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

The work that you and your team have performed on my behalf is exemplary.

JT

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 23, 2026
Drive Planning Founder Pleads Guilty to $380 Million Ponzi Scheme

Todd Burkhalter, founder and chief executive officer of Drive Planning LLC, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after admitting he orchestrated a $380 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 2,000 investors.

February 20, 2026
Edward Jones Expands Equity-Style Awards to Thousands More Advisors

Edward D. Jones & Co. has expanded eligibility for its “profits interest” award, extending the equity-style incentive to thousands more advisors, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing reviewed by AdvisorHub.

February 19, 2026
Wall Street Journal Analysis Questions Investor Gains Following DuPont's Decade-Long Breakup

A Wall Street Journal analysis has raised questions about investor returns following DuPont’s multi-year corporate restructuring, which divided the historic conglomerate into multiple independent companies.