Enforcement Actions: Criminal & Civil

Ramiro Lugo Amaya of Corpus Christi was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for selling unregistered securities, but received a suspended sentence.

Amaya was placed on 10 years' probation and ordered to pay $157,345 in restitution.

The Order of Deferred Adjudication was...

Five executives and salesmen who worked for A&O Resource Management Ltd. , a Houston-based life settlement company, were sentenced to federal prison terms on July 22.

A&O stole at least $100 million from approximately 800 investors, many of them elderly. Investors thought they...

William June Fletcher Jr. of Plano was sentenced to 25 years in state prison on June 20 for stealing money from investors in his oil and gas scheme.

The sentence in Collin County state district court resulted from Fletcher's convictions on charges of theft and securities fraud.

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Kevin Dennis Hays of Euless on June 8 pleaded guilty to selling unregistered securities in connection with an investment scheme perpetrated by Mack Diamond Energy LLC of Hunt County.

The 196th state District Court in Hunt County placed Hays on community supervision for one year and...

Ray M. White was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on May 24 and ordered to pay $9.4 million in restitution.

White, a North Texas resident, had pleaded guilty to one count of commodities fraud in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

According to the...

Patricia Ann Noble on April 7 pleaded guilty to securities fraud for lying about the purchase of stock and stock options for investors in her firm, Noble Funds Asset Management of Denton.

The 362nd state District Court in Denton County deferred adjudication of Noble's guilt and ordered...

A Collin County grand jury on March 31 indicted Thomas Earl Grimshaw and Robert Joseph Mangiafico on charges of theft, money laundering, and engaging in organized criminal activity.

Grimshaw, of Frisco, and Mangiafico, who is currently detained in the Collin County jail, did business as...

Jack Russell Gilvin of Amarillo pleaded guilty March 30 to one charge of selling unregistered securities in connection with interests in oil and gas projects in Ohio.

The case was brought by the Potter County District Attorney's Office, based on an investigation by the State Securities...

Ronnie Gene Nichols Jr. pleaded guilty March 4 to a charge of theft for stealing money from investors who thought they were investing in a biodiesel plant in Hunt County.

A Collin County state district judge sentenced Nichols to eight years in state prison.

Nichols and other...

John J. Kim , a Maryland resident who was part of a Texas-based scam to sell supposedly high-yielding European notes, pleaded guilty Feb. 21 in Collin County state District Court to engaging in organized criminal activity.

Kim was sentenced to 10 years in state prison.

Kim was...

A U.S. District Court grand jury in San Antonio on Feb. 2 indicted Richard Morin on six counts of wire fraud related to a real estate investment scheme. The indictment was unsealed on March 8.

According to the indictment, Morin solicited investor funds for businesses that would purchase...

Wayne Anthony Rand , who orchestrated an extensive oil-and-gas scam, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on Jan. 24 after pleading guilty to a felony charge of theft. Rand was sentenced in Rockwall County state district court.

Rand raised approximately $8 million from dozens of...