News Releases

Texas Securities Commissioner John Morgan entered an Emergency Cease and Desist Order March 10 against a Texas oil and gas exploration company that claims it is the first company in the industry to accept Bitcoin from investors. Balanced Energy LLC of Southlake, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, and its...

The State Securities Board announces the release of its newly updated flagship publication, the Texas Investor Guide , which was written to provide investors with unbiased, straightforward information to help navigate an increasingly complex financial marketplace. Investors will also learn the tools...

In the wake of recent turmoil in the market for Bitcoins, Texas Securities Commissioner John Morgan today urged investors to consider investment risks associated with digital currencies. “Although digital currencies such as Bitcoin are often touted as a sophisticated, online alternative to...

Eddie Lacy Stivers III was sentenced to 85 years in state prison on Jan. 31 for engaging in the fraudulent sale of stock and promissory notes, with some sales to investors coming after Stivers was indicted in Hood County on those charges. In a separate case in Collin County State District Court...

At a recent State Securities Board investor education presentation, the first question from a member of the audience was, “What do you think of the Iraqi dinar?” The woman and her husband had purchased some dinar notes after a salesman assured them the dinar would skyrocket in value once the Iraqi...

Robert Joseph Mangiafico Jr., who stole more than half-a-million dollars from elderly women he convinced to buy annuities that never existed, was sentenced to 40 years in state prison on Sept. 18 after pleading guilty to charges of theft and money laundering . Judge Benjamin Smith of the 380th state...

Texas Securities Commissioner John Morgan on July 18 entered an Emergency Cease and Desist Order against Bruce A. Craig, an Austin "private money lender"who is touting his real estate-based investments as no-risk products that will "safely and securely yield 15-20 times what you can get in interest...

Texas Securities Commissioner John Morgan today announced a report documenting the successful completion of the transfer of mid-sized investment advisers (IAs) from federal to oversight by state regulators. In Texas, 243 advisers shifted to regulation by the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) in...

If you contribute to a 401(k) or other workplace retirement account, the balance you've built up is a tempting source of readily available cash. You can borrow from your account with favorable repayment terms. Under certain circumstances you can qualify for a hardship withdrawal. And when you switch...

Howard Glen Judah and Gregory F. Jablonski, the architects of a fraudulent life settlement corporation that attracted nearly $30 million from investors, today were each sentenced to serve 10 years in state prison for securities fraud and 10 years for sale of an unregistered security. The sentences...