Bazarian, 19 others face suit is stock scheme.

OKLAHOMA CITY--The Oklahoma Department of Securities is suing 20 people, including convicted bank swindler Charles J. Bazarian, and six businesses to recover at least $2 million in illegal profits from an alleged scheme to manipulate the stock prices of two companies.

The suit, filed in Oklahoma state court, alleged that Mr. Bazarian, the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation manhunt, had sought to inflate the stock prices of Performance Nutrition Inc., a Dallas maker of health foods, and Remington Financial Group Inc., an Oklahoma City financial consulting firm.

Mr. Bazarian's son, Harry, 29, was among the other defendants.

A Shell Game

Irving Faught, administrator of the Oklahoma securities agency, said the defendants increased the asset value of related shell companies by transferring to them packages of loans from failed savings and loans.

Then, the defendants allegedly issued phony press releases and used other promotional tactics to inflate the stock prices.

Mr. Faught said Charles Bazarian personally controlled the companies' stocks and was "the mastermind" of the scheme.

Transactions Being Probed

An attorney for the elder Mr. Bazarian, Robert Montgomery, said he expects to "vigorously" contest the suit. Harry Bazarian declined to comment.

Federal authorities are also investigating the transactions. Mr. Montgomery said the Securities and Exchange Commission and a federal grand jury have been requesting documents and testimony from some of the defendants for several months.

Mr. Faught said his agency "worked closely" with the SEC and the Justice Department and said he expects "further civil actions" in the case by federal authorities.

Fled Federal Custody

The FBI has been looking for Charles Bazarian, 57, since Labor Day, when he did not return to federal custody after being freed for a day to attend his daughter's wedding.

He was being returned to prison for violating conditions of a parole he had been granted after serving 3 1/2 years in federal prison on charges of defrauding savings and loan institutions in Florida, California, and Oklahoma.

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