U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 18317 / August 29, 2003

UNITED STATES vs. JEROME M. WENGER, (D. Utah, Case no. 2 99 CR 260)

   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION vs. PANWORLD MINERALS INTERNATIONAL
   INC., ROBERT G. WEEKS, KENNETH L. WEEKS, DAVID A. HESTERMAN, LARRY
   KRASNY, L.K. MANAGEMENT, INC., JOSEPH FABIILLI, PURITAN
   COMMUNICATIONS, INC., AND JEROME WENGER, (D. Utah, Case no. 2 97 CV
   0425)

   WENGER CONVICTED OF TOUTING STOCK ON RADIO WITHOUT DISCLOSING
   COMPENSATION RECEIVED FROM UTAH COMPANY

   On August 26, 2003, a federal jury convicted Jerome M. Wenger on
   criminal charges for failing to disclose in 1994 that he had been paid
   2.1 million shares of PanWorld Minerals International stock (PWLM) to
   recommend on his nationally-syndicated radio shows and newsletters
   titled "The Next SuperStock" that investors buy PanWorld's stock. The
   jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of
   Utah also found that Wenger failed to disclose that he was
   recommending investors should buy at the same time he was selling
   PanWorld stock that he owned. Wenger was convicted of two counts of
   violating Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, the provision
   that requires persons publishing information about stocks to disclose
   if they have received compensation from a public company to make the
   recommendation and the amount of compensation, and one count of
   Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5,
   which prohibit persons from making false statements or omitting
   material facts in connection with the sale of securities. Sentencing
   in this matter is set for November 17, 2003.

   During 1994 and continuing into 1997, Wenger, who was based in
   Bethesda, Maryland, recommended penny stocks and other low-price
   securities on his radio shows that were broadcast weekly in Washington
   D.C., New York, Miami, Phoenix, Chicago, Seattle and other locations.
   He also published bi-monthly newsletters to investors recommending his
   stock picks. Although he often disclosed he was a paid consultant,
   Wenger failed to disclose, in both the radio shows and the newsletters
   that discussed PanWorld, the amount of compensation that he had
   received to include the company in his recommendations. During 1994,
   Wenger sold over $100,000 of PanWorld stock at the same time he was
   telling investors to purchase it without disclosing his sales.
   PanWorld Minerals International, a now-defunct mining company, had
   offices located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

   The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action