Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C.

Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Release No. 46426 / August 28, 2002

Administrative Proceeding
File No. 3-10874

The Securities and Exchange Commission today instituted public proceedings pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against Joseph Randolph Belew of Jackson, Mississippi.

In the Order Instituting Proceedings, the Division of Enforcement alleges that the Commission filed suit against Belew in September 1998, alleging that Belew violated the federal securities laws, including the antifraud provisions, in his operation of a registered broker-dealer that he co-owned. Specifically, the Order states that the Commission's complaint alleged that Belew, a registered representative of a broker-dealer, among other things, misappropriated customer funds and aided and abetted the broker-dealer's failure to maintain required net capital and accurate books and records. The Order also alleges that Belew consented to a permanent injunction against future violations of the federal securities laws in the underlying civil injunctive action brought by the Commission and that such injunctive relief was ordered by the court on July 31, 2002.

A hearing will be scheduled before an administrative law judge to determine whether the allegations contained in the Order are true, to provide Belew an opportunity to dispute these allegations, and to determine what sanctions, if any, are appropriate and in the public interest. (See Litigation Release 15867 (September 2, 1998)

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-46426.htm