SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                                   Washington, D.C.

     LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 15490 / September 12, 1997

     SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. CHARLES O. HUTTOE, ET AL., Civil
     Action No. 96-02543 (GK)(D.D.C.)

     UNITED STATES v. THEODORE R. MELCHER, JR., Cr. 97-244-A (AVB) (E.D.Va.)

          The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the Honorable
     Albert V. Bryan, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of
     Virginia, today sentenced Theodore R. Melcher, Jr. ("Melcher"), who
     published a daily stock newsletter disseminated over the internet, to a
     federal prison term of 12 months, followed by 2 years supervised release
     and a $20,000 fine.  Melcher, a resident of Tennessee, was sentenced
     pursuant to a criminal information charging him with criminal violations of
     Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
     thereunder by engaging in a conspiracy to defraud subscribers of the
     newsletter in connection with the purchase and sale of the stock of Systems
     of Excellence, Inc. ("SOE").  Melcher pled guilty to the information on
     June 9, 1997.  The plea was filed under seal and remained sealed until
     today.  The criminal case against Melcher was the result of a coordinated
     investigative effort by the Commission, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
     Eastern District of Virginia and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal
     Investigation Division from Northern Virginia.

          The criminal information alleged that, in January 1996, Melcher
     entered into an agreement with Charles O. Huttoe, former Chairman of the
     Board and Chief Executive Officer of SOE, pursuant to which Melcher
     received shares of SOE stock from Huttoe in exchange for favorably
     commenting upon and recommending the purchase of the SOE stock to the
     subscribers of SGA Goldstar Research, Inc. ("SGA"), the corporation owned
     by Melcher which published the newsletters.  Thereafter, Melcher received a
     total of 250,000 shares of SOE stock, the vast majority of which were
     acquired through Alpha Securities Ltd. ("Alpha"), a Bahamian entity that he
     controlled, to avoid the payment of personal income tax, and also received
     an interest in SOE stock that was received from an entity that had a
     similar arrangement with Huttoe.  The information further alleges that SGA
     promoted SOE stock to its subscribers from January 23, 1996 through about
     October 8, 1996, but that Melcher failed to disclose in the newsletter that
     he was compensated for favorably promoting SOE stock, as required by the
     federal securities laws.  According to the information, Melcher caused SGA
     to issue strong buy recommendations, while at the same time failing to
     disclose that he was selling his own shares, and failed to verify certain
     material facts concerning SOE as he indicated had been done in a number of
     specific publications.  The information alleges that Melcher's fraudulent
     conduct with regard to SOE resulted in trading profits of approximately
     $515,802.

          Melcher previously was named as a defendant in a civil injunctive
     action brought by the Commission on November 7, 1996.  On that day, the
     Commission obtained a Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") against Melcher,
     SGA, and Alpha that, among other things, prohibited ongoing violations of







     the securities laws, and froze those defendants' assets.  Like the criminal
     information unsealed today, the complaint alleged that Melcher took bribes
     from Huttoe in the form of SOE stock to recommend SOE to subscribers of the
     SGA Goldstar Whisper Stock Report, a tout sheet that was disseminated over
     the internet and otherwise.  The Complaint further alleged that Melcher
     then took advantage of the inflated market for SOE stock that he had
     created by dumping his own SOE stock on unwitting investors.  On January
     21, 1997, the Commission filed an amended complaint alleging that from in
     or around 1991, Melcher engaged in a systematic practice of publishing
     promotional coverage for other issuers in exchange for compensation,
     without disclosing the compensation.  The Commission's litigation against
     Melcher, SGA, and Alpha is ongoing.

          The Commission also announced that on August 18, 1997, in its ongoing
     civil litigation, the Court appointed Thomas A. Ferrigno of the Washington,
     D.C. office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP as Receiver in the case for the
     purposes of receiving and marshalling monies and other assets that are
     ordered by the Court to be disgorged by defendants and relief defendants,
     aiding the Commission in devising a disgorgement plan for the return of
     disgorged assets to defrauded investors, and administering such a
     disgorgement plan once it has been approved by the Court.  The Commission
     further announced that on May 19, 1997, pursuant to a settlement, the Court
     ordered that relief defendant Investors Associates, Inc. pay $1,100,000,
     plus $24,379 in prejudgment interest, to the Registry of the Court. 
     Investors Associates, Inc. did not admit or deny the allegations of the
     Commission's Amended Complaint. 

          The Commission previously has made several announcements concerning
     this matter.  See Lit. Rel. 15286 (March 12, 1997); Lit. Rel. 15237
     (January 31, 1997); Lit. Rel. 15185 (December 12, 1996); Lit. Rel. 15153
     (November 7, 1996); Securities Exchange Act Rel. No. 37791 (October 7,
     1996).  

          The Commission is cooperating with separate investigations in this
     matter carried on by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern
     District of Virginia and the Criminal Investigation Division of the
     Internal Revenue Service.  

          The Commission's investigation in this matter is continuing.














                              ======END OF PAGE 2======