2016
James Dean French of Kennedale was indicted Jan. 29 in Harris County State District Court on a charge of securities fraud in connection with the sale of fractionalized interests in an oil well drilling enterprise in Jones County called the Swede Church Development Project.
According to the indictment, French failed to disclose to investors in the Swede Church project that he used funds from investors in previous oil and gas projects to purchase a house and spend the money on other personal expenditures.
French allegedly misrepresented to Swede Church investors that their money would be used to drill two new wells in Jones County and extract oil from two existing wells.
French also failed to disclose to investors that the IRS had filed a lien against him in Tarrant County in the amount of $655,837.
French also did not tell Swede Church investors that his company, Morning Tower Ltd., was a party to civil litigation that could have an adverse effect on the Jones County project.