U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 19412 / October 4, 2005

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. LEARN WATERHOUSE, INC.; RANDALL TREADWELL; RICK D. SLUDER; LARRY C. SATURDAY; AND ARNULFO M. ACOSTA, Civil Action No. 04-CV-2037W (LSP) (S.D.Cal.)

SEC OBTAINS SECOND ORDER REQUIRING DEFENDANT RANDALL T. TREADWELL TO SHOW CAUSE WHY HE SHOULD NOT BE HELD IN CIVIL CONTEMPT

On September 22, 2005, the Honorable Thomas J. Whelan, United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, issued an order to defendant Randall T. Treadwell, age 47, of Savannah, Georgia, to show cause why he should not be held in civil contempt for violating the court's preliminary orders enjoining him from future securities law violations and freezing his assets, among other things. This is the second such order issued by the court against Treadwell.

According to the Commission's latest contempt application, Treadwell:

  • Offered and sold unregistered securities in violation of the court's order for an entity called The Diamond Development Group, LLP;
     
  • Made false representations regarding Diamond Development and the securities that it had sold; and
     
  • Withdrew more than $43,000 from a bank account that was subject to the court's orders that froze all of the defendants' assets.
     

The court issued a separate order on September 23, 2005 requiring Treadwell to appear on October 17, 2005 and show cause why an order of civil contempt should not be issued, why he should not be incarcerated, why he should not be fined $1,000 per day, and why he should not be ordered to surrender his passport pending his compliance with the court's orders including identification and surrender of all assets raised by his offer and sale of the unregistered securities.

On October 12, 2004, the Commission filed a complaint against Treadwell, Rick D. Sluder, Larry C. Saturday, Arnulfo M. Acosta, and Learn Waterhouse, Inc., alleging that they had raised millions from 1700 investors in a nationwide Ponzi scheme. On November 1, 2004, Thomas Lennon was appointed as the permanent receiver over Learn Waterhouse and given authority over all of its assets. The court also ordered the defendants to repatriate all assets from abroad, and issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting all of the defendants from future violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. On January 26, 2005, the court issued an order to show cause against Treadwell why he should not be held in civil contempt for violating the court's orders and, on February 23, 2005, the court issued an order finding Treadwell in civil contempt. Treadwell is the former chairman, president and chief operating officer of Learn Waterhouse, a Texas corporation, which allegedly operated a fictitious prime bank trading program.

In addition to the relief already obtained, the Commission seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement and civil penalties from all of the defendants.

For further information, see Litigation Release Nos. 18932 (October 14, 2004), 18959 (November 4, 2004), 19059 (February 1, 2005), 19142 (March 17, 2005), and 19384 (September 20, 2005).