U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 18613 / March 9, 2004

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. THE ROSE FUND, ET AL., Case No. 03-4593 WHA (N.D. Cal.)

On March 5, 2004, United States District Judge William H. Alsup in San Francisco held defendant Michael Alexander of Solana Beach, California in contempt of an order freezing his assets. The court found that Alexander had diverted and used funds for gambling in violation of two orders prohibiting such acts. The court ordered Alexander to deposit $33,183 with the clerk of the court by March 12, 2004, or failing that, report to the United States Marshal for incarceration until further order of the court.

The Commission filed an action against Alexander and others on October 12, 2003, alleging that the defendants were conducting a fraudulent scheme to raise funds for a purported mortgage lending business that guaranteed a 12% annual rate of return to investors.