The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that, on Dec. 22, 2006, a federal district court in Nevada entered a final judgment of default against the former CEO of a BC-based company in connection with a stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme.

The final judgment permanently enjoins Gary Thomas (aka Gary Thomas Vojtesak) from violating the antifraud, books and records, internal accounting controls, and securities ownership reporting provisions of the federal securities laws and orders him to pay civil money penalties totaling US$540,000.

The judgment against Thomas arises out of an April 21, 2005, civil action filed by the commission against Exotics.com, Inc., a Nevada corporation based in Vancouver, BC, and 12 other principal defendants and a relief defendant. The commission alleges in its complaint that, between at least 1999 and 2002, Exotics.com, which was then an Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board company in the business of operating adult Web sites, was the subject of a stock manipulation and accounting fraud perpetrated by, among others, its officers, attorneys and outside auditors.

It also claims that Thomas, a founder and former CEO and director of Exotics.com’s sole operating subsidiary, played a role in the scheme by, among other things, providing false and misleading financial data that was incorporated into a press release issued by Exotics.com. The SEC further alleges that Thomas, as CEO and a director of the subsidiary, failed to implement a system of internal accounting controls and to ensure that the company maintained accurate books and records.