U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 19308 /July 21, 2005

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Peter F. Paul, Stephen M. Gordon, and Jeffrey L. Pittsburg, Case No. 04-6613 SVW (SSx) (C.D.Cal.)

FINAL JUDGMENTS ENTERED AGAINST PETER F. PAUL AND JEFFREY L. PITTSBURG IN MARKET MANIPULATION CASE INVOLVING THE SECURITIES OF STAN LEE MEDIA, INC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that final judgments were entered in federal court in Los Angeles against the two remaining defendants in a market manipulation case involving the securities of Stan Lee Media, Inc. -- Peter F. Paul, the co-founder of Stan Lee Media, and Jeffrey L. Pittsburg, formerly an officer and part-owner of Pittsburg Institutional, Inc., a registered broker-dealer. The Commission's action, filed in August 2004, alleged that, between October 2, 2000 and November 24, 2000, Paul, Pittsburg and Stephen M. Gordon, Stan Lee Media's former executive vice president of operations, manipulated the market for Stan Lee Media stock. Stan Lee Media, located in Encino, California, was founded by comic book icon Stan Lee and Paul. Stan Lee was not named as a defendant in the action. In September 2004, a final judgment was entered against Gordon, pursuant to his consent.

Paul, without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, consented to the entry of a judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, the credit provisions of Section 7(f) of the Exchange Act and Regulation X thereunder, the securities reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 16a-3 thereunder, and the stock ownership reporting requirements of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rules 13d-1 and 13d-2 thereunder; prohibiting him from serving as an officer or director of any reporting company; and not ordering civil penalties based on his sworn representations in his statement of financial condition.

Pittsburg, without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, consented to the entry of a judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgment also waives all but $100,000 of $315,000 in disgorgement and does not order civil penalties based on Pittsburg's sworn representations in his statement of financial condition. Additionally, as part of the settlement of a related administrative proceeding, Pittsburg has agreed to be barred from association with any broker or dealer.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York previously charged Paul, Gordon, and Pittsburg with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud, related to their manipulative conduct involving Stan Lee Media stock. Paul and Gordon have pled guilty to securities fraud and are awaiting sentencing.

For further information, see Litigation Release No. 18828 (August 11, 2004) and Administrative Proceeding Release Nos. 50181 (August 11, 2004) and 50349 (September 13, 2004).

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr19308.htm