PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
December 13, 2002 

HABBO G. FOKKENA SERVING AS U.S. TRUSTEE
IN COLORADO, UTAH, AND WYOMING FOR INTERIM PERIOD

            WASHINGTON, D.C.–Habbo G. Fokkena, United States Trustee for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota (Region 12), is also serving as United States Trustee for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming (Region 19) for an interim period effective Dec. 6, 2002, it was announced today by Lawrence Friedman, Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees.

             Fokkena replaced Howard R. Tallman, who was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado. Tallman served as U.S. Trustee for Region 19 since March 29, 2000.

            Fokkena was appointed U.S. Trustee for Region 12 on May 6, 2002. Prior to that appointment, he was a sole practitioner in Clarksville, Iowa, specializing in financial and bankruptcy litigation and labor arbitration. He administered Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases as a panel trustee for the Northern District of Iowa from 1987 to 2002. Fokkena received his law degree in 1975 from the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City, and his undergraduate degree in 1972 from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1969.

            The U.S. Trustee Program is a component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 19 is headquartered in Denver, with additional offices in Salt Lake City and Cheyenne.

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