SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

LITIGATION RELEASE No.15222 / January 21, 1997

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. ELLIS L. DEYON, BRADLEY T. GULLETT (individually and doing business as "GULLETT & ASSOCIATES"), WILLIAM HANKE, DOVE INVESTMENT GROUP, INC. and SHERWOOD H. CRAIG (United States District Court for the District of Maine, C.A. No. 95-164-B)

 The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") announced that, on January 14, 1997, the Honorable Morton A. Brody, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, entered a Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction, Disgorgement and Civil Monetary Penalties ("Final Judgment") against Ellis Deyon of Houston, Texas. The Final Judgment was entered by consent by Deyon without admitting or denying the allegations of the Commission's complaint. The Commission also announced the prior entry of a Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction by default separately against each of defendants William Hanke and Dove Investment Group, Inc., both of Orlando, Florida.

 The Final Judgment entered against defendant Deyon enjoins Deyon from violating the antifraud and broker-dealer registration provisions of the federal securities laws, i.e., Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Securities Exchange of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The Final Judgment also requires Deyon to disgorge $407,000 of his ill- gotten gain of approximately $512,000, and waives payment of the remainder of his disgorgement liability based upon his demonstrated financial inability to pay such relief. Pursuant to the Final Judgment, Deyon is ordered to make the $407,000 disgorgement payment with funds he already has deposited into the Registry of the Court pursuant to a prior court order requiring the defendants to repatriate the investor funds they held in Mexico. Penalties were not imposed based upon Deyon's demonstrated financial inability to pay.

 Pursuant to the final judgments entered against them by default on October 9, 1996 and November 2, 1995, respectively, Hanke and Dove also were permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud and broker-dealer registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The judgment against Hanke is pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The Court will determine at a later date the amounts of disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties Hanke and Dove will be required to pay.

 In its Complaint filed on July 25, 1995, the Commission alleged that the defendants fraudulently induced members of the public to invest with them by promising to pay a virtually risk-
 ==========================================START OF PAGE 2======

free annual return of up to 300%. According to the Complaint, the defendants represented that they could pay such extraordinary rates of return because the proceeds of the investment sales would be deposited into a "special" Mexican bank account, controlled by them, which they claimed generated investment returns or earned interest of approximately 1020% per year. The Commission also alleged that, in some instances, the defendants told investors and potential investors that the account would be used to engage in the trading of instruments referred to as "Prime Bank" securities.

 The Complaint alleged that, contrary to the defendants' representations to investors and potential investors, the bank account into which the proceeds of the investment offering were deposited did not earn the extraordinary rate of return described, the investments involved an extraordinary amount of risk and the "Prime Bank" securities which were said to produce the return do not exist. Moreover, the Commission alleged that at no relevant time had any of the defendants been registered with the Commission as securities broker-dealers or associated with such a broker-dealer as they were required to be.

 The defendants allegedly targeted persons active in evangelical Christian ministries of which the defendants purport to be devout followers. According to the Complaint, many of the investors and potential investors solicited by the defendants were of modest economic means and were unsophisticated and inexperienced in financial matters. The defendants allegedly encouraged potential investors to take extraordinary steps to obtain money to invest including obtaining second mortgages on their residences and procuring large cash advances against their credit cards.

 On July 25, 1995, based on the Complaint and supporting evidence submitted by the Commission ex parte, the Court entered a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting all of the defendants from continuing their fraudulent offer and sale of securities. The Court's order also froze certain assets, required the defendants to file sworn accountings and ordered the repatriation of investor funds held abroad. On August 17, 1995, with the consent of the defendants, the Court entered a Preliminary Injunction and Order to Continue Asset Freeze and Other Relief, which extended the restrictions in the Temporary Restraining Order through the final resolution of the case.

 The Commission's action, which is set for trial on April 7, 1997, is continuing against defendants Bradley T. Gullett and Sherwood H. Craig and against Hanke and Dove as to the amount of disgorgement and penalties they will be required to pay. The assets of Gullett, Hanke and Dove remain subject to the Court's freeze order.