BANKING & FINANCE - Dec. 27, 1995

Part of Judgment in Fraud Case Waived: A former salesman for convicted investment manager Steven D. Wymer has agreed to pay more than $600,000 to settle charges that he helped Wymer cheat municipalities out of millions of dollars. A Securities and Exchange Commission civil action says James Pearce, marketing director for Institutional Treasury Management Inc., prepared and distributed false material, assured a client that a fraudulent trade was legitimate and helped Wymer overcharge a client in return for a share of the money. A judgment entered this month in U.S. District Court orders Pearce to pay $604,096. However, the SEC announced that it would waive payment because Pearce has shown he does not have the money. Under the terms of the settlement, Pearce neither admits nor denies wrongdoing. Wymer had promised local governments from California to Iowa big yields on investments for their excess cash. Instead, the Orange County-based advisor lost money in risky financial bets, then played a shell game with the remaining funds as he tried to recoup the losses. Wymer is serving a 15-year prison sentence.