LARRY D. COMPTON, Trustee
OFFICE OF THE TRUSTEE
400 D Street, Suite 210
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Phone: (907) 276-6660 Fax: (907) 258-3348
email: LarComAK@aol.com

Two issues have come up relating to the Raejean Bonham/World Plus, Inc. bankruptcy. The first is the second payment on outstanding claims against the Bonham bankruptcy estate. The second is Raejean Bonham’s criminal sentencing in the Alaska courts for violation of state law. I wanted to provide you with information on both matters.

A number of creditors have recently contacted me regarding another offer from ARGO Partners to purchase the remainder of your claim against the bankruptcy estate. My office has recently begun to prepare for the Second Interim Distribution on all allowed claims. Until the distribution is actually filed with the Bankruptcy Court, it is impossible to determine the exact amount of the second distribution. Based on the information currently available, I believe that the second distribution will likely be $ .10 on the dollar or more.

I hope to make this distribution sometime in the late summer or early fall of this year, and recently obtained an order to bring the claims register current with changes in the claims since the last distribution. I will submit the proposed Second Interim Distribution to the United States Trustee within the next 30 days or so. The United States Trustee then has 60 days to review the proposed distribution. After getting approval from the US Trustee, the Second Interim Distribution will be sent to all creditors for their review. The Second Interim Distribution will detail each creditor’s claim, and the proposed amount to be paid in this distribution. All creditors will have the opportunity to review the Second Interim Distribution and file any objections. The Bankruptcy Court will likely schedule a hearing approximately 30 days after the date the Second Interim Distribution is mailed. The checks will be sent out approximately 10 days after the Bankruptcy Court enters its order approving the distribution. Hopefully, this will be sometime in August.

Additionally, there will be a third and final distribution. The Second Interim Distribution is being funded from settlements of the litigation against Bonham investors that received money. There is only one lawsuit remaining, though my office is attempting to collect on approximately 40 judgments previously entered against former investors. The monies for the third and final distribution will come from those defendants that have settled but are making payments over time, as well as any successful efforts to collect on judgments entered against prior defendants. While I cannot estimate the amount of the third distribution, it will be considerably less than either the first or second distributions.

As with the first distribution, I believe that the second distribution from the estate will be more than ARGO Partners is currently offering you even without including any amount to be paid on the third distribution. Unless you immediately need the money from ARGO Partners, I do not see any reason why you should sell your claims to ARGO Partners.

Numerous creditors have also asked about the status of Raejean Bonham’s criminal conviction. Raejean pled guilty in federal court to two criminal counts brought by the United States. Those charges related to money laundering and mail fraud arising from her Ponzi scheme. On January 14, 1999, the federal district court sentenced Raejean to five years in a federal prison. Under the federal criminal system, there is no “parole,” so Raejean is expected to serve the entire sentence though the end of her system may be spent at a halfway house. Raejean did not immediately begin her sentence, however, so I do not know when her sentence may end.

The State of Alaska also filed criminal charges against Raejean. The State charged Raejean with perjury and violating its securities act by offering her “investments.” Originally, the state court found that Alaska’s statutory prohibition against double jeopardy barred any further criminal prosecution because the charges arose from the Ponzi scheme. The Alaska Court of Appeals disagreed, and held that Raejean’s violations of the Alaska Securities laws differed from the mail fraud and money laundering. As a result, the State of Alaska was allowed to continue to prosecute Raejean last year.

On April 16, 2002, Raejean agreed to plead no contest to the securities violations. According to news reports, the state court may sentence Raejean from one to five years for those crimes. A copy of the local article is attached. The state court will also decide whether Raejean must serve any sentence consecutively - after she finishes her federal jail sentence, or concurrently. If the state court decides that the sentence should be severed concurrently, it is unlikely that Raejean would serve any additional time because the federal sentence was also for five years.

Currently, presentence reports to the state court are due on July 1, 2002, and Raejean is to be sentenced on July 31, 2002. You, as Raejean’s and World Plus, Inc.’s creditors, are the victims of her crimes and have a right to be heard on her sentencing. At Raejean’s federal sentencing, the judge was strongly influenced by the number of comments he had received from the creditors and their stories. Unlike the federal courts that have been dealing with Raejean Bonham and World Plus, Inc. for the last six years, the state court has not heard from you, the creditors, or how Raejean’s crimes have affected you and your lives. While the state court knows what Raejean did, it does not have any way to understand the terrible impact Raejean Bonham has had on hundreds of people throughout the country. Based on our conversations with you over the last six years, we strongly believe that the state court should hear your stories, and encourage you to send letters telling the court how Raejean and World Plus have affected your lives. Letters should be mailed so they arrive before July 1st, and sent to:

You also have a right to attend the sentencing of Raejean Bonham on July 31, 2002. The sentencing will be held at the new state court house located at 825 West 4th Avenue in Anchorage. I also encourage you to personally attend the sentencing if possible, to let the judge see that Raejean’s crimes have not been forgotten.

Should you have any questions regarding either the Second Interim Distribution or the state criminal action, please feel free to contact me, or my attorney Gary Spraker at (907) 258-6016.