UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 16828 / December 13, 2000

SEC v. Lawrence B. Irwin, James D. Cooper, III and Burton Financial Management Associates, Inc., Civil Action No. 00 C 5996 (N.D. Ill.) (filed on September 29,2000)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) today announced that on December 4, 2000, the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall, United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in the case of S.E.C. v. Lawrence B. Irwin, et. al. (Case No. 00 C 5996), entered a Final Order of Permanent Injunction against James D. Cooper, III (Cooper) of Barrington, Illinois, pursuant to Cooper's consent.

According to the Commission's Complaint filed on September 29, 2000, Cooper engaged in a scheme to defraud whereby he misappropriated approximately $2.3 million from fifteen of his clients for his personal use by, among other things, falsely representing that he would invest their money in securities. The Complaint also alleges that Cooper, Lawrence B. Irwin (Irwin), an Illinois CPA and Cooper's business associate, and Burton Financial Management Associates, Inc. (BFMA), a company owned and controlled by Irwin, made misrepresentations and omissions of material fact to investors in the offer and sale of unregistered promissory notes and certain real estate limited partnerships issued by BFMA.

The Final Order permanently enjoins Cooper from future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b), 15(a) and 15(c)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 15c1-2 promulgated thereunder. The case against Irwin and BFMA is pending.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr16828.htm