The SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office filed charges Tuesday claiming that Houston businessman Verley Lee Sembritzky, Jr. and two of his companies – Bounty of the Ocean and Ocean Harvest – violated federal securities laws by operating a fraudulent investment scheme involving a purported Kenyan desalination plant investment project.
A Former Justice Pursues Her Continued Passion: Access To Justice
As a justice on the Texas Supreme Court Deborah Hankinson helped create the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. Although no longer on the court, she is now board chair of the foundation she helped create.
DBJ: DOJ Scrutiny into Match Group Has Ended After Nearly a Year, Filing Shows
The Dallas-based company received a grand jury subpoena from the DOJ last year for documents relating to certain marketing-related claims in a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission against the company.
D.C. Circuit Limits FERC from Automatically Extending its Rehearing Process
The federal court of appeals ruled that the Natural Gas Act does not allow FERC to issue “tolling orders” solely for preventing its 30-day deadline for rehearing requests from expiring. The decision will have broad impacts across the natural gas and power sectors and it is already impacting rehearing requests under the FPA.
Doctor Sentenced to 66 Months in Forest Park Med Center Fraud
Richard Toussaint, a co-founder of Forest Park Medical Center, is already serving time in federal prison for a different fraud. Bruce Tomaso reports.
Houston Lawyer Sentenced to Two Years for Tax Evasion
A federal judge has ended the federal tax evasion case of Jack Stephen Pursley with a two-year sentence. He also ordered Pursley to pay nearly $2 million in restitution — an amount close to the current-day value of the Vail, Colo. vacation home the government said Pursley bought with repatriated funds during a trial last year. Natalie Posgate has the details of the sentencing and links to previous courtroom coverage.
Feds: Houston Entrepreneur Used PPP Money for Strippers, Lamborghini, Rolex
A Houston businessman fraudulently obtained $1.6 million from the Paycheck Protection Program on several luxury items, including a 2020 Ford F-350, and a few expensive nights at Houston area strip clubs, according to federal prosecutors in Houston.