The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced this week that Christopher Faulkner, a Texas businessman, will pay $23.8M to settle oil and gas charges involving an alleged over $80M securities scam that bilked hundreds of investors. Faulkner, who called himself the “Frack Master” and claimed to be an expert in…
Thomas J. Caufield, an investment advisor and the owner of and a Dallas-based investment education franchise, is now barred by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator recently charged Caufield with investor fraud, accusing him of lying to over 30 investors in a $6.8M offering fraud. According to the SEC,…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred Wells Fargo (WFC) broker Edward O. Daniel, after he failed to participate in a probe into allegations that he made unsuitable investments for one client. Daniel, a Texas-based broker, was with Wells Fargo Advisers for seven years before he stepped down in…
Investors who placed their funds in the Texas-based United Development Funding IV real estate investment trust are asking a federal judge to approve a $13.5M REIT fraud settlement they’d reached with the company over the allegations that it had been run like a Ponzi-like scam and concealed this. The plaintiffs…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed senior investor fraud-related charges against Houston pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church and financial planner Gregory Alan Smith. The regulator is accusing them of defrauding older investors of over $1M through the sale of pre-Revolutionary Chinese bond interests.…
Valor Capital Asset Management LLC and its owner, Texas-based investment adviser Robert Mark Magee, have settled US Securities and Exchange Commission charges accusing them of defrauding investors by engaging in cherry picking. As part of the settlement, Magee is banned from the securities industry and will pay over $715K. The…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Ameratex Energy, Inc., Lewis Oil Company, Lewis Oil Corp., their CEO Thomas Lewis, and ex-Ameratex President William Fort over their alleged involvement in an $11.7M Texas oil and gas offering fraud. The companies are based in Plano, Texas. According…
State Regulator Orders Cessation of $4M Oil and Gas Offering In an Emergency Cease and Desist Order, the Texas Securities Commissioner has ordered Parker R. Hallam and Jason A. Gilbert, two Dallas residents, to stop their efforts to raise $4.4M in an oil and gas offering. The two men are…
Beaumont, TX Investment Adviser is Suspended for 90 Days In a Disciplinary Order, the Texas State Securities Board suspended former LPL Financial LLC (LPLA) investment adviser Jason N. Anderson for 90 days. The state contends that while registered with that firm, Anderson touted an active-trading program to clients that charged…
The SEC has put a stop to Dallas-based AriseBank’s initial coin offering. The regulator contends that AriseBank, which touts itself as the first “decentralized bank” in the world, and its principals are committing Texas financial fraud, and they’ve targeted retail investors, including Texas investors, in an effort to raise hundreds…