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To: Boplicity who wrote (5905)	10/11/2000 1:21:50 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13572

looking for an Emmy...? Wednesday October 11, 1:09 pm Eastern Time Plea Entered in Stock Hoax Case LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A man accused of a making a $241,000 stock profit by faking a damaging news release about a fiber-optic equipment manufacturer pleaded innocent in federal court and was ordered to stand trial Nov. 21. The phony press release in August caused the stock of Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Emulex Corp. (NasdaqNM:EMLX - news) to drop as much as 62 percent in one day, costing investors a total of about $50 million in losses. Federal authorities claim Mark S. Jakob, 23, of El Segundo, wanted the stock price to drop so he could buy back shares and cover a margin call issued by his online brokerage firm. He faces securities and wire fraud charges. U.S. Magistrate Ralph Zarefsky allowed Jakob to remain free on $100,000 bail after he entered the plea Tuesday. Authorities say Jakob orchestrated the fake news release, pretending to be an Emulex public relations representative to convince Internet Wire, a press release distributor, to send out the bogus announcement. The release, which was picked up by new outlets including Bloomberg and CBSMarketWatch, made false statements that Emulex's accounting practices were under federal investigation, that its president had resigned, and it would restate earnings to show a big loss. Jakob had worked for Internet Wire until a week before the hoax. The FBI identified him as a suspect within hours, but the damage to individual investors in Emulex was severe. In sellers' panic, the stock dropped from $113 a share to less than $43. The stock price has since rebounded, trading Wednesday at $116, up $6.44 for the day. Last week, another federal judge froze all but $30,000 of Jakob's $428,000 portfolio at the request of the Securities and Exchange Commission. U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips allowed Jakob to withdraw the $30,000 to pay his lawyers. If convicted on all charges, Jakob could be sentenced to a cumulative prison term of 100 years, fines of $9.5 million and be ordered to pay $600,000 in restitution in a separate lawsuit brought by the SEC. Stock in Emulex, a fast-growing high-tech company, ranged in price from $50 to $113 in August with large fluctuations, a volatility in price that tends to attract Internet and day traders, said Paul Folino, Emulex president and chief executive.