Robert Zickefoose Indicted in Colorado Oil and Gas Fraud
On July 15, 2013, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced that a grand jury had indicted Robert Zickefoose on seven counts of securities fraud. Zickefoose is the owner and president of Zickefoose Reserves, LLC, a purported gas and oil company located in Colorado Springs. The indictment alleges he was offering unregistered investments in oil and gas. The scheme was uncovered by the Colorado Division of Securities.
Zickefoose and his company solicited potential investors to invest in “working interests” in two oil and gas wells called Ruby #1 and Ruby #2. Supposedly the “working interests” would entitle buyers to profits from the wells’ production.
Unfortunately for victims of the scam, Zickefoose did not own the interests he offered to convey. In reality, he was running a Ponzi scheme.
Zickefoose relieved his investors of more than $650,000, and used most of the money for his own personal expenses, cash withdrawals, payments to employees, and to repay early buyers who wanted out.
Zickefoose and the employees who helped him make cold calls were not registered to sell securities in Colorado.
“Investors lost more than $650,000 in the course of this fraud,” alleged Suthers. “Thanks to the watchful eye of the Colorado Division of Securities, we have exposed, arrested and will now prosecute the actions of Robert Allen Zickefoose.”
The case will be prosecuted by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office with the help of the Colorado Division of Securities. Zickefoose faces up to 12 years in prison for each of the seven counts of which he stands accused.
For further information about ponzi schemes, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected]. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton and Associates Law Group, P.A. and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
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