By request we have removed the text of this item from our web site.Below is a copy of the letter we received and follow-up text the HoustonPress placed at the end of the article we originally quoted. The URL isshown below for anyone who wants to reconstruct it and access the originalarticle.-Editor

FOLLOW-UP: In a deposition taken nearly four months after publication ofthis article, Maureen O'Neill stated that she did not invest her entire lifesavings in coins; she testified that she had assets worth substantially morethan she spent on coins. Ms. O'Neill testified that she lives on a fixedincome and had to take money out of a certificate of deposit and stocks tobuy coins, that her total purchases were nearly $190,000, and that shebelieves she was charged about $100,000 more than the coins were worth.

In the deposition, Ms. O'Neill also stated that she did not take out a$50,000 home equity loan for the purpose of purchasing coins. Ms. O'Neilltestified that she had a preexisting home equity line of credit and drew$30,000 on that line of credit to buy coins.

Also, Ms. O'Neill testified that she did not use money from her IRA accountsto buy coins because she was unable to do so. She testified that she didmove money out of stocks and cashed in a CD to buy coins. Further, sheconfirmed that her daughter filed a complaint with Florida authorities that1st National Reserve representatives encouraged her to sell her retirementholdings in order to make coin purchases, which she did.

Finally, the Houston Press article refers to "depositions" of former FirstFidelity Reserve employees Lance Loftin and Aaron Freeman. These wereactually sworn statements under oath from these former employees, but werenot "depositions" because the former employees were not subject tocross-examination.

To read the complete article, see:
www.houstonpress.com/
2007-07-19/news/
texas-coin-companies-target-elderly-investors/