Release: #4149-98 (CIV 96-74525)    

      For Release: June 2, 1998    

**MICHIGAN DISTRICT COURT PERMANENTLY BARS MECA INTERNATIONAL INC.,**

**GARY BERUS AND PATRICIA GALE FROM THE FUTURES INDUSTRY**

**CFTC Alleged that the Defendants Cheated and Defrauded Approximately      50 Elderly and Retired Michigan Residents to Invest Approximately $1      Million in Two Commodity Pools**

      WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced      today that U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds of the Eastern District      of Michigan entered orders of permanent injunction by consent against **Meca International, Inc.**, a Michigan corporation, **Gary Berus**      of Warren, Michigan, and **Patricia Gale** of Gaylord, Michigan. The      orders bar the defendants from the futures industry and permanently      enjoin them from further violations of federal commodity law.    

      The court's orders, entered on May 20, 1998, stem from a seven-count      civil injunctive action filed by the Commission on September 30, 1996,      against Meca, Berus, and Gale, alleging that from October 1992 to      September 1996, they violated the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity      Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations (see CFTC news release #3946-96,      October 1, 1996).    

      The complaint charged that Meca, Berus, and Gale fraudulently solicited      approximately 50 elderly and retired Michigan residents to invest      approximately $1 million in two pools to trade, among other things,      commodity futures contracts.    

      The CFTC complaint also alleged that Berus and Meca fraudulently      solicited approximately $376,000 from 10 individuals to trade commodity      futures contracts in accounts managed by Berus. Further, the CFTC charged      that the defendants violated registration, disclosure, reporting, and      recordkeeping provisions of the CEA.    

      More specifically, the defendants were charged with cheating and      defrauding customers and potential customers in the commodity pools by,      among other things:    

        -- Misrepresenting that pool investors had achieved and would continue        to achieve significant profits ranging from 12 to 24 percent annually        with little or no risk;      

        -- Misrepresenting or failing to disclose the risks associated with        commodity futures trading;      

        -- Misrepresenting the track record of Berus' previous trading;      

        -- Misrepresenting the performances of the two commodity pools in        written and oral statements, by reporting large profits when, in fact,        neither of the pools was ever profitable; and      

        -- Misappropriating investors' funds in the pools and converting        the funds to their own use and to pay purported profits to other        investors, in a manner akin to a Ponzi scheme.      

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      Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, Meca,      Berus and Gale have agreed to the court's orders, which permanently      enjoin them from further violating the provisions of the CEA alleged in      the complaint. The orders also permanently prohibit all of the defendants      from engaging in any activity in the futures industry for themselves or      on behalf of others.    

      In addition, the order requires Berus to pay approximately $500,000 in      restitution, but the court waived such payments in light of his financial      circumstances. Gale is ordered to disgorge approximately $10,000,      representing the commissions she received for introducing investors to      Meca and Berus.