William Veasey, founder of Texas based Petroforce Energy LLC, raised nearly $4 million in four allegedly fraudulent oil and gas offerings from approximately 80 investors. The Fort Worth SEC office investigated the dealings, and now both Veasey and Petroforce have agreed to settle an oil and gas fraud case.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Petroforce and Veasy provided investors with misleading and false statements regarding oil and gas investments, including paraffin issues at the drilling sites. These statements allegedly misrepresented information impacting an earlier offering. Veasy purportedly overstated the wells’ profitability, and understated expenses, including eliminating the ability of investors to take an IDC tax deduction in the first-year when Petroforce required investors to change their status from “venturer to limited partner.”

Also caught in the sites of the SEC were Petroforce sales agents, Javier Avarado of Austin, Texas, and Ivan Turrentine of Naples, Florida. Both were charged with acting as unregistered brokers in the oil and gas offering fraud. To determine if your broker is legally registered visit the SEC registered investment advisor site .

Petroforce and the three men settled with the SEC. Veasey will pay over $58,000 of disgorgement plus prejudgment interest and $90,000 in civil penalties. Petroforce will pay penalties of $150,000. Alvarado will pay $10,800 of disgorgement plus prejudgment interest.

Another of Veasey’s entities, Trustar Operating Company, was mentioned in the SEC complaint as the Texas drilling company. Click here to review more details in the SEC’s complaint.

By successfully litigating over 115 oil and gas fraud cases, our oil and gas litigation lawyers have earned their stripes. Clients from across the United States continue to collect from people who operate oil and gas investment scams.

For helpful investor tips to avoid oil and gas investment scams, review our blog.

If you do find yourself with questions regarding a potential oil and gas fraud matter, we are here to help.

 

Mark A. Alexander
5080 Spectrum, Suite 850E
Addison, Texas  75001
Ph: 972.544.6968
Fax: 972. 421.1500

E-Mail: mark@markalexanderlaw.com
www.oilandgasfraudlawyer.com
www.commerciallitigationtexas.com

 

Photo of Mark Alexander Mark Alexander

Mark Alexander is the principal of the Firm. In 1979, he earned his undergraduate degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and his law degree at Thomas M. Cooley, Lansing, Michigan, in 1985 (Academic Dean’s List).

Mr. Alexander is licensed…

Mark Alexander is the principal of the Firm. In 1979, he earned his undergraduate degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and his law degree at Thomas M. Cooley, Lansing, Michigan, in 1985 (Academic Dean’s List).

Mr. Alexander is licensed to practice law by the Supreme Courts of the States of Texas (1985) and Michigan (1988), and holds licenses before the following courts: Supreme Court of Texas; Supreme Court of Michigan; United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits; United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas; and the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. In addition he has been admitted in several other Federal and State Courts to represent Texas clients, who have been engaged in significant litigation in those jurisdictions.

Courts have appointed Mr. Alexander to serve as a receiver, and facilitator in complex litigation lawsuits. Additionally he has been a frequent lecturer for organizations on a variety of business law matters.  Mr. Alexander has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Business Law at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. Significantly, Mr. Alexander is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating an attorney can receive.

Additionally, due to the complex nature of its practice, the Firm has an on-going relationship with a legal group that provides litigation support services. This group is comprised of a team of attorneys, whose combined capabilities allow the group to provide nearly 24-hour coverage at crucial times for any case. This arrangement is but one example of the innovative, cutting-edge approach that the Firm provides to its clients in order to improve representation at reduced legal fees.