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             U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No.  14821 / February 22, 1996

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. AMERICAN BUSINESS
SECURITIES, INC., ET AL., Civil Action No. 94-4866 ER(JRx) (C.D.
Cal.) 

     The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission")
announced that on February 20, 1996, the Honorable Edward
Rafeedie, United States District Judge for the Central District
of California, found that Defendants Jeffrey L. Casperson and
Jerome L. Casperson are in civil contempt of the Court's Final
Judgments against them.  These Defendants failed to comply with
their Final Judgments which ordered, among other things, Jeffrey
Casperson to pay $4,062,614.00 in disgorgement and Jerome
Casperson to pay $6,313,663.34 in disgorgement, together with
prejudgment interest thereon.  The Court ordered Jeffrey and
Jerome Casperson to appear on March 4, 1996 for further
proceedings regarding this matter, including immediate
incarceration should they fail to purge themselves of their
contempt by that date.  The Court had previously entered
Judgments of Permanent Injunction against these Defendants, which
permanently enjoined them from violations of the antifraud
provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule
10b-5 thereunder.  Jeffrey and Jerome Casperson consented,
without admitting or denying the allegations in the Complaint, to
the entry of the Judgments of Permanent Injunction.  

     From mid-1989 to mid-1994, the Defendants engaged in the
fraudulent offer and sale of oil and gas limited partnership and
trust investments.  The limited partnerships and trusts in some
cases did not own the wells as represented and returns to
investors were preset and not based on actual well production. 
Approximately $44.7 million was raised from over 1,000 investors,
most of whom are elderly.