$62 million dollars intended to go towards Bakken man camps were raised illegally, according to a complaint filed by The Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC has frozen the assets of North Dakota Developments, LLC ("NDD") and its principles, claiming they defrauded over 980 investors from 66 different countries. Court documents accuse Robert L. Gavin and Daniel J. Hogan of raising the money to build Bakken housing projects that were never finished. The pair lured investors with promises of up to 42 percent returns in the first year. They also claimed that the NDD would jointly manage all of the units of the short-term housing facility with hotel-like amenities and that many would be operational within months.
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“The SEC alleges that, “despite the lack of profits, the Defendants made Ponzi-style payments to certain early investors by paying their “guaranteed” returns using funds provided by later investors. The SEC also alleges that instead of developing the projects as promised, the Defendants have misappropriated over $25 million of investor funds to pay undisclosed commissions to sales agents, make payments to Gavin and Hogan, make investments in unrelated Bakken area projects for Gavin’s and Hogan’s personal benefit, and to make the Ponzi-like payments.”
A court hearing has been scheduled for May 18, 2015, on the SEC's motion for a preliminary injunction.
Read more at sec.gov