Enforcement Actions Criminal Civil

In January 2021, Sarah Helen Hancock was i ndicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury. She stands accused of engaging in fraud while working as an investment adviser representative and misapplying fiduciary property belonging to more than 20 different clients. The crimes allegedly occurred pursuant to a...

On January 5, 2021, Bruce and Martha Pollock surrendered and appeared in Harris County District Court on felony charges of misapplication of fiduciary property and securing execution of a document by deception. The indictments allege that Bruce and Martha Pollock took $15,000.00 from an elderly...

Wilson Alejandro Montoya was arrested last week. He was previously indicted by a grand jury in Dallas County, but the charges were sealed pending his arrest. The indictments are now public. Montoya is charged with securities fraud, theft and money laundering. According to the securities fraud...

A Dallas County Grand Jury indicted Clifford Wiley McCrary for theft and securities fraud in connection with the sale of securities issued by HLV Master Fund, LLC. He was arrested on November 17, 2020. The indictments accuse McCrary of concealing his misuse of investor funds – using money from...

On November 10, Brian Keith Alfaro, from San Antonio, was sentenced to serve 121 months in federal prison. The sentence follows a jury finding him guilty of seven counts of mail fraud in connection with defrauding investors in an oil and gas investment scheme. The evidence showed Brian Alfaro used...

On September 25, 2020, Kenzley Ramos, from Lawrenceville, Georgia, was arrested and indicted for an investment scheme tied to COVID-19. Earlier this year, the Texas Securities Commissioner brought an action against Ramos, entering an Emergency Cease and Desist Order to protect Texans and stop the...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas State Securities Board joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and 29 other states in a complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas, against TMTE Inc. aka Metals.com, Chase Metals Inc., Chase Metals LLC, Barrick Capital Inc...

Robert Joseph Mangiafico Jr., from Dallas, Texas, was indicted for theft, securities fraud, securing execution of a document by deception and money laundering. The charges arise from the alleged fraudulent sale of investments in the Oklahoma Premier Trinity oil and gas well project. According to the...

On June 17, Tommie “Tom” Carter Jr., from central Texas, was arrested after being charged with securities fraud, theft, misapplication of fiduciary property and money laundering as part of a white-collar criminal investment scheme. Carter allegedly sold investments referred to as the Tom Carter...

On June 3, 2020, Richard Leal Ferguson was arrested on charges of securities fraud and theft. He was also arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was confined in the Cameron County Jail and his bond was set, collectively, at $700,000.00. Ferguson is already a convicted...