MIAMI, Jan. 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- An E-Rex shareholder announced success in a summary judgment motion against International Investment Banking, Inc., an affiliate of E-Rex, for an initial sum of $250,000. No determination has yet been made against the other defendants, including E-Rex, Inc.
The summary judgment was granted on January 15, 2003 by Circuit Judge J.D. Bailey in Florida state court. Chris Ford, successor trustee of the Carol Gamble Trust 86 and a member of the E-Rex Mutual Group of very angry E-Rex shareholders has been working with other angry shareholders, federal and state governmental agencies, media, law firms, and others in a joint effort to remedy the "very poor" managerial, financial, operational, legal, and product development situation at Miami-based technology company E-Rex (OTCBB:EREX).
Ford commented, "It is very exciting and gratifying to see this major Group come together to work on the joint objective of remedying this terrible situation, and this victory is another step in our strong progress forward. I directly know and have recently supplied materials and/or verbal information to many of the other members of this Group, commonly referred to as the "Allies Group," including:
1. E-Rex Mutual Group members
2. A second major group of angry E-Rex shareholders, often referred
to as "The KC Group"
3. Several additional angry E-Rex shareholders
4. Various E-Rex insiders who have secretly supplied insider
information and materials to federal and state investigative and
law enforcement agencies and who have stated that they plan to
testify when appropriate
5. These federal and state agencies
6. Certain law firms
7. Several newspapers and other media entities and
8. Appropriate others.
"We expect the Allies Group to soon also include some prominent politicians and non-profit stockholder advocacy and investors rights organizations," Ford added.
"And, we are very pleased at the strong overall strategic and coordinating role being now handled by SageGroup Strategies, the major Professional Troubled-Company Specialist firm," Ford continued. "SageGroup has quickly demonstrated its strong experience and capabilities in this type of complex situation with many entities involved."
One important SageGroup involvee is Larry Lindsey, a Managing Director of the firm. He has had direct contact with many of those involved in this situation, including:
1. Carl Dilley and Joe Pacheco, E-Rex officers and directors
2. Two E-Rex stock promoters
3. Several law firms
4. Many angry E-Rex shareholders, including members of two major
"outsider" E-Rex shareholder groups (one of which is SageGroup's
client E-Rex Mutual Group).
"SageGroup's main focus is on what is in the best interests of E-Rex and all of its shareholders as a group," Lindsey stated. "We dislike that this situation is such a battle among various interests, but it is obvious that E-Rex is a very troubled company. We are aware that various governmental agencies and law firms are very focused on investigating this situation, including to definitively determine whether this is what is sometimes referred to as a 'Hyena Pack Scheme.' However, this is not SageGroup's main function to determine if this is so.
"In large publicly-held companies, stockholder fraud, looting of companies, and other bad practices are usually perpetrated by various persons working together within the company," Lindsey continued. "However, with very small publicly-held companies, fraud, looting, theft, etc. are mainly perpetrated by various people sitting in firms and other entities which are secretly conspiring and working together, while concurrently misrepresenting publicly that they are independent of each other. The 'Hyena Pack' is one name for such people collectively, and the 'Hyena Pack Scheme' is one name for their collective actions."
In a typical "Hyena Pack," the persons secretly working together to commit fraud, etc. often include:
1. A "puppet master" coordinating the other Pack members and
masterminding the Scheme
2. Stock promoters to promote the stock and fraudulently attract new
investors
3. A shell company into which to temporarily add persons, a product
development idea or other enticing concept, etc. during the time
that the stock is being promoted and misrepresented
4. Innocent new investors who are tricked into investing money,
usually for stock
5. A publishing company to issue materials, magazines, etc. to
further promote the stock
6. Various "front man" persons to occupy the company's officer and
director positions during the stock promotion
7. Various "outside" consultants who can be used to further dilute
the company's stock
8. Some secretly-affiliated other companies to which the company can
divert cash, stock, and other assets, or to which a product
development contract can be given
9. Various unethical compromised attorneys and accountants
10. A bank through which money can be laundered and transferred,
including to offshore bank accounts
11. A public relations person who either understands the Scheme or
has been duped into being a mouthpiece for the company
12. Various others if and when needed.
In a typical "Hyena Pack Scheme," the various "Hyena Pack" members work together to loot the company, defraud innocent stockholders, and commit other actions in furtherance of the Scheme. The company is falsely presented as a legitimate business opportunity. As new investors are enticed to come in, the inside group keeps selling its shares, periodically replenishing its supplies by issuing itself more shares through various inappropriate ways. Then, when the company's stock price has crashed, the "Hyena Pack" tries to pull back, allowing the company to collapse. Then, at a later point, the "Hyena Pack" recycles the shell company, inserts new questionable people and operations, and starts another "Hyena Pack Scheme."
For more information on the E-Rex situation, please contact Larry Lindsey at SageGroup's National Coordination Office at phone number 510-865-2480, email address SGS@SageGroupStrategies.com, or fax number 510-865-6654.