News Releases

A fraudulent notice that falsely claims to be from the Texas State Securities Board is telling people they can receive partial refunds of their investment in BitConnect, an overseas cryptocurrency company, by completing a refund form and submitting a $250 fee. "This false page is an attempt to...

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered an emergency action Nov. 27 to stop an investment offering by a cryptocurrency promoter who previously sold a digital currency that lost 99% of its value. The Emergency Cease and Desist Order alleges that Mark Steven Royer of Del Mar, Calif., is...

Phillip Michael Carter of Frisco was arrested Nov. 13 to face state fraud charges in connection with raising $17.5 million from nearly 100 Texas investors – many of them elderly – for real estate development projects in North Texas. Shelley Noel Carter, Phillip Carter’s wife, was charged with money...

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles has entered emergency actions against promoters of cryptocurrency mining investments who are aggressively recruiting sales agents through LinkedIn, Facebook, and other online marketing channels. The Securities Commissioner entered emergency cease and...

Brazos Securities Inc. of Dallas will pay a $20,000 fine to the State of Texas and pay $32,569 to a client who was charged excessive fees after being moved to an investment advisory account at the firm. The Disciplinary Order, which Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered Nov. 5...

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered a Disciplinary Order on Nov. 5 that levied a $25,000 fine on Trade-PMR Inc., a provider of brokerage and technology services, for failing to know that two investment advisers using its services were not registered to render investment advice in...

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) today released its annual enforcement report, which shows a reversal in a recent trend as more enforcement actions were taken in 2017 against unregistered individuals or firms than registered members of the securities industry. In its...

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles on Oct. 10 took emergency action against a financial firm that is promising investors of limited financial means that it can produce huge returns from investments in foreign currency trading, real estate, and oil and gas. The Securities Commissioner...

The following are summaries of administrative actions the Texas State Securities Board took from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2018: Sunlight Investments: Fine, Reprimand Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles levied a $15,000 fine against Sunlight Investments of Katy for rendering services as an...

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles took emergency action Sept. 18 to stop the fraudulent offerings of investments in three separate schemes involving cryptocurrencies. Commissioner Iles entered separate emergency cease and desist orders against Coins Miner Investment Ltd., a cryptocurrency...