In a second superseding indictment to an ongoing Texas securities fraud probe, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas has brought criminal charges again against several people accused in an alleged multimillion dollar pump-and-dump scam. This latest indictment expands on the original criminal charges, which involved Chimera…
Jay Bruce Heimburger, a Dallas man, has pleaded guilty to mail fraud over his involvement in a $6.4M investment scam that allegedly took place from about March 2011 to November 2013. He faces up to more than 20 years in prison, has to pay a $250K fine, and could be…
Lawrence Allan DeShetler is facing up to 20 years in prison for Texas investment adviser fraud. The Houston-based financial adviser pleaded guilty to mail fraud last month. DeShetler fraudulently obtained $1.9M from clients he worked for through DeShetler & Company Inc. Three years ago, he started recommending that they take…
Nearly a year after suing his former financial adviser for allegedly misappropriating $15M from him, Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden is now suing Ameriprise Financial (AMP) over his investment losses. In his Texas securities fraud case, McFadden claims that the firm was negligent in supervising Michael Vick. The broker…
In federal court in Sherman, TX, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an emergency action to halt a $22.7M mortgage investment scam involving Thurman P. Bryant, III and his Bryant United Capital Funding, Inc. According to the regulator’s complaint, Bryant and his firm raised about $22.7M from about…
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…
Financial Firm and Its CEO Settle Life Settlement Fraud Charges The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Verto Capital Management and its CEO William Schantz III have settled civil charges accusing them of running a Ponzi-like scam involving life settlements. As part of the settlement, Verto Capital and Schantz…
Grand Jury Indicts Texas Woman in $1M Ponzi Scam A federal grand jury has indicted Nemelee Liwanag Jiao on two wire fraud counts for allegedly running a Texas Ponzi scam that cost investors over $1M. At least 35 investors were bilked. According to the indictment, Jiao, a Texas resident, had…
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…