Two investment promoters are accused of running an advance fee scheme from what they claimed was a Dallas-based investment advisory firm. According to an Emergency Cease and Desist Order entered by the Texas Securities Commission, the Mark Diaz and Raymond Hill offered to buy investors’ stock under the condition that…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Matthew Fox and his Wayne Energy LLC with securities fraud. The regulator brought its Texas securities case in federal district court in the city of Sherman. According to the Commission’s complaint, Fox raised about $950K for a joint venture that was supposedly…
Business partners Janniece Kaelin and Robert Allen Helms have pleaded guilty to bilking investors of up to $20M in a Texas-based Ponzi scam. The oil and gas financiers used the funds raised for energy ventures to cover their own expenses from 1/2010 to 12/2013. The US Securities and Exchange Commission…
FINRA Bars Registered Rep For $15M In Unauthorized Trades The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred Craig David Dima, a former registered representative with KC Ward Financial, for making about $15M in unsuitable and unauthorized trades in the account of a 73-year-old retiree. According to the self-regulatory organization, there were…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority hearing panel has expelled a Plano, Texas-based brokerage firm from the industry, barred its CEO, and ordered both of them to pay customers $24.6M in restitution. Red River Securities LLC and Brian Keith Hardwick are accused of engaging in fraudulent sales involving five oil and…
An investor who is retired and suffering from health issues is seeking $1M from Morgan Stanley (MS). The investor, a former inventor, claims that the broker-dealer did not properly supervise the financial adviser who handled his multi-million dollar account. He filed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claim and is accusing…
Texas-Based Brokerage Firm Accused of Inadequate Supervision Involving VA Exchanges The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering IMS Securities Inc. to pay a $100K fine. The Texas-based brokerage firm is accused of failures related to its monitoring of variable annuity exchanges. By settling, however, it is not denying or…
Sethi Petroleum Inc. and its founder Sameer P. Sethi are asking a federal judge to send the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud case against it to trial. Sethi Petroleum is based in Dallas, Texas. The regulator had sought summary judgment in the Texas lawsuit, which accuses Sethi Petroleum and…
A sharp drop in the stock of SandRidge Energy Inc. (SDOC) has led to catastrophic losses of more than $7 billion for investors. Just last week, SandRidge Energy shares traded down at 3.8%, dropping to $0.0654. More than 2.3 million shares of the stock were exchanged. According to DailyPolitical, SandRidge…
Texas Oil and Gas Ponzi Scam Leads to 13-Year Prison Term The owner of RHM Exploration has been sentenced to over 13 years months behind bars for a Texas oil and gas Ponzi scam that raised about $4.5M from investors. William Risinger must pay more than $3.7M to those whom…