SEC Closes Climate Change Probe into ExxonMobil
(Aug. 3) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its two-year inquiry into ExxonMobil and how the oil giant factors climate change into the valuation of its corporate
TX Securities Board Leads Prosecution of Round Rock Real Estate Fraudster
A Nueces County jury took 15 minutes last week to find a Round Rock man guilty of real estate fraud. Yesterday, the judge in the case took even less time to sentence Everett Craig Williams to 20 years in state prison and pay $189,000 in restitution to investors in a fraudulent real estate program with victims in Nueces, Collin, and Harris counties.
SEC: Former ClubCorp Exec Admitted Insider Trading Violations
The SEC announced Thursday that it has settled its insider trading case against former ClubCorp Holdings Vice President Nelson “Frank” Molina. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
SEC: UDF & Execs Misled Investors, Falsified Public Records, Agree to Pay $8.2M in Penalties
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officially filed charges Tuesday against two prominent Grapevine-based real estate investment trusts and five of its senior executives for misleading investors about the financial health of one of its key funds.
KBR Pays $2.5M Penalty Settling 2013 Financial Overstatement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that Houston-based KBR employed insufficient financial controls and procedures that resulted in the global engineering and construction company overstating in publicly-filed documents
SEC Levies New Charges, Seeks Additional Penalties against Texas Energy Fund Execs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed new charges against seven executives of Grapevine-based Texas Energy Mutual involved in a $10 million oil and gas Ponzi scheme between 2013 and 2016 that defrauded hundreds of investors in several states.
SEC Charges Texas Coastal Energy, CEO with Fraud
Dallas-based Texas Coastal Energy Company and its CEO committed federal securities fraud by lying to investors and misappropriating $2.6 million of their money, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.
SEC Charges ‘Whale Whisperer’ with Securities Fraud
(June 4) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a musician and composer who designed sound systems at the ballparks for the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers with misleading financial investors and misusing $3.3 million for luxury Las Vegas hotels, designer clothing and large cash withdrawals at casino ATMs.
SEC Charges Paralegal with Municipal Securities Violations
The SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office announced Wednesday that it has charged and settled a case against an Edinburg paralegal-turned-registered municipal advisor accused of defrauding a South Texas school district involving multiple municipal bond offerings.
SEC Promotes Eric Werner in Agency’s Fort Worth Office
Werner has played a significant role in more than 100 SEC investigations and prosecutions, including the ongoing case against Breitling Energy CEO and self-proclaimed “Frack Master” Christopher Faulkner and the pending cryptocurrency fraud case against AriseBank.
SEC Charges So. TX Businessmen with Ponzi Fraud Targeting Elderly
Two South Texas businesses and their executives operated a pair of Ponzi schemes to raise $3.6 million from dozens of elderly investors as old as 101 and used a good portion of the money for personal reasons, including country club memberships, spa treatments, maid service and tithing to a church, according to federal charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SEC Charges North Texas Energy Firm, Execs with Securities Fraud
The SEC's Fort Worth office has charged Dallas-based Americrude and two of its executives with defrauding 17 investors out of $950,000 in an oil and gas offering scheme. The alleged scammers created a boiler room of sales employees who cold called potential investors, "using a combination of high-pressure and deceptive sales pitches and false and misleading offering materials." The Texas Lawbook has details.