U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Litigation Release No. 17796 / October 22, 2002

, CR 02-1108 (C.D. Cal.)

Man Charged with Conspiracy to Obstruct SEC Investigation

   The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and the
   Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Daniel W. Jacobs was
   charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice during an SEC enforcement
   investigation of Reed E. Slatkin. From approximately 1986 until May
   2001, Slatkin operated a massive Ponzi scheme in which he solicited
   more than $593 million from approximately 800 investors. Jacobs has
   agreed to plead guilty to the charge when he is arraigned in November.

   In his plea agreement, Jacobs admitted that when the SEC began a
   formal investigation of Slatkin's activities in 1999, Jacobs and
   others conspired to obstruct the SEC's investigation. Jacobs and
   others, among other things, provided the SEC with false documents
   concerning NAA Financial, a purported Swiss brokerage firm in which
   Slatkin purportedly held his investors' funds. For his role, Jacobs
   received $1 million and a quantity of gold coins from Slatkin.
   Specifically, Jacobs
     * Helped Slatkin prepare to testify falsely before the SEC by
       reviewing the details of the concocted NAA Financial story with
       Slatkin.

     * Introduced and encouraged an unindicted co-conspirator in Europe
       to assist Slatkin in an attempt to convince the SEC that NAA
       Financial was a legitimate European brokerage company.

     * Set-up false European telephone numbers for NAA Financial.

     * Purchased European-style NAA Financial letterhead stationary in
       Europe and provided it to Slatkin.

     * Altered a facsimile machine at his residence so that recipients of
       documents sent from the machine would see a header which reflected
       the name NAA Financial and a European facsimile number.

     * Caused the SEC to be falsely informed that NAA Financial's delay
       in providing documentation was due to the conduct of another
       entity, Romulus Investment Trust, which controlled the accounts.

     * Caused the SEC to be falsely informed, using the name Charles
       Thibodeau, that Romulus Investment Trust was transferring
       Slatkin's funds to a new NAA Financial account in a Swiss Bank.