FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 15, 1990

                   TEXAS LAND PROMOTERS TO PAY
              $2.5 MILLION IN REFUNDS TO CONSUMERS

     The Federal Trade Commission announced today that a group of
southwest Texas land promoters have agreed to refund $2.5 million
to consumers who purchased undeveloped land under allegedly false
pretenses.  Under the agreement, Southwest Sunsites, Inc., Green
Valley Acres, Inc., Green Valley Acres, Inc. II, Edwin Kritzler,
and the estate of Sydney Gross will make pro rata refunds to as
many as 2,500 consumers worldwide.  

     According to the FTC, the defendants used fraudulent or dis-
honest tactics to induce consumers to invest in arid, semi-desert
land located outside Van Horn, Texas.  The defendants claimed the
land was a good investment with little or no risk of loss and that
it was suitable for use as homesites and for ranching or farming. 
But in fact, according to the FTC, the parcels of land were not
good investments and were not suitable for such purposes.

     According to Tom Carter, Director of the Dallas Regional
Office of the FTC, "Consumers purchased 5 and 10 acre sites for
about $1,000 an acre but were not informed that it would cost them
up to $20,000 just to get basic utilities to their proper-ty." 
Carter added, "According to evidence presented to the Commission,
a 10 acre tract of the defendant's land would barely support one-
sixth of a cow."

     Defendants used television advertising, direct mail and
telemarketing techniques to induce consumers throughout the United
States and elsewhere to invest.  They even sold sites to residents
of the island nation of Tuvalu in the South Pacific. 

     The FTC, which issued its administrative complaint in 1980,
in 1985 concluded that defendants misrepresented the value and
potential use of the land and failed to disclose certain material
facts, and enjoined them from making further misrepresentations
about the land.  That decision was upheld by the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals and became final when the U. S. Supreme Court
declined to hear an appeal.

     In 1987, the FTC filed suit in U. S. District Court seeking
refunds for consumers, and the redress agreement announced today
settles that case.  Under the agreement, defendants will make five
separate payments of $500,000 to a redress fund, the last of which
will occur in July, 1992.  A Commission appointed administrator
will oversee the redress program.

     Consumers who are eligible to receive refunds will be noti-
fied in writing approximately 90 days after the agreement is
approved by the court.  To be eligible for refunds, a consumer must
have made a payment to one of the companies on or after April 29,
1977, in connection with a contract to purchase land in Southwest
Sunsites, Green Valley Acres, or Green Valley Acres II. 
Individuals who believe they are entitled to receive a refund, but
who have not received notice from the administrator by September
30, 1990, should write at that time to "Southwest Sunsites,"
Federal Trade Commission, 100 N. Central Expressway, Suite 500,
Dallas, Texas  75201.  There is no need to contact the FTC at this
time.

     The administrator should send the first round of pro rata
refund checks to consumers by January 1991, and the final round of
pro rata checks should be mailed by July 30, 1992.

     The consumer redress agreement was filed in the U. S. District
Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles.  It
does not constitute an admission of any law violations. 

     Copies of the agreement are available from the FTC's Public
Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY 202-326-2502.

                              # # #

MEDIA CONTACT:      Susan Ticknor, Office of Public Affairs,
                    202-326-2181

STAFF CONTACT:      Thomas Carter, Dallas Regional Office
                    214-767-5503

                    Judith A. Shepherd, Dallas Regional Office
                    214-767-5503

(Civil No. 87 06312 WMB (TX))

(FTC Docket No. 9134)

(SWSun$)