SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                                   Washington, D.C.

              Litigation Release No.    15705  / April 14, 1998

              Securities and Exchange Commission v. George Wallace Stewart,
              Patrick J. Madden, Allen B. Gottlieb, Kenneth R. Lagonia, Salim El
              Hage, H.D. Inc., St. Barth Limited, Eastland American Bank
              Limited, Foreign Trade Bank International, and Mecis Insurance and
              Reinsurance Company, Civil Action No. 98 CIV 2636 (S.D.N.Y.)

              The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a complaint
              in federal court in Manhattan charging five individuals and
              five related entities with fraudulently obtaining more than
              $1.7 million, from at least three individuals, through
              offering and selling securities in the form of participations
              in investment programs purportedly to trade "prime bank"
              instruments.  The complaint alleges that:  The defendants
              claimed that they operated investment programs that
              successfully bought and traded financial instruments issued by
              the world's largest banks, described variously as medium-term
              bank notes, stand-by letters of credit, and prime bank
              guarantees.  The trading was to result in spectacular profits
              for investorsÄreturns of ten to fifty times their initial
              investments in two months to two yearsÄat no risk.  The
              investment programs were scams, the instruments themselves
              bogus.  Instead of using the money as promised, the defendants
              misappropriated the investors' funds for their own benefit,
              transferring portions of the money to at least one individual
              and three entities, who were named as relief defendants.

              Named as defendants are:

 George Wallace Stewart, a 55 year old resident of Hollywood, Florida.
 Patrick J. Madden, a 48 year old resident of Alberta, Canada.
 Allen B. Gottlieb, a 54 year old New York licensed attorney, who resides in
 Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
 Kenneth R. Lagonia, who resides in Bohemia, New York.
 Salim El Hage, whose last known residence was Paris, France.
 H.D. Inc., a New Jersey corporation.
 St. Barth Limited, a Bahamian company.
 Eastland American Bank Limited, a Bahamian company.
 Foreign Trade Bank, a Lebanese company.
 Mecis Insurance and Reinsurance Company, a Lebanese company.

              Named as relief defendants are:

 Cornel Plebani, a New Jersey resident.
 Law Offices of Allen B. Gottlieb and Associates, P.C., a New York
 professional corporation.
 Americredit Commercial Corporation.
 Finanzurich LTD, a Bahamian company.



                                          - 2 -

              The complaint charges that the defendants, through their
              respective roles in the investment schemes, violated the
              antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, Section
              17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the
              Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.  As
              to the defendants, the SEC seeks permanent prohibitory
              injunctions, disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains plus
              prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties.  As to the
              relief defendants, the SEC seeks return of the investors'
              funds that they received and prejudgment interest thereon.