Alireza Hooshiari

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 16262 \ August 26, 1999

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. ALIREZA HOOSHIARI, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, Case No. 1 99-CV-2043 (N.D. Ga. August 9, 1999)

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on August 9, 1999, it filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division against Alireza Hooshiari, a former resident of Atlanta, Georgia. The Complaint alleges that Hooshiari violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder in connection with his short sale of the securities of Aurora, Illinois based Westell Technologies, Inc. (Westell) while he was in possession of material, non-public information regarding Westell.

The complaint alleges that in of 1996, Hooshiari was employed by BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. (BellSouth) as a senior member of the technical staff in the Science and Technology Group. BellSouth was a member of a consortium of buyers (Consortium) formed to solicit bids to supply certain high-speed data transfer equipment to the Consortium. Hooshiari was one of the BellSouth representatives assigned to evaluate the various bids submitted to the Consortium. In the late summer of 1996, Westell was a finalist in the bidding process. The contracts were substantial and could have greatly increased Westell's revenues. On September 30, 1996, the representatives of Consortium members met to decide on the successful bidder. Shortly after the Consortium had reached its decision, Hooshiari learned that it had chosen a supplier other than Westell to provide the equipment. On October 2 and 3, Hooshiari sold short 650 shares of Westell stock and also bought shares of the successful bidder. After the close of the market on October 4, the Consortium publicly announced its selection. On Monday, October 7, the next day of trading, Westell's stock price dropped substantially and continued to fall in the following days. Hooshiari was able to cover his short position after Westell's price fell thereby earning a profit of $6,814.07.

Hooshiari has consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in the Complaint, to the entry of a Final Judgment and Order of Permanent Injunction, Civil Penalties and Other Equitable Relief (Final Judgment) which will enjoin him from future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The Final Judgment will also require Hooshiari to disgorge $6,814.07, representing his losses avoided, plus prejudgment interest of $1,594.48. In addition, the Final Judgment will require Hooshiari to pay a civil penalty of $6,814.07 pursuant to Section 21A of the Exchange Act.