UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

  Litigation Release No. 16143 / May 13, 1999 

 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. MARSHALL NEIL CRAIG  RONALD, RUDOLF ALEXANDER VICTOR LINSCHOTEN A/K/A RUDOLF VAN LIN  OR DR. RUDOLF VAN LIN, AND FRIEDA G. FREITAS, Civil Action No.  98-866 AHS (EEx) (C.D. Cal.). 

 The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that  the United States District Court for the Central District of  California entered a Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction and  Other Relief ("Final Judgment") against defendants Marshall Neil  Craig Ronald ("Ronald") and Rudolf Alexander Victor Linschoten  ("Linschoten") for their involvement in an illegal "prime bank  note" scheme. On May 10, 1999, the Court granted the  Commission’s application for default judgments against Ronald and  Linschoten and ordered them to repay $5,781,167.84 in  disgorgement, plus prejudgment interest. They were also enjoined  from violating the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the  federal securities laws, namely Sections 5(a) and 5(c) and 17(a)  of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. 

 The Commission’s lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles on  September 16, 1998, and alleged that the defendants engaged in  the fraudulent offer and sale of unregistered securities through  Sabre Asset Management Corporation in connection with a  fictitious "bank trading" program. From December 1996 through  October 1997, the defendants raised over $6 million from  approximately 170 investors. The complaint alleged that Ronald  and Linschoten told investors that their funds would be used for  a secret "bank trading" program and guaranteed a 100% return  within 90 "banking days" in a "risk free" investment. In fact,  there was no bank trading program; Ronald used investor funds to  purchase cars, guns, residential property, and to pay credit card  and hotel bills. Investor funds were also transferred to  Linschoten’s Swiss bank account. 

 These type of frauds are commonly referred to as "prime  bank" schemes and have been the subject of repeated warnings by  several federal agencies, including the Commission, the Board of  Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit  Insurance Corporation, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency,  the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union  Administration. 

  Defendant Ronald resides in England and Linschoten resides in  Orange County,  California. The investors reside in various states including  California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii,  New York and New Jersey.