From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1994:
MAJOR RATITE BANKRUPTCY IN FLORIDA
The collapse of the ratite speculation boom pre-
dicted in the January/February ANIMAL PEOPLE cover fea-
ture may have begun with the mid-January bankruptcy of U.S.
Ostrich and Junction Financial Corporation, of Hallandale,
Florida. The related firms claimed assets of $933,000, includ-
ing ostriches bought for $381,000, while owing $3.9 million to
1,350 investors in 47 states, Canada, and Jamaica. One
investor reportedly lost $274,000. The Securities Exchange
Corporation responded by suing U.S. Ostrich and Junction
Financial principals Marcia Josowitz and Stephen Tashman for
allegedly selling more than $3 million in unregistered securities
in the form of investment contracts, billed as general partner-
ships. The SEC also charged Josowitz and Tashman with
draining corporate funds to make loans to themselves and pay
themselves inflated salaries. Josowitz and Tashman apparently
got into ostriches after promoting a 900 telephone number ser-
vice, office supplies, vacation travel, and water purifiers.
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