SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 15458/August 22, 1997 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. WEDGEWOOD FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., ET. AL., Case No. 97-6350-CIV-RYSKAMP (S.D. Fla.) The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on April 10, 1997, the Honorable Kenneth L. Ryskamp, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, preliminarily enjoined defendants Wedgewood Financial Group, Inc. ("Wedgewood"), its president, William Scrak, Paul Iwankowski, JPI Site Management, Inc. ("JPI"), and Colorado Paging Group Partners ("Colorado Paging"), from offering or selling interests in what the SEC alleges are fraudulent paging license partnerships, and also freezing defendants' assets. The preliminary injunction enjoins the defendants from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and, additionally, Wedgewood from violating Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. Iwankowski consented to the Court's actions, and Scrak did not dispute the SEC's allegations. In an earlier coordinated effort, on April 4, 1997, the SEC sought and obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant for Wedgewood's offices. The SEC and a court-appointed receiver secured the premises and the receiver is now in possession of the office and all company records have been seized. According to the SEC's complaint, Wedgewood, a Florida-based company, is run by Scrak, who is a repeat securities violator previously found by state securities agencies to have committed fraud in connection with the sale of unregistered securities. The complaint also alleges that Iwankowski, of Coral Springs, Florida, through JPI, a company controlled by his wife Joanna Iwankowski, is the mastermind behind the fraudulent securities offerings. According to the complaint, Iwankowski is also a recidivist securities violator currently subject to an SEC permanent injunction arising out of his prior involvement in a similar scheme. The SEC's complaint alleges that the defendants' current offering, Colorado Paging, is the third in a series of fraudulent offerings in which unsophisticated investors are lured into investing in bogus paging partnerships. Investors allegedly are told that the paging industry is poised for explosive growth, promised extravagant returns, assured that substantial additional financing is already in place, and promised that the paging business will be run by an experienced team which has already been retained. According to the Complaint, none of this is true. Among other things alleged in the Complaint, the prior partnerships are not operational -- much less successful -- and substantial investor sums appear to have been and continue to be stolen by Defendants. In addition to a permanent injunction, the SEC's action also seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten profits and money penalties. Named as relief defendants in the Commission's lawsuit were Stonepine Holding, Ltd., Robert Fabregas, Prime Tel Paging Group Partners, Randy Gilbert, Darrell Bauguess and Joanna Iwankowski. ======END OF PAGE 2======