Lawsuit says scheme is meant to defraud investors
DENVER (AP) -- Colorado regulators are asking a judge to stop a company from calling people on the phone and allegedly offering securities in oil and gas wells.
In a lawsuit filed in Denver District Court Thursday, Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred J. Joseph alleges HEI Resources Inc., Heartland Energy Inc. and associated companies operate call centers in Colorado that solicit investments nationwide to drill wells in Texas, including some that fail to produce and are abandoned.
The suit says the companies aren't registered to sell securities in Colorado and the scheme is meant to defraud investors.
Mikel Bowers, Dallas-based attorney for HEI founder Charles Reed Cagle, says the allegations are baseless and the general partnerships offered by the company aren't securities.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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