Release:#4061-97 (Civ 92-6832)

For Release: October 2, 1997

PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND MULTIMILLION DOLLAR DISGORGEMENT ORDER ENTERED
    AGAINST CARRINGTON FINANCIAL CORP., MARC S. WUENSCH, AND A. FRANCIS SIDOTI
    IN CFTC ANTI-FRAUD ACTION

CARRINGTON FINANCIAL PLACED INTO RECEIVERSHIP
    WASHINGTON � The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced
    today that on September 29, 1997, Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages of the U.S.
    District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered an order of
    permanent injunction and disgorgement against Carrington Financial
    Corp. of Aventura, Florida, a registered Introducing Broker; its
    president Marc S. Wuensch of Pembroke Pines, Florida; and A.
    Francis Sidoti of Montauk, New York, who is not registered with the
    CFTC.

The court's order permanently enjoins defendants from anti-fraud,
    supervision, and reporting violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)
    and CFTC regulations, orders defendants to disgorge millions of dollars in
    unlawful gains, prohibits the transfer of defendants' assets, and orders
    the defendants to transfer all books and records to a court-appointed
    equity receiver, among other relief. The court appointed Frank P. Scruggs,
    Esq. of the law firm of Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoff, Rosen &
    Quentel, P.A. as equity receiver (Tel: [954] 765-0500).

The court's action stems from a CFTC complaint charging the defendants
    with misconduct violating the CEA and CFTC regulations dating from
    1991.

The court found "systematic and willful" violations of the law and CFTC
    regulations and that "Sidoti, Wuensch, and Carrington willfully committed
    numerous violations of the Act in the past over a long period of time." The
    court found that "Carrington and Wuensch failed to establish and maintain
    meaningful procedures for deterring and detecting fraud by their employees,
    that Wuensch knew of specific incidents of misconduct and failed to take
    reasonable steps to correct the problems," and that "the improper sales
    practices . . . continued since the filing of this action with Wuensch's
    approval and active participation."

The court therefore ordered that Carrington, Wuensch, and Sidoti
    disgorge all of the profits made by Carrington and Trinity from their
    inception until the present, which CFTC staff estimates to be substantially
    more than $10 million.

In its 62-page Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the court made
    detailed findings of numerous instances in which associated persons at
    Carrington and Wuensch violated the anti-fraud provisions of the CEA and
    regulations by making misrepresentations and/or omitting material facts
    while soliciting customers to purchase options on commodity futures
    contracts concerning, among other things, the profit potential of commodity
    options while minimizing the risks involved. Sidoti was found to have acted
    as an undisclosed principal of Trinity Financial Group, Inc., the
    introducing broker that became Carrington in 1992, and that Sidoti and
    Trinity had made a false or misleading statement in a registration
    application. Wuensch and Carrington were also found to have violated the
    CFTC regulation requiring diligent supervision.

Geoffrey Aronow, CFTC Director of Enforcement, commented on the
    decision:

"We are gratified by the sweeping relief granted the Commission in this
    long-fought action. By placing the Carrington firm into receivership and
    requiring complete disgorgement of profits for almost seven years of
    operations, this decision should send a powerful message to those who would
    operate on the wrong side of the law. The Commission's tenacity in pursuing
    this matter should itself serve as a warning that we will do what it takes
    to vigorously investigate and prosecute fraud."