SEC Charges Texas Entities Over Oil and Gas Fraud

Posted on January 19th, 2022 at 12:50 PM
SEC Charges Texas Entities Over Oil and Gas Fraud

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged The Heartland Group Ventures, Heartland Production and Recovery, six other Heartland-affiliated entities, four Heartland-affiliated individuals as well as several oil and gas operators. 

The SEC’s charges pertain to five fraudulent and unregistered oil and gas offerings. According to the complaint, the Heartland-affiliated entities fraudulently generated at least $122 million since October 2019 from nearly 700 investors through the five unregistered securities. The funds purportedly were raised to drill new oil wells in Texas. However, the Heartland-affiliates spent only around half of the investor funds on the oil and gas projects, which raised less than $500,000 in revenue, according to the SEC. 

By late 2019, the Heartland-affiliates utilized $26 million of investor funds to make Ponzi-style payments to earlier investors while the affiliates regularly misrepresented the status of the oil and gas projects. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has already issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) and asset freeze against the defendants and their entities. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, oil fraud, gas fraud, fraud

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

Allan and Adele

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

January 20, 2026
SEC Charges Three Advisors in Alleged Sale of Unregistered Oil and Gas Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged three advisors and agents with selling millions of dollars in unregistered oil and gas securities to retail investors while failing to disclose conflicts of interest.

January 19, 2026
FINRA Study Warns of Declining Investor Participation and Rising Fraud Risks Among Younger Investors

A new study from FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation highlights troubling shifts in retail investing, including shrinking participation, heavier reliance on social media for advice, and growing vulnerability to fraud.

January 16, 2026
SEC Signals Sweeping IPO Rule Changes to Ease Path for Smaller Companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to overhaul its public offering framework to make it easier for smaller companies to access the public markets, according to remarks SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered at the New York Stock Exchange, as reported by Bloomberg Law.