I would suggest everyone thinking about investing in the oil industry read the complaint. The SEC claims Faulkner et al engaged in every common oil scam I can think of. There was a variation of selling more than 100% of a well that I had not seen before.
After you read it once, go back, read it again and think about what you would have to know in order to detect the fraud. If you are widely experienced in the oil business the suspicious circumstances are obvious. If you are a layman, it might be difficult to spot them.
I never saw any of promotional material or deal descriptions, but what the SEC describes is definitely not standard for the industry, a real big red flag, but only if you know what is standard.
