WASHINGTON, August 30, 2017 - Three men face charges in a $15 million investment scheme in which the trio allegedly made false promises of high returns on oil drilling investment opportunities. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), David R. Greenlee and David A. Stewart Jr. recruited and controlled a network of salesmen who sold stakes in oil fracking extraction wells by promising investors 15 to 55 percent profits every year for decades. But Greenlee and Stewart were not registered to sell those investments. Instead, they used aliases in conversations with investors to hide their criminal records. Richard “Ric” P. Underwood allegedly aided the scam by drafting false offering brochures and overseeing telemarketers in nationwide solicitation. “As alleged in our complaint, misleading brochures and radio advertisements lured investors into believing they could strike it rich by investing in these oil drilling opportunities,” said Walter Jospin, director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. “Unbeknownst to the investors, most of their money was being used for other purposes.” The SEC seeks the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest and penalties as well as injunctions.
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