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CONTACT: e-Smart® Media Relations
703-768-7477
e-Smart Technologies, Inc. Responds to Information Subpoenas From Securities & Exchange Commission
New York, December 31, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall
via COMTEX/ — via COMTEX — As discussed by e-Smart Technologies,
Inc. (Pink Sheets: ESMT); ("e-Smart" or the Company") during
its December 27, 2007 Telephonic Shareholder Conference Call, the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated an inquiry and has issued
subpoenas to the Company for documents including those relating to certain
loans made to e-Smart from its parent company IVI Smart Technologies Inc.,
("IVI") and Intermarket Ventures, Inc. As in all such inquiries,
the SEC has confirmed that it is conducting a "non-public fact-finding
inquiry" and that its inquiry "does not mean that [the SEC]
have a negative opinion of any person, entity or security" or "that
anyone has broken the law." As confirmed by the Company's legal counsel
during that telephonic conference, "we received those requests for
information, we've reviewed them and we're in the process of complying
with all requests for information that come from the SEC."
The Company's legal counsel, Maranda Fritz, also provided an update relating
to other important legal issues affecting the Company including the Company's
pending litigation in the Northern District of California which resulted
from the actions taken by two convicted felons, Wayne Drizin and Michael
Gardiner, and Gardiner's company, ID Smart. Fritz advised that the court
issued an order prohibiting Drizin from any involvement in the biometric
smart card industry, and barring Gardiner from using any e-Smart technology.
The court further ordered that those defendants return to e-Smart any
and all property of the Company that they possessed. The Company is seeking
a permanent injunction to prevent any use in the future of e-Smart's technology
by Drizin and Gardiner and ID Smart.
The issuance of subpoenas by the SEC may also relate to further efforts
by Gardiner and the other defendants to damage the Company and its shareholders.
In November of 2007, Gardiner issued a public release stating that he
had written a letter to the SEC claiming that the Company should have
but did not publicly report their own — Gardiner's and Drizin's
— wrongful conduct and their attempted theft of the Company's property.
Details of these actions by Drizin and Gardiner were made public by the
Company in a November 14, 2007 press release "e-Smart Technologies
Responds to Press Release Issued by IDsmart LLC," and is available
on the Company's website http://www.e-smart.com.
In response to the SEC's inquiry, Mary Grace, CEO of e-Smart said, "The
SEC is dedicated to the protection of the shareholders of public companies,
and as the protection of our shareholders is my utmost concern, I am grateful
that the SEC is looking into these issues. The actions of Gardiner and
Drizin did cause damage to our shareholders because the Company was forced
to take legal action to protect its intellectual property, and experienced
delays in production. That Gardiner then tried to use his own fraudulent
conduct to support his claims to the SEC, we believe, makes a mockery
of the SEC and constitutes another act of securities fraud, the same conduct
for which he already stands convicted. The Company will make available
all information requested by the SEC so they can fully review the actions
of Wayne Drizin and Michael Gardiner/ID Smart against our shareholders
and our Company. I am confident that, after the SEC looks at all matters
relating to our Company, they will take appropriate steps to address the
repeated instances of wrongful conduct by Drizin and Gardiner, and protect
our Company and others from such conduct in the future."
e-Smart Technologies, Inc., is the exclusive supplier of the Biometric
Verification Security (BVS2) system, the Super Smart Card
system technology and related system technologies for Asia, Africa and
the US, which e-Smart believes to be the world's first smartcard of its
kind with an on-card sensor and a full match on-card system and other
unique technologies for secure biometric ID verification. e-Smart's next
generation technologies allow governments, public and private institutions,
healthcare providers and insurers, companies large and small, to provide
a superior level of protection. The Super Smart Card system technology
and BVS2 security system can secure countries from criminal and terrorist
threats, stop ID and payment fraud, along with identity theft in connection
with physical and logical access and financial transactions, including
telephone, Internet payment and other financial and data related transactions
all while protecting individual privacy.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
Statements in this news release that relate to future plans, financial
results or projections, events or performance are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. While
these statements are made to convey to the public the Company's progress,
business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that
such forward-looking statements represent the management's opinion. While
management believes such representations to be true and accurate based
on information available to the Company at this time, actual results may
differ materially from those described.
For more information about e-Smart® Technologies, please visit http://www.e-smart.com
or contact Media Relations at 703-768-7477 or media@e-smart.com
SOURCE e-Smart® Technologies, Inc.
© 2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
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