Brian Keith Hardwick—Oil and Gas Fraud

Brian Keith Hardwick Ordered to Pay $24.6 Million in Restitution to Customers Regarding Alleged Fraudulent Sales of Oil and Gas Ventures; FINRA Rules that Hardwick Engaged in a Pattern of Alleged Omissions and Misrepresentations

Brian Keith Hardwick, 43, CEO of River Securities, LLC and of Plano, Texas, has been ordered to pay $24.6 million in restitution to customers for fraudulent sales in five oil and gas joint ventures, according to FINRA Documents currently under review by attorneys Alan Rosca and James Booker.

Several Peiffer Rosca Wolf securities practice lawyers are investigating investment recovery options on behalf of investors in Hardwick’s alleged oil and gas scheme.

Investors who believe they may have lost money over Hardwick’s alleged oil and gas scheme are encouraged to contact attorneys Alan Rosca or James Booker with any useful information or for a free, no obligation discussion about their options.

Brian Hardwick also allegedly brought in $10.7 million in fees from customers who had invested funds in the purportedly risky oil and gas projects, according to the aforementioned FINRA Documents.

A FINRA hearing panel also ruled that the respondents in the case allegedly engaged in a pattern of misrepresentations and omissions that were spread out over nearly four years and involved sales in the risky joint ventures, FINRA notes.

What is more, said panel also dismissed allegations from FINRA’s Department of Enforcement that the firm sold interests in two of the joint venture offerings in violation of the general solicitation prohibition for the private placement of securities, one alleged misrepresentation charge, several alleged suitability violations by the firm, and additional suitability allegations against Hardwick, FINRA states.

Furthermore, the FINRA panel also found that Red River Securities and Hardwick made intentional and fraudulent misrepresentations and omitted material facts in connection with the sales of interests in oil and gas joint ventures issued by Regal Energy, LLC, a tight affiliate of Red River Securities, FINRA states.

Said oil and gas offerings, which were allegedly high-risk ventures, were purportedly misrepresented regarding the amount of income distributed to investors in other Regal Entity joint ventures, FINRA reports.

What is more, Hardwick also allegedly failed to disclose material conflicts of interest such as one of the wells being a so-called “wildcat,” which carried additional risk, FINRA notes.

Hardwick and Red River Securities also allegedly made material omissions regarding information about the sizable management fees that would be paid to the affiliated entity and also allegedly failed to disclose Hardwick’s participation in drafting an independent geologist’s report, according to FINRA.

The Peiffer Rosca Wolf securities lawyers are currently investigating Brian Keith Hardwick’s alleged oil and gas fraud.

Brian Keith Hardwick’s Joint Venture Purchase Ruled Unsuitable for Two Customers by a FINRA Hearing Panel

FINRA’s hearing panel also held that the aforementioned joint venture purchase was not suitable for two customers, according to the aforementioned FINRA Documents presently being examined by attorneys Alan Rosca and James Booker.

One of these customers was a 74-year-old, self-employed farmer and dog breeder who held a net worth of $2 million, liquidity of $20,000, and $150,000 in annual income, FINRA notes.

FINRA ruled that, given her state of liquidity and her self-employed/seasonal employment situation, that her investment of $94,754 in three risky oil and gas ventures in a period of a year, which represented well over half of her annual income, was not a suitable investment, FINRA Documents report.

The FINRA panel decision went so far as to label Red River Securities and Hardwick’s misconduct as “egregious” and made notes of several alleged aggravating factors, including the respondents’ “failure to develop and enforce a robust supervisory system” and “the extent of the respondents’ monetary gain”, FINRA states.

This also included $3.6 million in due diligence fees and commissions from the five offerings, money which was allegedly earned as owners of Regal Entities, and management fees, FINRA notes.

Investors received total distributions of less than $500,000 from the more than $25 million they invested in the five offerings, FINRA states.

Finally, the panel was also critical of the sales tactics which allegedly solicited more than $25 million in investments from 447 investors, FINRA notes.

Securities Lawyers Investigating

The Peiffer Rosca Wolf securities lawyers often represent investors who lose money as a result of alleged investment fraud and are currently investigating Brian Keith Hardwick’s alleged oil and gas fraud. They take most cases of this type on a contingency fee basis and advance the case costs, and only get paid for their fees and costs out of money they recover for their clients.

Investors who believe they lost money as a result of Brian Keith Hardwick ’s alleged oil and gas fraud may contact the securities lawyers at Peiffer Rosca Wolf, Alan Rosca or James Booker, for a free no-obligation evaluation of their recovery options, at 888-998-0520 or via e-mail at arosca@prwlegal.com or jbooker@prwlegal.com.

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