COMPANIES SUED IN NET FRAUD; SEC SAYS INVESTMENT FUNDS WASTED.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer

Federal officials rolled out their sequel to ``Risky Business'' on Wednesday, suing two Valley-based companies they claimed operated a fraudulent investment scheme via the Internet that cost investors $2 million.

The complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles seeks to halt the operations of Internet Casino Sports Gaming LLC and Internet Casino Sports Gaming Inc.

Also named were the companies' principals, Robert Matias, also know as Robert DuVall, 35, and Alan Lenchner, also known as Alan Lane, 62, both of Granada Hills, federal officials said.

Federal agents have frozen corporate and individual assets and seized about $250,000 in cash.

The government alleged that the men used money to be invested in a virtual online casino to pay salaries to family members and support a lavish lifestyle.

The action is part of a nationwide sweep of allegedly bogus entertainment-related scams in 40 states that cost unwary investors more than $100 million.

Internet Casino's phones were still working Wednesday but neither of the principals could be reached for comment.

Their attorney, Steven B. LeHat of Irvine, said he did not want to discuss the issue at length.

``Quite obviously their take on their operation is something that under the circumstances would not be the subject of a news report until we see what's coming down here,'' he said. ``We have not seen any claims the federal government has made so we are talking in a vacuum.''

The federal lawsuit is a civil action and claims that from April 1997 until now the two men and their companies raised about $2 million by selling shares to 152 investors nationwide.

But only about 10 percent of the money was used for the development and licensing of the Web site, said Lisa A. Gok, assistant regional director in the SEC's office of enforcement.

The balance was used to fund a boiler room from which the business was pitched, salaries for Matias' father- and mother-in-law and Lenchner's daughter, and automobile allowances, including a 1998 Mercedes-Benz sport-utility vehicle.

Gok said the men used the Internet to solicit potential investors, who then sent their money to a mail drop in Studio City.

She cautioned investors to read the SEC's Cyberspace Alert before sending money to any business being promoted via the Internet.

It is also available via the investor assistance and complaints links on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov.