==========================================START OF PAGE 1====== UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 14825 / February 26, 1996 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. PLEASURE TIME, INC. d\b\a TELEPHONE INFORMATION SYSTEMS, et al. (S.D. Ohio, Civil Action No. C-1-95-178) The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on August 1, 1995, an Order of Permanent Injunction and Other Relief was entered against John C. Hicks (Hicks) by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's complaint, except as to subject matter jurisdiction, Hicks consented to the entry of an order permanently enjoining him from violating Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; and ordering disgorgement, plus prejudgment interest, payment of which was waived based on Hicks' demonstrated inability to pay. The Commission filed its complaint on March 13, 1995, seeking injunctive and other relief against Hicks, Pleasure Time, Minette Acra-Kelly, d\b\a Group Dynamics Downline (GDD), Richard A. Welch (Welch), and Minette Acra-Kelly (Acra), entities and persons located in Florida, Ohio and Indiana. The Commission's complaint alleges that the defendants participated in a fraudulent sales scheme involving unregistered securities that were offered and sold to approximately 20,000 investors raising over $3 million. Investors were recruited through a "multi-level marketing" system in which investors were encouraged to recruit other investors. Investors were recruited by telephone, facsimile delivery, and the Internet and other computer networks. They were allegedly told that they could reap enormous profits from a world wide telephone lottery. The lottery program was purportedly going to employ a 900 number to attract players with projected receipts of $300 million. According to the complaint, defendants understated and failed to disclose legal, regulatory and technical obstacles to starting a lottery. The complaint further alleges, among other things, that defendants variously violated the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. On March 24, 1995, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio entered a preliminary injunction order, including a freeze of assets, against Pleasure Time, GDD, Acra and Welch. For further information, see Lit. Release No. 14440, March 15, 1995.