CEASE TRADE ORDER ISSUED

The Securities Division of the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission extended a Cease Trading Order issued February 17th, 2003 against a number of individuals and companies in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The order was issued March 3rd. It is with respect to Donald McCarl, Borden, Saskatchewan, Gerald James Deitsch, Robert Steven Kondrat and Scenic Investments Inc., of Calgary, Alberta after a Saskatoon man lost $150,000.

The order was issued as a result of an investigation into an investment scheme being promoted in Saskatchewan commonly known as the "Nigerian Letter Fraud". In this scheme letters are sent by mail, e-mail or by fax to the general public from someone holding themselves out as a government official of an African country, usually Nigeria. In the letter they state that they are in possession of millions of dollars, usually 20 to 30 million, and that they need assistance in getting this money out of the country.

This help initially only requires the unsuspecting victim to identify a local bank account into which the government official can transfer these millions. For this assistance the victim is promised a percentage of the total amount to be transferred out of the country, commonly 10 per cent. Shortly after the victim does this a request for money is received under the pretext of paying off some government official to allow the transfer of funds, or to pay some bank or customs fees. These requests for money range from $10,000 to $100,000. A short time after the victim pays this fee he is approached for more money to pay other fees and this cycle repeats itself as long as the victim pays.

All money sent to these people is lost. This is a scam. There is no government official with millions of dollars to send to your bank account.

Since this scheme is questionable, few people are caught by it, however Saskatchewan residents have been victimised by this scam for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This scheme has been the subject of warnings in the past by the Saskatchewan Securities Commission as well as other Canadian and American agencies.

"The public should be wary of any investment scheme that promises unusually large returns, where the money has to be sent out of the country and/or requires secrecy, where you are required to allow someone else to use your bank account," Deputy Director of Enforcement for the Saskatchewan Securities Commission Vic Pankratz said.

When in doubt, seek advice from your broker, financial planner, accountant, bank manager, lawyer or the Securities Division of the Financial Services Commission before investing your money.

The Securities Division would like to speak to anyone that has been approached to invest in this or any other questionable scheme. Contact the Securities Division of the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission at (306) 787-5645.

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For More Information, Contact:

Vic Pankratz Financial Services Commission Regina Phone: (306)787-5844 Email: vpankratz@sfsc.gov.sk.ca