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Pastimes : Investment Chat Board Lawsuits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (3504)	9/25/2002 6:25:51 PM
From: Arcane Lore	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

From today's SEC Digest: FEDERAL COURT REVOKES THOMAS HUGHES' BOND PENDING TRIAL The Commission announced today that on September 19 the Honorable Nora M. Manella, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California, revoked defendant Thomas S. Hughes' release on bond and ordered him detained pending trial. Hughes, 52, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California was indicted on August 27, 2002, on seven criminal charges, including three counts of fraud under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, three counts of wire fraud and one count of contempt. A grand jury returned a superceding indictment on September 17, 2002, adding another wire fraud charge to the original seven charges. All of the charges relate to Hughes' activities while the CEO and Chairman of the Board of eConnect, a San Pedro, California company (Pink Sheets: ECNT). U.S. v. Thomas S. Hughes, CR-02-937 NM (C.D. Cal.) In its court papers, the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California alleged that, after being released on bond, Hughes violated the terms of his release by ordering eConnect's public affairs officer to issue false and misleading information to the investing public. The United States Attorney's Office also alleged that Hughes violated a condition of his bond by using e-mail to send a press release to a wire service on or about September 5, 2002. The indictment alleges that Hughes has engaged in a fraudulent scheme by issuing false and misleading public statements - specifically press releases and website content - that artificially inflated the price of eConnect, whose stock was then publicly quoted on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board. The indictment also charges Hughes with criminal contempt of a permanent injunction against him obtained by the Commission in April 2000 in the case (SEC v. eConnect and Thomas S. Hughes, Civil Action Number CV-00-2959 MMM, RCx, C.D. Cal.; LR-16481). The Commission filed a related proceeding against eConnect, Hughes and others on August 8, 2002 and obtained emergency relief against Hughes and others, including an asset freeze, in Los Angeles federal court. On August 16, 2002, Judge Manella granted the Commission's request for a preliminary injunction and continued the asset freeze. The Commission's complaint charges Hughes with violations of Sections 10(b) and 16(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 16a-3 thereunder (SEC v. eConnect, et al., Civil Action Number CV-02-6156 NM, Mcx, C.D. Cal.; LR-17670). This case is the product of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which received assistance from NASD Regulation, Inc. [U.S. v. Thomas S. Hughes, CR-02-937 NM C.D. Cal.] (LR-17742) sec.gov