Release: #4083-97 (Civ 97-5691)

For Release: November 25, 1997CFTC FILES CIVIL ACTION AGAINST JAMES M. ZOLLER AND TECH-COMM LIMITED
    PARTNERSHIPS FOR FRAUD: COURT ISSUES PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

13-Year, $13 Million Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme

By Apple Valley, Minnesota Man�

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced
    today that it filed a six-count civil complaint on November 21, 1997 in the
    U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against James M.
    Zoller of Apple Valley, Minnesota and Tech-Comm Limited
    Partnerships, a series of 29 Minnesota Limited Partnerships operated by
    Zoller as commodity pools. The filing of the CFTC complaint follows a joint
    effort by the CFTC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S.
    Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

The complaint alleges that since 1984 Zoller and the Tech-Comm pools
    have accepted more than $13 million from at least 219 investors throughout
    the country and fraudulently misrepresented that they would use all of the
    investors' funds to trade commodity futures on the investors' behalf. The
    complaint states that, in fact, Zoller used less than ten percent of
    investors' funds to actually trade futures. The complaint alleges that
    Zoller further violated the antifraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange
    Act by misrepresenting to investors, both orally and in written statements,
    that they were earning profits from the futures trading he conducted when,
    in fact, Zoller consistently lost money in the small amount of trading that
    he did engage in over the last thirteen years.

In addition, the complaint alleges that Zoller misappropriated
    approximately $3.6 million of investors' funds, among other things, to pay
    personal living expenses, to purchase vehicles, and to purchase homes.
    According to the complaint, to facilitate his operation of the Tech-Comm
    pools, Zoller used some of the investors' funds to make returns of
    principal and purported profits to some of the other investors, in a manner
    akin to a Ponzi scheme. This was done, the complaint states, to deceive the
    investors into believing that their funds were being utilized to profitably
    trade commodity futures and to attract additional funds.

The CFTC's complaint also charges that Zoller acted as a commodity pool
    operator without proper registration with the CFTC and violated the CFTC's
    regulations by accepting funds in his own name and not in the name of the
    pools and by commingling investors' funds with his own.

On November 21, 1997, U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty entered a
    preliminary injunction by consent against Zoller and the Tech-Comm pools.
    The order enjoins any further violations, freezes the defendants' assets,
    prohibits the destruction of books and records, requires the defendants to
    make an accounting to the Court, and bars them from the futures industry
    until further order of the Court. The Court's order also appoints Gregory
    L. Wilmes, Esq. of the law firm of Wilmes & Associates, Minneapolis, as
    the equity receiver to administer the terms of the order. As such, the
    receiver, among other things, will marshall remaining assets, accept claims
    and oversee the accounting to the court. The complaint filed by the CFTC in
    this matter also seeks a permanent injunction, restitution, disgorgement,
    and other equitable relief.