SEC v. World Resources International, Inc.
No. 89-0157-CIV-ATKINS (S.D. Fla. 1989)
Matter at a glance
- Year
- 1989
- Agency
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Forum
- Federal court
- Mr. Lehrer's role
- Principal investigator
- Docket / file
- No. 89-0157-CIV-ATKINS (S.D. Fla. 1989)
What the matter involved
Dissemination of fraudulent financial statements claiming assets of $100 million.
The matter was brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and heard as a federal court. Mr. Lehrer worked the file as a principal investigator, which meant building the record on the government's side — the documents, the testimony, and the theory of the violation — rather than responding to it.
- Financial statements. Misstated financial statements pull in the preparers as well as the company — officers who certified them and, in some matters, the outside accountants who blessed them.
- Issuer fraud. Issuer fraud cases turn on what the company told the market versus what its own records showed. Investigators start with the public statement and work backwards through board minutes, internal projections, and bank records.
Outcome and public record
This matter was resolved on the public record of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under No. 89-0157-CIV-ATKINS (S.D. Fla. 1989). Out of respect for the individuals and entities named, this page does not restate penalties, bars, or sentences. The agency's own release for the matter is the authoritative record of its disposition.
Search the agency's public enforcement records →
Past results in government enforcement matters do not predict or guarantee the result of any future matter. This page describes work performed on behalf of a government agency before Mr. Lehrer entered private practice in 2000.
Why this matters to issuers today
The staff still builds files the same way: start with the public document, test it against the company's own records, and interview the people who signed. Knowing how that record gets assembled is the reason issuers bring this experience in at the drafting stage — before a filing, an offering, or a promotion creates the paper trail a later investigation would follow.
Questions about a filing, an offering, or a promotion?
Talk directly to a former SEC enforcement attorney — no intake staff, no forms.