UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

     Litigation Release No. 15615 / January 13, 1998                   

     SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. SUNBELT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,
     WENDELL ROGERS, DONALD HAMMOND, AND WILLIS DAVIS (Civil Action No. 1: 97-
     CV-1387, W.D. La.)

          The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that, on January 5,
     1998, the Honorable F.A. Little, United States District Judge for the
     Western District of Louisiana, Alexandria Division, entered default
     judgments against defendants, Sunbelt Development Corporation ( Sunbelt"),
     a Louisiana corporation; Wendell Rogers ("Rogers"), director and co-founder
     of Sunbelt; and Donald Hammond ("Hammond")for failing to respond to a
     complaint filed by the Commission seeking permanent injunctions,
     disgorgement and civil penalties.  Orders of permanent injunction were
     entered against Sunbelt, Rogers and Hammond enjoining them from further
     violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and
     Sections 15(a) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule
     10b-5 thereunder.

          The Court ordered disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains received by the
     defendants from their scheme. Sunbelt was ordered to pay disgorgement in
     the amount of $2,560,842 plus prejudgment interest; Rogers was ordered to
     pay $1,502,842 in disgorgement along with prejudgment interest thereon; and
     Hammond was ordered to pay disgorgement in the amount of $947,347 along
     with prejudgment interest thereon.  Disgorgement is to be paid by each
     defendant within 30 days of the date of the Court s order.  Further,
     Sunbelt, Rogers and Hammond were each ordered to pay a civil penalty, which
     will be determined at a later date, upon motion by the Commission.

          The Commission's complaint alleged that violations of the antifraud
     provisions of the securities laws by the defendants occurred between mid-
     1993 and mid-1994.  Rogers and Hammond, who are both ministers,
     misrepresented or omitted material facts when they sold securities to
     members of their respective churches, to members of churches of the same
     denomination, and to friends and relatives of the church members.  The
     defendants promised exorbitant returns on investments along with the return
     of the investors' principal when, in fact, Sunbelt was actually operating a
     Ponzi scheme.  More than $3.5 million worth of unregistered securities were
     issued to over 200 individuals in at least 16 states during the scheme.
      











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