Marlon D. Tropeano, David Barroso, Jr., Defendants, Golf Emporium Corporation, Isabel Munoz, and V.M.C. Holdings Inc.

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 16756 / October 5, 2000

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. MARLON D. TROPEANO, DAVID BARROSO, JR., Defendants, GOLF EMPORIUM CORPORATION, ISABEL MUNOZ, AND V.M.C. HOLDINGS INC., Relief Defendants. 99 Civ. 10260 (JSR) (S.D.N.Y.)

The Commission announced today that on September 19, 2000 the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final consent judgment of permanent injunction and other relief against defendant David Barroso, Jr. The Final Consent Judgment entered against Barroso permanently enjoins Barroso from future violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The Commission also announced today that on September 29, 2000 it instituted and settled administrative proceedings against Barroso in which Barroso consented, without admitting or denying the Commission's findings, to an order barring him from association with any broker or dealer.

The Final Consent Judgment and the Commission's order resulted from a civil injunctive action commenced by the Commission on October 5, 1999, alleging, among other things, that, beginning in March 1998, while associated with Briarwood Investment Counsel, Inc. ("Briarwood"), a registered broker-dealer, Barroso participated with defendant Marlon D. Tropeano in a scheme to defraud Briarwood customers. Barroso and Tropeano defrauded Briarwood customers by, among other things, transferring, without authorization, the customers' securities brokerage account from Briarwood to Chatfield Dean & Co., Inc., also a registered broker-dealer, selling securities from the account, and misappropriating $67,550 of the proceeds of those sales.

The Court had earlier entered final judgments by default against Tropeano and relief defendant Isabel Munoz on August 7, 2000 and against relief defendants Golf Emporium Corporation ("Golf") and VMC Holdings Inc. ("VMC") on March 30 and 31, 2000, respectively. The final judgments against Tropeano and Munoz permanently enjoin Tropeano from future violations of the federal securities laws, and require Tropeano and Munoz to disgorge $91,497 and $42,892, respectively. The final judgments against Golf and VMC require each to disgorge $27,856 and $19,349, respectively. The amounts ordered disgorged by the Court represent the funds and benefits that Tropeano, Munoz, Golf, and VMC obtained as a result of Tropeano's fraudulent conduct.

For more information, see Litigation Release No. 16327 and Litigation Release No. 16522.