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NewsNovember 8, 2002

WILDWOOD, Mo. -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil action in federal court to seize a suburban St. Louis company it claims has obtained $16 million from investors through the sale of illegal securities. The SEC wants to take control of JAWSH Corp. of Wildwood, which lost money after investing in an equestrian arena in St. Charles County and in golf courses and fitness clubs in Missouri and other states...

The Associated Press

WILDWOOD, Mo. -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil action in federal court to seize a suburban St. Louis company it claims has obtained $16 million from investors through the sale of illegal securities.

The SEC wants to take control of JAWSH Corp. of Wildwood, which lost money after investing in an equestrian arena in St. Charles County and in golf courses and fitness clubs in Missouri and other states.

The FBI is also investigating Mark A. Beckham, an entrepreneur whose struggling golf courses and equestrian arena were financed largely with capital from JAWSH investors.

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In a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, the SEC claims JAWSH sold securities from 1987 to 2000 without registering them as required by federal law. JAWSH's assets are now at $2 million, while investors are owed more than $10 million, the SEC said in the suit filed Oct. 29.

JAWSH's owner, William Bates, who ran the company from his home in Wildwood, a suburb of St. Louis, has agreed to let a court-appointed trustee take control of the company. He declined to comment on his company's financial condition or whether it has sold unregistered securities.

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"I have settled with the SEC, and we are continuing to resolve the situation," Bates said. "It's been a long fight, and I've got a while to go, but we're going to take care of it."

The suit claims that Bates sold unregistered securities to at least 250 investors in 11 states and that JAWSH held itself out as an investment company without proper licensing.

The SEC wants the federal court to appoint a trustee to operate JAWSH or dispose of its assets "in the best interest of investors."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the FBI is investigating Beckham and dozens of related companies "for possibly misrepresenting the nature of investments they sold," an FBI letter to one investor says.

Beckham, of Wentzville, denied making any misrepresentations to investors. He attributed his companies' problems to the slowing economy and declining interest in golf and fitness clubs. He said he is cooperating with the FBI.

"I've furnished everything they asked for. I believe they will find I did nothing wrong. Maybe I made some bad business decisions," said Beckham, who was president of Sports & Fitness Management Corp. of Manchester.

In July, a Merrill Lynch lending division filed suit, claiming that Sports & Fitness had defaulted on a loan guaranteed by Beckham and demanding repayment. On Sept. 5, after he failed to respond to the suit, a federal judge ordered Beckham to pay Merrill Lynch $537,872.

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