A federal court in California yesterday issued a consent order settling charges brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a "commodity pool" fraud case against Barry Schotz of Kilauea.

The CFTC's complaint alleged that from about August 2003 to October 2004, Schotz fraudulently operated a commodity pool called the Bear Invest Fund.

The court found that Schotz fraudulently solicited and accepted about $5 million for the Bear pool from at least 51 participants, most of whom lived in the Los Angeles area, according to the CFTC.

The court further found that Schotz' trading with the Bear pool's funds consistently lost money, while Schotz falsely reported to pool participants that the pool was making money.

The court ordered Schotz to make restitution to customers totaling $2.9 million and to pay a civil penalty of $1.6 million.

Schotz agreed to the order without admitting or denying the allegations.

The complaint also alleged that an associate of Schotz', Randolph Gale of Hidden Hills, Calif., helped him solicit funds without being registered with the CFTC.

Gale also did not admit or deny allegations against him.

SMALL BUSINESSES FOCUS OF MEETING

The U.S. House Committee on Small Business will hold a field hearing in Honolulu today to review federal government services for Hawai'i small businesses and provide assistance to businesses seeking to land federal government contracts.

Small Business Committee chairman Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, will conduct the hearing from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Waikiki Beach Marriott.

The hearing will open with statements from Manzullo and Case, followed by two panel discussions.

NATION WORLD

WHIRLPOOL RAISES BID FOR MAYTAG

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For a second time, Whirlpool Corp. has sweetened the pot in a bid to purchase rival Maytag Corp., submitting a $20-per-share binding offer worth $1.62 billion plus assumed debt.

The bid, a $2-per-share premium to Whirlpool's latest offer, was presented one day before its deadline to make a firm proposal.

Both companies had agreed on the cutoff date.

Whirlpool, based in Benton Harbor, Mich., said it would pay half of the new purchase price in cash and half in stock.

The company would assume $977 million in debt as part of the deal, for a total transaction of $2.6 billion.