Loch Harris Accused by SEC of Impeding Its Fraud Investigation
Washington, Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Loch Harris Inc. has been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of impeding the agency's fraud investigation into whether the company made false statements.
The SEC said today it is seeking a court order to compel the Austin, Texas-based company to produce documents and testimony that the SEC subpoenaed in September about its portable landmine detector and another technology called ``Vacuum Multi-constituent Monitor of Plasma.''
``We're not getting the cooperation that we require to conduct the investigation,'' said Harold Degenhardt, head of the SEC's Fort Worth, Texas, office. ``This office is not going to sit back and be jerked around.''
Loch Harris officials couldn't be reached for comment. The company said in November that it was cooperating with the investigation yet could face conflict with the SEC because it ``plans to protect the confidentiality of what it considers to be its trade secrets and other proprietary information.''
The SEC said in a Fort Worth federal court filing that company press releases with claims about the technologies' capabilities ``appear to have influenced trading in the company's common stock.''
Loch Harris shares, which traded for as much as $5.95 each on Feb. 8 have fallen 97 percent from that level. The shares fell half a cent to 10 cents today.
Loch Harris, which buys companies and technologies it plans to develop as stand-alone businesses, disclosed the SEC investigation in October without giving details. The statement the company issued in November said the investigation was ``not routine.''
The company demonstrated its land mine detector for members of Congress and foreign dignitaries on the grounds of the U.S. Capital in mid-September, according to a company press release.
The Vacuum Multi-constituent Monitor of Plasma Technology ``is designed to identify, quantify and map various chemical compounds in a defined environment'' and could be useful ``in a variety of manufacturing processes, the company said.
Jan/10/2001 16:56 ET
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