U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 17543 / June 5, 2002

SEC FILES SETTLED ACTION FOR INSIDER TRADING IN FLORAFAX INTERNATIONAL, INC. STOCK

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Josephine Anne Pagano, Case No. 02-72282 (E.D. Mich., filed June 5, 2002)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on June 5, 2002, it filed and simultaneously settled an insider trading action against Josephine Anne Pagano of Grosse Ile, Michigan. In its complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the SEC alleges that from December 1, 1998 through December 9, 1998, Pagano used material non-public information regarding merger negotiations between Florafax International, Inc. (Florafax) and Gerald Stevens, Inc. to purchase shares of Florida-based Florafax. The SEC further alleges that Pagano misappropriated the non-public information from a relative who worked at Florafax. According to the complaint, Pagano's illicit trading earned her profits of $20,040.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, except as to jurisdiction, Pagano consented to pay disgorgement of $20,040, plus prejudgment interest in the amount of $4,568.56 and a civil money penalty of $20,040. Pagano also consented to the entry of a final judgment of permanent injunction enjoining her from future violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5, thereunder.