U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Release No. 45940 / May 15, 2002

Administrative Proceeding
File No. 3-10783

Administrative Proceedings Instituted Against Joseph E. Erwin Based on His Felony Conviction

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") announced that it has instituted public administrative proceedings against Joseph E. Erwin ("Erwin") of Columbus, Ohio, who currently is in prison in Florida. From May 1997 to September 2000, Erwin was a registered representative associated with Eisner Securities, Inc. ("Eisner"), a broker-dealer then registered with the Commission.

The Commission's Order Instituting Public Administrative Proceedings ("Order") alleges that on January 23, 2001, in the case of United States of America v. Joseph E. Erwin, Case No. CR2-01-012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Erwin pled guilty to one count of mail fraud (18 U.S.C. §1341) and one count of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. §1343), and was subsequently sentenced to ten years incarceration and ordered to make restitution of $2,013,404.15. The criminal information alleged that, between May 1997 and September 2000, while employed at Eisner, Erwin improperly diverted over $2 million from at least 11 Eisner customer accounts to his own bank accounts. The criminal information also alleged that, as part of the fraud, Erwin changed the customers' addresses in a computer terminal at Eisner to addresses he controlled, requested issuance of checks from those customers' accounts, and forged endorsements on the checks that were sent to the false addresses. According to the criminal information, Erwin also diverted the affected customers' statements and sent them false monthly statements.

A hearing will be scheduled before an administrative law judge to determine whether the allegations contained in the Order are true, to provide Erwin an opportunity to dispute these allegations, and to determine what sanctions, if any, are appropriate and in the public interest.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-45940.htm