Herbert Emanuel Woll

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 16283 / September 15, 1999
Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1158 / September 15, 1999

United States v. Herbert Emanuel Woll: 1:99-CR-25

SEC Defendant Sentenced For Perjury Committed During SEC Investigation

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced that on September 10, 1999, Herbert Woll ("Woll"), a resident of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced following his conviction by a jury in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee of committing perjury during his sworn testimony before an officer of the SEC. The District Court Judge, Curis L. Collier, sentenced Woll to 18 month imprisonment, with two years supervised release thereafter, and ordered Woll to pay a $5,000 fine. The perjured testimony was offered by Woll during the course of an SEC investigation that led to a pending civil action, SEC v. Mohamed Khairy Mohamed Zayed, II, Michael W. Rehtorik, and Herbert Woll, C.P.A. (E.D. Tenn., Civil Action No. 1:98-CV-327 Judge Edgar, filed September 24, 1998).

The SEC filed civil fraud charges against two former officers of Genesis International Financial Services, Inc. ("Genesis"), Mohamed Khairy Mohamed Zayed, II ("Zayed") and Michael W. Rehtorik ("Rehtorik"), and its former accountant, Woll, for their roles in an illegal "pump and dump" scheme involving Genesis' stock. In its complaint, the SEC alleged that Zayed, Rehtorik and Woll engaged in securities fraud in the promotion and sale of the Genesis stock by using fraudulent financial statements and press releases calculated to deceive prospective investors. Woll, a certified public accountant, was named as a defendant in the SEC litigation for his actions in preparing the fraudulent financial documents for Genesis. On April 30, 1997, before filing its civil action, the SEC issued an order temporarily suspending the trading of the securities of Genesis, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").

Woll was convicted of committing perjury in response to questions relating to his personal criminal history. Specifically, Woll knowingly provided false testimony by failing to reveal that his criminal history included several arrests and convictions.

The SEC's case, which involves violations of the antifraud provisions, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder by Woll, Zayed and Rehtorik, is currently ongoing in the Tennessee district court. For additional information about the SEC's suspension and litigation case, see SEC Release No, 38565 (May 1, 1997), Litigation Release No. 15907 (September 24, 1998), Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1081 (September 24, 1998), Litigation Release No. 16130 (May 3, 1999), and Accounting and Auditing Release No. 1132 (May 3, 1999), Litigation Release No. 16183 (June 10, 1999), Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1137 (June 10, 1999).