2011
Fred Howard was indicted Nov. 1 in U.S. District Court in Dallas for federal securities fraud.
Howard, a Florida resident at the time of the alleged crime, sold partnership interests in Secured Capital Trust Ltd. of Florida.
According to the indictment, Howard bought shares in the now-delisted Interfinancial Holdings Corp. on behalf of SCT without disclosing he owned millions of shares in the company and thus had a strong motive to boost the value of the stock.
Howard also repeatedly bought Interfinancial shares at the direction of people in Dallas, who paid Howard kickbacks in the form of "rebates."Howard did not pass on the rebates to investors, the indictment states.
An enforcement attorney with the Texas State Securities Board is serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in case.