News Releases

Aug 5
2019

Lubbock Adviser Fined $40,000 for Failure to Supervise Accounts

Lubbock investment adviser Lowell & Company Inc. paid a $40,000 fine to the State of Texas for failing to supervise a representative who nearly wiped out the assets in two client accounts by holding onto an exchange-traded fund designed for short-term trading. Besides the fine, the Aug. 2...
Aug 2
2019

Australian Company Repaying Texas Investors Who Bought Crypto-Mining Contracts

An Australian company that guaranteed returns of up to 200% on investments in cryptocurrency mining is refunding money to Texas investors and admitting it illegally sold unregistered securities. Under the Order entered Aug. 2 by Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles, AWS Mining PTY , based in...
Jul 16
2019

UPDATED: How Securities Laws Apply to Opportunity Zone Investments

Update: On July 22 the North American Securities Administrators Association issued an Investor Advisory on Opportunity Zone Investments. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have issued a summary that explains the...
Jul 12
2019

Galveston Oilman Sentenced to 18 Years for Defrauding Investors

Daniel Christopher Walsh , a Galveston oilman who made money by keeping investor funds in his pockets – not in the ground, drilling wells –was sentenced to 18 years in state prison on July 12 after reaching a plea agreement in his fraud trial in Wichita County. Walsh pleaded guilty to money...
Jul 11
2019

Gusher of Debt: Texas Oilman Concealing Bankruptcies, Fraud, Sanctions

In soliciting Texans for investments in oil wells promising annualized returns of up to 70%, Michael E. Patman of Woodland Resources LLC is touting his decades of earning profits for investors through oil and gas drilling programs. Patman’s public record, however, shows a gusher of debt and a long...
Jul 10
2019

Clear Enough? Houston Adviser Fined for Violating Plain Language Rule

Grove Capital Management Inc . paid a $5,000 fine and has been ordered to improve its compliance procedures after failing for eight years to use a form designed to provide disclosures to clients in plain language. Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles on July 9 entered a Disciplinary Order...
Jul 8
2019

State Securities Regulators to Hold Annual Meeting Sept. 8-10 in Austin

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), marking 100 years of protecting investors, will hold its annual meeting Sept. 8-10 in Austin. Registration is now open for the meeting, which will bring together securities regulators from U.S. states, the District of Columbia...
Jul 1
2019

Metals.com to Offer Full Refunds to Texas Investors in Deal Likely to Exceed $10 Million

Metals.com , a firm accused of convincing older Texans to liquidate securities held with registered investment firms and use the proceeds to buy precious metals, has agreed to offer a full refund to 84 Texas investors. The amount of refunds will be made public once all investors have had the chance...
Jun 30
2019

Administrative Action Report Apr-June 2019

The following are summaries of administrative actions the Texas State Securities Board took from April 1 through June 30, 2019: FxBitGlobe: Emergency Cease and Desist Order Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered an Emergency Cease and Desist Order on April 9 to stop FxBitGlobe from...
Jun 28
2019

State Securities Board Starts Second Regulatory Sweep of Crypto Investments

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles on June 28 entered three emergency cease and desist orders against promoters of fraudulent cryptocurrency-related investments who are soliciting Texas residents through Facebook “work from home” forums. The orders stem from an initiative by the...