News Releases

Nov 8
2022

Securities Commissioner Stops Convicted Felon from Defrauding Texans

Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles filed an emergency cease and desist order that accused Adrian Lamont Gunn, a resident of Lubbock, from perpetrating an illegal securities scheme. According to the order, Gunn is a convicted white-collar criminal. Before perpetrating his recent scheme, Gunn...
Nov 3
2022

AUSTIN REAL ESTATE SCAMMER SENTENCED TO 40 YEARS IN PRISON

Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles announced that Tommie “Tom” Carter Jr, a 64-year-old resident of Austin, Texas, was convicted of first-degree securities fraud and sentenced to serve 40 years in prison . He was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $830,000 to victims. An investigation...
Oct 28
2022

Recent Texas State Securities Board Administrative Orders

The Texas Securities Commissioner, Travis J. Iles, recently entered several administrative orders. The orders touch on all agency programs – Enforcement, Registration, and Inspections & Compliance – and represent fair and measured regulatory outcomes designed to protect Texas investors and...
Oct 20
2022

Three State Securities Regulators File Enforcement Actions to Stop Sales of Fraudulent NFT Investments tied to the Metaverse

State securities regulators filed coordinated enforcement actions to stop sales of NFTs by an organization in the country of Georgia. The actions accuse Slotie NFT (“Slotie”) of illegally and fraudulently selling nonfungible tokens, often referred to as NFTs, to raise capital for online and...
Jun 7
2022

Investment – Overvalued and Up in Smoke: Securities Commissioner revokes investment adviser for fraudulent overvaluing scheme

Earlier today, Texas Securities Commissioner, Travis Iles, entered an order revoking the investment adviser registration of Swiftarc Capital, LLC (“Swiftarc Capital”), ordering the firm and its Managing Director, Siddarth Jawahar, to cease and desist from engaging in fraud. Since September 2019...
May 25
2022

Frisco Real Estate Developer Sentenced to Serve 45 Years In Prison, Pay $30 Million In Restitution For Fraudulent Investment Scheme

On May 24, 2022, Phillip Michael Carter was sentenced to serve 45 years in state prison by the 296th District Court of Collin County, Texas. The sentence was the result of recent convictions for perpetrating a real estate investment scheme that victimized more than 330 individuals, most of whom...
May 18
2022

Austin Man Sentenced for Hotel Investment Fraud Scheme

Today an Austin man was sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,052,366.92 in restitution for his role in a fraud scheme. According to court documents, from 2012 until June 2018, Jason Michael Schubert, 47, devised a scheme to bilk hotel investors out of millions of dollars...
May 11
2022

Texas Securities Commissioner Files Emergency Action to Stop Russian Scammers Perpetrating Metaverse Investment Fraud

Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles filed an Emergency Cease and Desist Order , in concert with other state securities regulators to stop a fraudulent metaverse investment scheme. The order accuses Flamingo Casino Club of illegally soliciting securitized nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, that...
May 11
2022

Five States File Enforcement Actions to Stop Russian Scammers Perpetrating Metaverse Investment Fraud

Five state securities regulators simultaneously filed enforcement actions against a Russian organization allegedly promoting fraudulent metaverse investments to residents of the United States.  The actions accuse Flamingo Casino Club of perpetrating the scam through the offer of nonfungible tokens, commonly referred to as NFTs, purportedly tied to a metaverse casino. 

Apr 13
2022

What Happens in The Metaverse Does Not Stay In The Metaverse Texas Securities Commissioner Stops Metaverse Casino Securities Scheme

Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered an Emergency Cease and Desist Order to stop a fraudulent investment scheme tied to metaverses. The order names Sand Vegas Casino Club, Martin Schwarzberger and Finn Ruben Warnke and accuses them of illegally offering NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, to...