==========================================START OF PAGE 1====== UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 15035 / September 5, 1996 United States v. Robert J. Bretschneider (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Criminal No. 96-387) On August 28, 1996, Michael R. Stiles, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced a 50 count indictment against Robert J. Bretschneider ("Bretschneider") for mail and wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in five limited partnerships he had formed and managed since 1989. The press release acknowledged that the charges resulted from the combined investigative efforts of the Philadelphia District Office of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Lansdale, Pennsylvania Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The indictment charges that Bretschneider collected more than $2.1 million from 60 investors of his limited partnerships for the purpose of investing in real estate ventures. The indictment further alleges that Bretschneider defrauded investors of his limited partnerships by failing to make promised investments and misappropriating investor funds for his personal use. Investors lost in excess of $1 million as a result of the scheme.