SEC Charges Three with Fraud Related to Oil Drilling Promises

Posted on May 19th, 2020 at 3:23 PM

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a Complaint against Paul R. Montgomery, Jr., Michael D. Fisher and James H. Willingham, Jr. (collectively “Defendants”), alleging that Defendants committed fraud in connection with the sale of joint venture interests in two oil and gas projects.  According to the SEC, Defendants told investors that new oil and gas wells would be drilled and existing wells would be reworked as part of Navarro Phase I project and Seguin Development Phase II project. The SEC alleged that Defendants promised investors 32% returns on their investment. 

The SEC alleged that despite the representation to investors that eight new wells would be drilled, defendants failed to drill a single new well.  Furthermore, the SEC alleged that Defendants knew that title to the mineral rights for most of the proposed well sites were clouded and that the drilling would not be able to move forward at those sites. 

The Complaint states that between June 2016 and early 2017, Defendants received at least $2.7 million from approximately 15 investors. According to the SEC, investors suffered a 100% loss on their investment.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities FraudCompliance ProtectionBreach of Fiduciary DutyFINRA Matters, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: james eccleston, eccleston law, eccleston law llc, eccleston, sec, fraud, oil drilling

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