SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 17821 / October 31, 2002

   (U.S.D.C., Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, Criminal
   Action No. 01-CR-361-ALL)

   (U.S.D.C., Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, Civil Action
   No. 3-01-CV-2189-R)

   On October 19, 2002, Judge Jerry Buchmeyer, United States District
   Judge for the Northern District of Texas, sentenced Michael Earl Hill
   to a term of 120 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay
   $1,691,718 in restitution to his victims in connection with an
   elaborate securities fraud scheme.

   Hill, a licensed securities broker at the time he defrauded his
   clients, previously entered into a plea agreement with the United
   States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division,
   pursuant to which he pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud
   and one count of mail fraud. These violations are the subject of the
   Commission's pending civil action against Hill, filed in the Northern
   District of Texas, Dallas Division, in December 2001. In its action,
   the Commission is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement, and a
   civil money penalty. Previously, the Commission obtained a Temporary
   Restraining Order against Hill, individually and doing business as
   Financial Investments and Mike Hill, Inc., and an asset freeze and
   other relief against the him and his wholly owned company, Stalwart
   Financial Investments, L.L.C. The court further appointed a receiver
   over Hill's assets and the assets of his company.

   In its Complaint, the Commission accuses Hill of offering bogus
   certificates of deposit (CDs) to his elderly clients and to the
   general public through newspaper advertisements. Hill lured his
   investors with promises of above-market rates on 30-month CDs
   purportedly issued by a Dallas area bank. In fact, Hill never
   purchased the CDs for his investors. Instead he pooled about $4
   million of investor funds in a bank account in the name Mike Hill,
   Inc. (MHI), which he controlled. From there, Hill transferred a
   substantial portion of the funds into a brokerage account, also in
   MHI's name, in which he traded risky securities. Hill also used
   investor funds to make ponzi payments of interest and principal to
   investors and for his own personal benefit, including more than
   $500,000 to purchase an office building complex.

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