Release: #4285-99 (99-Civ-1558-T-23F)

For Release: July 8, 1999

CFTC FILES CIVIL FRAUD COMPLAINT IN FLORIDA FEDERAL COURT AGAINST
    INTRODUCING BROKER R.J. FITZGERALD & CO., INC., RAYMOND AND LEIZA
    FITZGERALD, AL CORINGRATO, GREG BURNETT, AND CHUCK KOWALSKI

**CFTC Action Charges that the Defendants Made False
    Representations and Engaged in Fraudulent Acts and Practices, Including
    Sales Solicitation Fraud and Account Churning**

WASHINGTON � The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
    announced the filing today of a six-count civil
    injunctive complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District
    of Florida (Tampa) against R. J. Fitzgerald & Co., Inc. (RJFCO),
    a Florida corporation with offices in Tampa and Key West, Florida; Raymond Fitzgerald, Jr., of Clearwater Beach, Florida; his wife Leiza Fitzgerald, also of Clearwater Beach; Al Coringrato of
    Tampa, Florida; Greg Burnett of New Port Richey, Florida; and Chuck Kowalski of Tampa, Florida, charging them with, among other
    things, running RJFCO in a systematically fraudulent manner.

RJFCO has been registered with the CFTC as an introducing broker (IB)
    since November 1992; Raymond Fitzgerald, Jr., is its president and sole
    shareholder. Raymond and Leiza Fitzgerald and Kowalski are registered as
    associated persons (APs) of RJFCO, and Coringrato and Burnett were
    registered as APs with RJFCO between January 1997 and August 1998 and
    between June 1997 and July 1998, respectively.

The CFTC's civil action, filed on July 6, 1999, alleges that the
    defendants violated the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act
    (CEA) and CFTC regulations, specifically sections 4b(a) and 4c(b) of the
    CEA and regulations 32.9 (a) and (c) and 33.10 (a) and (c), in connection
    with the solicitation and offer or sale of commodity futures and options
    contracts to customers or prospective customers.

From January 1996 through July 1998, the complaint alleges, RJFCO and
    Raymond Fitzgerald made material misrepresentations and omissions of
    material fact to prospective customers through false advertising and
    misleading promotional materials. The complaint also alleges that all the
    defendants made oral misrepresentations to customers. The alleged
    misrepresentations and omissions included claims about the likelihood of
    high profits in the grain markets due to the effects of El Nino and about
    the limited risk of loss in trading commodity option contracts.

In addition, according to the complaint, Raymond Fitzgerald and Burnett
    allegedly churned customer accounts and with Kowalski are charged with
    operating an IB to cheat, defraud, or deceive customers. Raymond Fitzgerald
    is also charged with failing to provide customers with appropriate risk
    disclosure statements and -- along with Leiza Fitzgerald, Coringrato, and
    Burnett -- failing to properly supervise RJFCO and its employees.
    Additionally, the complaint charges Raymond Fitzgerald with liability for
    the various fraudulent acts as a controlling person of RJFCO.

Finally, the CFTC complaint charges each individual defendant with
    aiding and abetting certain of the fraudulent acts committed by other
    defendants, and RJFCO is charged with liability as a principal under
    section 2(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the CEA for fraudulent acts allegedly committed
    by others.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC is seeking orders of permanent
    injunction against the defendants, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains,
    restitution to the defrauded investors, and civil monetary penalties not
    exceeding $100,000 or triple the monetary gain to the defendants, whichever
    is greater, for each violation of the CEA committed prior to November 27,
    1996, and $110,000 or triple the monetary gain for violations committed
    after that date.

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