Millionaire.com and Robert L. White

Litigation Release No. 17196 / October 17, 2001

Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1468 / October 17, 2001

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Millionaire.com and Robert L. White, Case No. 9-01-3897-23 (S.C., Beaufort Division, filed October 1, 2001)

On October 5, 2001, the U.S. District Court for South Carolina entered a judgment of permanent injunction against Millionaire.com (Millionaire), the publisher of OPULENCE Magazine with headquarters in Bluffton, South Carolina, and its president, Robert L. White. In the judgment, the court enjoined Millionaire and White from violating the antifraud, record keeping and internal controls provisions of the federal securities laws, and ordered White to pay a $25,000 civil penalty.

The court entered the judgment after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint charging that Millionaire and White violated Sections 10(b), 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20 and 13a-13, thereunder. Millionaire and White consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, to entry of the permanent injunction against them, and White consented to imposition of the $25,000 civil penalty.

In its complaint, the SEC alleged that in a press release issued December 21, 1998, Millionaire falsely claimed that it had sold $8 million of advertising space in its magazine. The SEC further alleged that in a press release issued December 24, 1998, Millionaire falsely claimed that it had entered into a definitive agreement to purchase an established regional auction house. In addition, the SEC alleged that on October 5, 2000, Millionaire filed with the Commission a quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2000, that failed to disclose that Millionaire had lost its contractual right to exclusive use of the Millionaire and Billionaire trademarks. Finally, the SEC alleged that Millionaire failed to comply with the record keeping and internal controls provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint charged White with aiding and abetting Millionaire's violations.