000
in unauthorized payments to Berger. Piranha's claims and press
releases regarding the company's technology and financial status
appear to have influenced trading in its common stock. While initially
trading at approximately $10 per share in January of 2000, the
company's stock reached a high of $65 per share in March of 2000.
Currently, shares of Piranha trade at $.33 per-share, a more than 99%
decrease from its high. Besides being the former CFO, Berger is
Piranha's largest single shareholder and a member of the Board of
Directors. The Commission's Application alleges that the subpoenaed
documents are needed to determine if Berger, Piranha or others have
violated or are about to violate provisions of the federal securities
laws.
_________________________________________________________________
Modified 03/14/2002
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