==========================================START OF PAGE 1====== UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 15187 / December 16, 1996 Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 865 / December 16, 1996 United States v. Bernard F. Bradstreet, et al. (D. Mass., No. 95-CR-10228-RGS) The Commission announced that, on December 12, 1996, the Honorable Richard G. Stearns of the District of Massachusetts sentenced Defendants Bernard F. Bradstreet ("Bradstreet") and Thomas E. Campbell ("Campbell") to federal prison terms of thirty-three and eighteen months, respectively. In addition, Bradstreet was ordered to pay restitution of $2.3 million, and Bradstreet and Campbell were each sentenced to two years probation upon release from prison and to pay a special assessment of $250. Bradstreet and Campbell, former members of senior management of Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc. ("Kurzweil"), were found guilty by a jury in May 1996 of five counts of conspiracy, securities fraud and falsification of corporate books and records in violation of Sections 10(b) and 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and 18 U.S.C.  2 and 371. On July 26, 1995, simultaneously with the U.S. Attorney's announcement of the indictment of Bradstreet and Campbell, the Commission filed a complaint in the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking to permanently enjoin Bradstreet, Campbell, and two other former Kurzweil executives, David R. Earl ("Earl") and Debra J. Murray ("Murray") from violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and those provisions relating to the falsification of an issuer's books and records and the making of false statements to auditors (SEC v. Bradstreet, et al., No. 95-11647-DPW) (the "Complaint"). In addition, the Complaint sought an order from the court permanently barring the defendants from serving as officers or directors of any public company, requiring defendants Bradstreet and Campbell to disgorge the sums of $90,000 and $12,000, respectively, representing losses avoided from their unlawful sales of Kurzweil securities and, in addition, requiring Defendant Bradstreet to disgorge the sum of $80,000, representing an unlawful bonus, plus prejudgment interest. The Complaint also sought an order requiring that all defendants pay appropriate civil money penalties. The Complaint alleged that, from at least January 1992 through May 1994, the defendants engaged in a fraudulent revenue recognition scheme which inflated Kurzweil's revenues and earnings as reported by the company in financial statements filed with the Commission and disseminated publicly. The Complaint ==========================================START OF PAGE 2====== further alleged that Bradstreet, Kurzweil's former President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Campbell, Kurzweil's former Vice President of Sales, each offered and sold equity securities in Kurzweil's initial public offering, knowing that the company's financial statements were materially false and that, in 1993, Bradstreet received an $80,000 bonus advance based on the then expected financial results of operations for the fiscal year ended January 31, 1994. The Complaint alleged that the scheme affected the registration statement and periodic reports filed by Kurzweil containing financial statements for its fiscal year ended January 31, 1993 and the first three quarters of fiscal year 1994. On September 24, 1996, Defendants Bradstreet, Campbell and Murray settled the Commission's civil action by consenting, without admitting or denying the allegations of the Complaint, to the entry of a final judgment. The final judgment enjoins each of them from future violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and those provisions relating to the falsification of an issuer's books and records and the making of false statements to auditors. The final judgment also bars each of them from serving as an officer or director of any public company, waives disgorgement by Bradstreet and Campbell, and does not assess penalties against Bradstreet, Campbell and Murray, based on their demonstrated inability to pay. The Commission's litigation is continuing as to Defendant Earl. For further information, see Litigation Release Nos. 14571, 14992 and 15069 and Exchange Act Release Nos. 36021 and 36022.