Decision Strategies Fairfax International, LLC Opens New Offices in Los Angeles and Orange County.

LOS ANGELES and ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--

Explosive Client Demand for Top-Quality Compliance and Monitoring

Services Fuels Firm Growth, Staffed by Local Counsel

Decision Strategies Fairfax International, LLC (DSFX), the world's largest privately-owned investigative and security consulting firm, opened two new offices in Los Angeles and Orange County to meet clients' growing demand for services.

The Los Angeles office is headed by Philip H. Stern, Senior Managing Director and Counsel. W. Thomas Sears, Managing Director and Counsel, will direct the day-to-day operations of the Los Angeles office. John D. Jenkins, Managing Director and Counsel, will direct the Orange County office. Mr. Stern joins from the New York office of DSFX, and is an expert in healthcare fraud, security and corporate fraud issues. Messrs. Sears and Jenkins, both formerly with Kroll Associates, have each practiced law in Southern California for more than a decade and bring a wealth of federal and state prosecution, investigation and monitorship experience to the DSFX team. Already operating in San Francisco, DSFX now has a significant presence in California, and can assist the myriad industries in the state with their investigative and security consulting needs.

"California's booming fields such as biotech and pharmaceuticals will benefit from the expert counsel we provide, particularly in the areas of protecting intellectual property, monitoring and compliance. The legal community can turn to us from all areas of the state for due diligence needs, as well as civil and criminal litigation support. Moreover, there is a need for investigative and security assistance in the export-related businesses and the entertainment industry," said Michael J. Hershman, Chairman of DSFX. "Our three California locations will offer clients complementary services that reach across many industries, and our highly skilled staff will provide personalized, top-quality service."

Some of the services offered by DSFX's new offices include compliance and monitoring programs, anti-fraud and vendor screening programs, anti-money laundering programs, internal investigations, and criminal and civil litigation support. The Los Angeles office is located at 555 West 5th Street, 31st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013, telephone [phone]. The Orange County office is located at One Park Plaza, Suite 600, Irvine, CA 92614, telephone [phone].

PHIL STERN

Senior Managing Director and Counsel, Los Angeles Office

Prior to joining DSFX in Los Angeles, Mr. Stern was Managing Director and Counsel in the firm's New York office. Previously, he served as the Long Island Regional Director of the New York State Special Prosecutor's Office in charge of investigating and prosecuting fraud in the $10 billion Medicaid-supported health care delivery system. In addition, he served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. Mr. Stern has more than 19 years of federal, state and city government experience and has lectured extensively on corporate fraud issues, and has appeared on television, radio and in the print media as a commentator on fraud, anti-terrorism and security topics.

Mr. Stern is a graduate of Alfred University and of the New York University School of Law. He gained valuable investigative and trial experience from 1975 to 1988 as Deputy Director in the New York State Attorney General's Office. Prior to joining the Special Prosecutor's Office in 1975, Mr. Stern served as Administrative Assistant to the Commissioner of the New York Department of Investigation, where he directed major investigations and prosecutions of white-collar corruption in city, state, and federal government programs.

W. THOMAS SEARS

Managing Director and Counsel, Los Angeles Office

Mr. Sears comes to DSFX from Kroll Associates, where, as Associate Managing Director and Regional Counsel, he conducted and coordinated corporate internal investigations involving fraud, adequacy of business controls and compliance programs, international due diligence, litigation support and asset searches for Fortune 500 companies and outside counsel.

Mr. Sears graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1976 and served in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he piloted Grumman EA-6 Intruder and Prowler electronic warfare aircraft. After leaving the Marine Corps, Mr. Sears earned an M.S. degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and joined Hughes Aircraft Company as an Engineering Program Manager. He then attended Stanford Law School, and upon graduation in 1988, joined the L.A. firm of Radcliff & West. He then joined Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, where he was responsible for all phases of litigation in defense of product liability, professional malpractice and construction defect lawsuits.

In 1994, Mr. Sears was named an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California. He specialized in the investigation of white-collar crimes, including contract fraud against U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, NASA and U.S. Customs Service, as well as mail and wire fraud, tax offenses and violations of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetics Act. His prosecutions included cases involving product dumping, substitution of counterfeits for certified systems in military aircraft, and false testing allegations against a Space Shuttle manufacturer.

JOHN D. JENKINS

Managing Director and Counsel, Orange County Office

Prior to joining DSFX, John Jenkins founded an Orange County office for Kroll Associates, where he conducted corporate due diligence reviews and background investigations of officers, directors and key employees of target companies and IPO candidates, and managed hostile takeover and corporate contest cases.

Mr. Jenkins has a legal background which includes one year with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton, LLP in 1992, and then service as a Deputy District Attorney in the Orange County District Attorney's Office from 1993-1996 where he prosecuted over 35 trials. He then practiced corporate securities law with Troop, Meisinger, Steuber & Pasich, LLP.

Mr. Jenkins received his J.D. in 1992 from the University of Southern California Law Center. He also received his B.A. from USC.

Decision Strategies Fairfax International (DSFX) provides discreet investigative, business intelligence, security and consulting services to corporations including financial and investment institutions, law firms and governments worldwide. In 16 U.S. and international offices, DSFX provides services such as civil and criminal litigation support, background/due diligence investigations, intellectual property protection, compliance and monitoring programs, and fraud and corruption risk management. The DSFX staff includes former federal and state prosecutors, and senior members of law enforcement and security agencies such as the FBI. This multidisciplinary staff also includes experts in forensic accounting, banking services, technology, and crisis management. For more information, please refer to the firm's Web site at http://www.dsfx.com or call 1-888-2-DECIDE.