Enforcement Actions: Criminal & Civil

Michael K. Wallens Sr. of Spring was sentenced to four years and five months in federal prison for his role in raising $17 million from investors who thought they were putting their money into safe and secure promissory notes.

The sentence, issued Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court in...

David Boyer Prince , a former California attorney who ran two fraudulent investment funds, on Feb. 8 was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. He had been convicted on five counts of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

The government's sentencing memorandum details...

Alan Nelson and Mary Alice Monteza of San Antonio on Jan. 9 pleaded no contest to first-degree aggravated theft in Bexar County state District Court.

The pair raised about $850,000 from investors who thought their money was going into foreign high-yield investments. No investments were...

William Erik Byrne of Corpus Christi on Nov. 14 signed a Judicial Confession and Stipulation in the 117th state District Court in Nueces County, admitting he sold $389,000 in investment contracts and promissory notes without being registered to do so.

Byrne acted as an unregistered...

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Brothers sued brothers Rodney Wagner and Roger Wagner of Grand Prairie for operating a fraudulent foreign exchange (forex) Ponzi scheme.

The civil suit, filed Nov. 1 in U.S. District Court in Dallas, alleges the brothers raised $5.5...

Richard M. Plato of Baytown was indicted Oct. 26 in U.S. District Court in Houston on charges of mail and wire fraud and securities fraud.

Also charged were a business partner, Michael Derek Walker , and Tammy Renee Norris , described in the indictment as Plato's mistress.

Plato...

Carl Tinsley Ratner of Trophy Club, northwest of Dallas, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison on Sept. 28 after he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his sale of fraudulent oil and gas interests.

Ratner was one of five men indicted for their participation in Mack Diamond...

Donald Joseph Dean of Tyler pleaded guilty to selling unregistered securities on Aug. 3 and was placed on two years deferred adjudication.

Dean paid $90,000 to an investor in Mack Diamond Energy, a fraudulent energy company in Wolfe City.

Dean was one of five men indicted for...

John F. Langford of Amarillo on July 26 pleaded guilty to 15 counts of securities fraud and other charges and admitted his fraud cost investors more than $5 million.

Langford was indicted in 2009 for selling fraudulent and unregistered products such as "private annuities" and promissory...

Michael Rouse of Wellington, Fla., was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison on July 22 for his part in a fraud that raised at least $2 million for a phony real estate investment trust.

Rouse co-founded Golden Gate Real Estate Investment Trust and promised investors safe returns of...

Robbie Dale Walker of Dripping Springs was arrested June 29 on a charge of theft following an investigation by the Hays County Sheriff's Office, the Texas State Securities Board and the Secret Service.

Walker allegedly promised a 93-year-old Hays County woman that she would earn 15%...

Karen P. Bowie of Dallas was indicted June 9 in Collin County for her alleged role in the fraud perpetrated by Titan Wealth Management LLC of Plano.

Titan Wealth principal Thomas Lester Irby II is serving a 24-year state prison sentence after being convicted of money laundering....