Oakridge Global Energy Solutions Inc. (fka OGES)

[Renee]

OGES registration revoked:

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/opinions/2019/34-87008.pdf

[roger wilco]

Finra H10 trading halt... it's all over now.

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/suspensions/2018/34-84302-o.pdf

[Renee]

OGES SEC Suspension for severely delinquent Financials/Filings:

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/suspensions/2018/34-84302.pdf

Order:

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/suspensions/2018/34-84302-o.pdf

Admin. Proceeding:

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2018/34-84301.pdf

[BatteryInvestor]

Hahaha. Good try but WRONG. I am not Lee Arrowood. I am someone who spent quite bit of time speaking to the new crew that came in May 2016. They have quite a tale to tell. As far as Arrowood, I never even met the guy. The May 2016 crew never interacted with him so would have nothing to say about him.

If you read my posts carefully, you will notice that I never refer to events that happened while Arrowood was there. I never defend him. Why would you think I am him?

Whatever opinion or infatuation you have for Melling, talk to the people who were there in the summer of 2016. They will describe his behavior the same way as I did . He was a liar, telling easily provable falsehoods to potential investors. He had an exaggerated opinion of his expertise, knowing nothing about lithium ion, and he was the Barber's henchman. He helped hurt a lot of people.

Maybe you were there only while he was putting out a good impression and were never in the meetings and business dinners that have been described to me in detail.

Look up the press release of May 2016 that has the names of the new management team. Contact these people on likedin and ask them what they think of Melling. Contact the General and ask him what he thought of Melling and the Barbers.

If you were at Oakridge, you have every right to be pissed off at Lee Arrowood, but to worship Brendan Melling means that you were not present when the most important meetings and events took place in the summer of 2016.

[Technology Mogal]

More on Brendan Melling: please read the below copied from the SEC.

It is clear that BatteryInvestor is LEE ARROWOOD. Kama is a bitch! I always found you to be a pig of a man. Your wife is no better, shelf packer to HR Manager, corruption runs in your veins. For the year that I worked for you were the worse, with your A "Rent a Management crowd". Your no good as an investigator, 6 other employees have contacted me. Even they could figure out who I am.

You're pathetic attempt to have a go at the only manager besides the directors / Engineers who gave a dam for this company. I can't wait to read your second book, I'm sure it all the engineer's fault you can't put a battery in a remote. Now, do you remember who I am.... Your investigation skills are as useless as your battery manufacturing ability.

On a personal note, I am glad that the Barbers can't return to the US.

************SEC Charges Officers of Florida Battery Company with Securities Fraud***********

Litigation Release No. 24207 / July 19, 2018

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Steven J. Barber and Larry Lee Arrowood, Civil Action No. 6:18-CV-01155 (M.D. Fla.)(Filed July 18, 2018)

On July 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against two officers of Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc., a now defunct Florida-based company that purported to develop and manufacture lithium batteries, for issuing false and misleading press releases to the public.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Orlando, Florida, alleges that Oakridge CEO, Stephen J. Barber, made false and misleading statements in six press releases issued to the public between September 2015 and March 2016 concerning Oakridge and its product and business operations, and that former president, Lee Larry Arrowood, substantially assisted Barber with drafting those press releases while knowing they contained false information. According to the SEC's complaint, Barber and Arrowood issued press releases falsely claiming that Oakridge had signed agreements to supply its battery systems to two other companies, Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc. and Freedom Motors, LLC. In truth, Oakridge had only provided test batteries to those companies for their consideration for possible future orders. The defendants also, among other things, misrepresented that Oakridge had received $250,000 in "immediate booked orders" and more than $20 million in "follow on commitments" for its "state-of-the-art" lithium golf cart batteries, and had "existing pipeline orders" of $24 million for its batteries.

The SEC's complaint alleges that Barber and Arrowood violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, officer-and-director bars, and civil penalties against them.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Arrowood has consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5, barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and ordering him to pay a civil penalty of $50,000.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Brian T. James and Kathleen Strandell in the Miami Regional Office, and supervised by Chedly C. Dumornay. The litigation against Barber will be led by Christopher E. Martin.

[BatteryInvestor]

Something good from SEC charges.

Agreed that the investors and employees will not gain anything from the SEC action and it is a shame that this is a civil, rather than criminal case. However there are benefits from this. First, the Barbers are unlikely to ever come back to America and victimize anyone else. They could be barred from ever being officers of a publicly traded company in the USA and could even lose their green cards. Permanent residency , i. e. having a green card, is a temporary status that can be revoked if a person is not of good moral character and engages in illegal behavior.

The second benefit is that the Chinese government in Hong Kong will easily find out about this if they ever do even a basic internet search about Steve Barber. He will be flagged as a crook forever. He may even end up in a Chinese prison one day. Karma is a bitch!

[lucky, mydog]

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Arrowood has consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5, barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and ordering him to pay a civil penalty of $50,000.

that will likely be it.

[1flaguy]

That’s awesome but what will happen probably nothing... jail... pay back investors that lost... not. Who knows

[lucky, mydog]

SEC Charges Officers of Florida Battery Company with Securities Fraud

SEC Complaint
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2018/comp24207.pdf

Litigation Release No. 24207 / July 19, 2018
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Steven J. Barber and Larry Lee Arrowood, Civil Action No. 6:18-CV-01155 (M.D. Fla.)(Filed July 18, 2018)
On July 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against two officers of Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc., a now defunct Florida-based company that purported to develop and manufacture lithium batteries, for issuing false and misleading press releases to the public.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Orlando, Florida, alleges that Oakridge CEO, Stephen J. Barber, made false and misleading statements in six press releases issued to the public between September 2015 and March 2016 concerning Oakridge and its product and business operations, and that former president, Lee Larry Arrowood, substantially assisted Barber with drafting those press releases while knowing they contained false information. According to the SEC's complaint, Barber and Arrowood issued press releases falsely claiming that Oakridge had signed agreements to supply its battery systems to two other companies, Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc. and Freedom Motors, LLC. In truth, Oakridge had only provided test batteries to those companies for their consideration for possible future orders. The defendants also, among other things, misrepresented that Oakridge had received $250,000 in "immediate booked orders" and more than $20 million in "follow on commitments" for its "state-of-the-art" lithium golf cart batteries, and had "existing pipeline orders" of $24 million for its batteries.

The SEC's complaint alleges that Barber and Arrowood violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, officer-and-director bars, and civil penalties against them.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Arrowood has consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5, barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and ordering him to pay a civil penalty of $50,000.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Brian T. James and Kathleen Strandell in the Miami Regional Office, and supervised by Chedly C. Dumornay. The litigation against Barber will be led by Christopher E. Martin.

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2018/lr24207.htm

[elkonig]

SEC charges today against Barber and Arrowood.

[BatteryInvestor]

More on Brendan Melling!

I've done some checking on the claims by the poster who calls himself Technology Mogal about he supposed extraordinary job done by Brendan Melling at Oakridge in 2016. This poster has made some serious allegations against Lee Arrowood which led me to investigate further.

There are several allegations made by the poster that don't appear very convincing. First the claim that Brendan. Melling had a visa to work in the USA. That seems unlikely, as former employees will tell you that it was known by many that Brendan Melling did not have a Social Security card and number. The Barbers had to rent a car and a house for him because of that. Anyone who had a legal right to work in the US has a social security number issued for tax purposes, even for an short internship.

The second allegation in doubt is the claim that he was held in high regard by personnel of the US military. It is hard to believe that an Australian who had never been in the USA before 2016 would have had any contact with anyone in the active duty US military involved in battery procurement or technology. Employees mentioned a couple of former officers, now working in civilian life, that visited the plant and met with the staff at the Barber's invitation but they did not know Mr. Melling before their visit. These visitors declined to invest in Oakridge, one can guess that they were not overly impressed.

As far as the supposed battery knowledge of Mr Melling, it is better illustrated by an encounter described by several of the employees. One day, a potential investor from California came to Oakridge. The staff put on a presentation of the products being developed, including a home storage unit meant to compete with Tesla's Powerwall. Brendan Melling made the surprising claim to that potential investor that the Oakridge design would hold more power because of the superior technology they used. Hearing this, two of the senior engineers (both held the title of Director) took out their calculators and did the math. They looked at each other knowingly, that claim was bogus!

Only two reasons can explain making a false statement that was easily verifiable. One is that Brendan Melling was so ignorant about lithium-ion batteries that he did not understand the difference between the cells used by Tesla and the ones Oakridge planned to use. The second is that he lied on purpose to convince a visitor to invest in Oakridge. If it is the first reason, then he was clearly incompetent, in the case of the second, he was guilty of attenpting criminal fraud.

I have spoken to many members of the staff at the time and find it unlikely that a former employee wrote that post. The claim that Brendan Melling inspired him "to be a better person" is so over the top that I believe Mr. Melling is the poster, tooting his own horn. The employees do not describe him in such high regard. They had to watch what they said in front of Mr. Melling, knowing that it would go straight to the Barbers. He was the one who told people that they were fired and escorted them out because Steve Barber is a coward who can't fire employees himself.

Mr. Melling was dealt a bad hand by being lured to Florida to be Director of Marketing and then having the responsibilities of GM dumped on him. However that does not excuse the fact that he helped the Barbers hurt a lot of people in Florida and investors nationwide. If one is handed responsibilities he can't handle competently, the honorable thing to do is resign.

[BatteryInvestor]

Thank you for your input. I admit to not having followed the company before the Barbers took control, so I can't speak to what happened when Lee Arrowood ran the place. Question: if Lee Arrowood stole from the company, how come no lawsuit or criminal complaint ever came about? Is there evidence of any?

I have spoken to many people who were there when Brendan Melling was the General Manager and their opinion is not quite the same as yours.

Brendan Melling was reputed to have knowledge of the lead batteries but is not trained as an engineer nor did he ever work in a battery manufacturing facility. He also had a very limited knowledge of lithium ion cells, which is a drawback when leading a lithium ion shop. Managing a lead acid battery retail outfit does not train a person to know everything. The best example I was given was his ridiculous idea for a battery with a hole in it for cooling, which displayed a total lack of lithium iron phosphate cell technology. No one makes batteries like that.

In addition, as an Australian, Brendan Melling had no knowledge of American employment laws. For example, when employees were let go, none were offered the chance to continue their health insurance coverage through COBRA. Considering that this is required BY LAW, failure to do so is a major violation.

I know of one former employee who fell gravely ill and ended up in the hospital without coverage because of Brendan Melling's failure to obey US employment law. The person wrote several times to the company requesting the COBRA paperwork but was ignored. This is specially despicable since allowing an employee to continue coverage would have cost the company nothing. This was Melling's responsibility and he failed to fulfill his obligation. The company would have been sued if it had not shut down.

He may have been well meaning and dedicated, but others were hurt by his lack of experience.

[Technology Mogal]

Now I have been reading all this innuendo on Oakridge, and as one of the employees, I would like to set a few things straight. The Barbers did abandon the General Manager to deal with the mess, and Brendan Melling (General Manager) did an outstanding job. He dealt with media, upset staff and investors, on top of his normal duties He did have a visa to work in the country and was offered a Green card, as he has a high level of experience as a manager and battery knowledge (just ask any of the Engineers). I know as I saw his Resume. The one on Linked in is a cut-down version. So I am questioning your level of investigation, did you try and make contact with Brendan. Clearly not.

Brendan is in high regards with the Japanese companies, and Military personnel. When they visited the premise, often asked for him by name. His knowledge and ability to find solutions to unusual problems quickly impressed all.

Before I left, I spoke to the finance manager who informed me that Lee Arrowood, stole from the company and employed family that were never present at the facility and paid himself and his wife a wapping $360,000 while staff were staving with no pay. Yet, I see praise for the thief and belittling for the one person who did his best to keep the business going, in the hope that the Barbers would fix the finance.

Lee Arrowood was an ongoing joke. He would show up at 10:00 am and leave by 1:00 pm. He had no qualifications to support his position, unlike Brendan, Lee and his wife Michelle (HR Manager, who was an isle packer at a pharmacist prior) would rule with fear and intimidation.

Brendan's first action as General Manager was to track down a series of batteries that were made under Lee Arrowood's direction as they were faulty and had no BMS, using old MMC batteries that were not approved (Lee had acquired them from a friend). Brendan, taking Safety for the General Public and staff very seriously spent day's going through emails and dockets to track down every battery.

I feel sorry for Brendan, as the dedication and effort that he put in to improve the business in three months I was there, was better than the 18 months that I had endured under Lee Arrowood. I heard that Brendan left 6 months later and I wish him all the best, (I kept in contact with the staff that told me of how it ended) knowing that this was not his making. All staff understood the hardship that Brendan endured, but never got the better of him..

If you had spent 5 minutes with him, he inspired me and others to do better, and be a better person. His passion for his work and care for his staff I have not seen in an American Boss ever, As for the Barbers, I cant write that.

[emhaigh1]

Why the recent price increase in OGES? Where is Barber? What's happening? Don't hear much in the UK. Thanks.

[1flaguy]

Company? It's a shell now with nothing.

[mmeriwether]

IF This company gets funding the shorts will eat each other

[1flaguy]

lol yea a delisting.

[mmeriwether]

there may be something big coming

[BatteryInvestor]

Oakridge website is offline.

For those still keeping an eye on this train wreck of a company, I noticed today that the website is down. All the info on the site was false anyway. I guess the optimistic January update about a new investor was no more true than all the other press releases from Steve Barber!

Since this topic is ow pretty much finished, I will leave everyone with one story I was told by a former employee who had the misfortune of attending business dinners with the Barbers. Steve Barbers enjoyed having business dinners where he would "entertain" his guests with tales that always centered on how awesome the Barbers are and how much more accomplished than anyone they are.

The most telling stories involves Steve Barbers' driving expertise. He told several times the story of taking the driving test after coming to America and that the examiner stopped him mid-test and said " Mr Barber, you are the best driver I have ever seen, no need to finish the test". Does anyone believe that this actually happened?

Another story involves Barber going to a race car driving school as a young man. The school was run by a former champion that still managed a team. Barber told the story of being invited to test drive by that former champion who found him to be so talented that he offered Steve Barber a chance to drive for his team!

So the lesson of these stories is this. Be weary of investing in a company lead by someone who has an enormous ego not matched by his actual management skills.

[observer21]

Train wreck
When I go to.......
https://oakridgeglobalenergy.com/
my Avast malware detection software says a threat has been detected coming from their website.
They only have one picture of one product. None of the other products are pictured. An employee reporting on the website Glassdoor says there are no products being produced.

http://www.wftv.com/news/local/palm-bay-company-fails-to-pay-employees-despite-tax-incentive-offer-from-state/479797479

https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Oakridge-Global-Energy-Solutions-EI_IE1335858.11,43.htm

[BatteryInvestor]

BEST Magazine reports on Oakridge.

Battery & Energy Storage Magazine, a UK-based magazine dedicated to the battery industry is reporting on Oakridge's failure to pay its employees. See www.bestmag.co.uk. BEST is an influential magazine, widely read among battery industry professionals and published in both English and Chinese.

While this report is not news to those who have been following this company, it means that the status of Oakridge will be known by investors and battery professionals worldwide. Steve Barber is not only a local failure in Florida but now an internationally known one.

If anyone wishes to see the Palm Bay Oakridge building advertised for rental/sale by the owner, you may see it at http://www.towerinv.com/index.php/property?propertyID=186

[Lvannoy88]

i wasn't saying anything about you contacting them...or discussing them. I was posting that to show anyone out there that still thinks OGES is gonna produce anything. I had stock and lost 5K...im done with these thieves

[BatteryInvestor]

Thanks for the advice, but I do not own any stock of OGES. Any statement I made about Oakridge is truthful and accurate. It is lawful for me to contact Oakridge employees and get their stories.

[Lvannoy88]

https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/OGES/quote

I follow this site closely...and when they say "STOP" you should listen....

[bylosellhy]

Yes, the whole thing was strange. Very little of the OS is in the float. Will wait to see what Precept does and for any news from Hong Kong corporate.

[BatteryInvestor]

You may know something the rest of us don't but my understanding is that as a partner in the Precept Fund, Steve Barber is still CEO of Oakridge. Of course, the other partners may not be too pleased with that costly debacle at Oakridge and may replace him. Time will tell. If another CEO is hired and Precept or others are willing to invest significant capital in the organization, you are correct in that anything is possible.

However, if Oakridge wants to do business in the USA ever again, they will have to settle all the lawsuits brought against them by former employees and suppliers. And they will have to hire a whole new team of battery technologists, not an easy tasks for a company with such a bad reputation.

The key will be the capital investment required to staff a plant, purchase equipment and parts and build a distribution network. We are talking of tens of millions of dollars, even for something as simple as pack assembly. As a reference point, SAFT spent $200 millions to build their lithium ion battery factory in Jacksonville. It is rather large, 250,000 sq. ft , but it gives a good indication of the kind of capital required to play in this game. And this was just the cost of the factory, not R&D, marketing, distribution networks, supplier development etc. I would guess that $40,000,000 would be required to make serious attempt at relaunching Oakridge, maybe more.

Barber told people that he had the $25 million from the Leclanche sale and that Precept was willing to invest tens of millions more. That's how he got people to quit their jobs and move to Florida. Yet, the whole summer of 2016 was spent trying to raise money from investors, notably a former US Army general who was rumored to be tight with a Saudi prince, according to former employees.

According to the people who worked there, Steve Barber really did want to manufacture batteries but he overestimated his ability to raise funds, hired people before he was ready and used the team as props for his fund raising efforts. When he failed, the house of cards came crashing down.

[bylosellhy]

I agree, but believe Steve Barber may not have anything to doe with OGESDo not own shares in this company. Only on my radar to closely follow any future

[BatteryInvestor]

Steve Barber contact Info.

Looking online at some SEC filings, I came across Steve Barber's contact info in Australia. Anyone who wishes to communicate with this individual to express an opinion on the status of Oakridge can reach him at:

Precept Asset Management Limited
Attn. Steve Barber
Level 1, 16 O'Connell Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia
Email: [e-mail]
Tel. [phone]

[BatteryInvestor]

I read the January press release. I don't find any reason to believe that it is any more truthful than all the other previous releases that have been proven to be full of falsehoods.

If Steve Barber wishes to restart his company in Hong Kong or Japan, this means a completely new strategy from the "made-in-America" selling point he was peddling. Furthermore his business plan is hardly unique. He has no special proprietary technology and anyone can buy cells from Panasonic or SONY and assemble battery packs. There are already many competitors who are established and in production, how does he plan to dislodge them?

Why would anyone invest in a company led by someone known for making ambitious claims that never came true? What is his track record? Lawsuits from suppliers who never got paid. Employees cheated out of their salaries. Even their Florida law firm cut off ties with the Barbers.

Fleeing the country to escape their creditors is not what successful and honorable businessmen do.

[bylosellhy]

Everything is now being planned and executed from Hong Kong and Japan. Read the company January update in its entirety . Link below. https://oakridgeglobalenergy.com/oakridge-global-energy-solutions-inc-otcqb-oges-general-2017-status-update/

[BatteryInvestor]

Not shut down? Let's recap. No employees left, no engineers left, building padlocked. Power turned off by FPL. Being sued by multiple vendors.

This is a "company" that manufactures nothing hence sells nothing. How's that for DD!

[bylosellhy]

They haven't shut down. Do the DD and research to past NR.

[BatteryInvestor]

Who is buying Oakridge stock? I can't help notice that Oakridge stock has traded up from 5 cents to 9 cents. I can't help wondering who in their right mind buys stock in a shut down company with no engineers or workers? This may be the case of "chartists" who just look at the stock price without researching fundamentals but it still baffles me. Has anyone heard any good news about Oakridge?

[emhaigh1]

I found this on an Australian website and, whilst recognising it's dated December 2015, it shows the nothing was ever right with OGES. The BS is so transparent you can read straight through it. I know it doesn't help those of us who have been lied to and scalped but it proves the need for much deeper due diligence and wider publication of cautionary reports to enable private investors to make more informed decisions and regulatory bodies to scrutinise such companies much more closely before and after listing on a public stock exchange. The complete lack of reporting by OGES of the recent events and the lack of any investigation by the SEC of a delinquent company is a scandal matched only by the Barbers packing up and pi**ing of back to Oz with their funds and assets intact.

http://siteselection.com/onlineInsider/everything-ventured.cfm

Has anyone got any fresh news or legal opinion over the last couple of weeks?

Many thanks for all the other messages and good luck everyone. Eric.

[emhaigh1]

I found this on an Australian website and, whilst recognising it's dated December 2015, it shows the nothing was ever right with OGES. The BS is so transparent you can read straight through it. I know it doesn't help those of us who have been lied to and scalped but it proves the need for much deeper due diligence and wider publication of cautionary reports to enable private investors to make more informed decisions and regulatory bodies to scrutinise such companies much more closely before and after listing on a public stock exchange. The complete lack of reporting by OGES of the recent events and the lack of any investigation by the SEC of a delinquent company is a scandal matched only by the Barbers packing up and pi**ing of back to Oz with their funds and assets intact.

http://siteselection.com/onlineInsider/everything-ventured.cfm

Has anyone got any fresh news or legal opinion over the last couple of weeks?

Many thanks for all the other messages and good luck everyone. Eric.

[Hoosierfan]

Fortunately for me I did make a little from this penny stock unlike the majority I have been in especially AEMD. Though I did end up making a little on AEMD after holding for 10 yrs I missed the opportunity to grab over 40k profit on their pumped up Ebola cure of a very ill Dr in Germany.

At least with OGES I grabbed what I could without holding for very long and got the heck out of dodge when I started getting suspicious of their pumped up TV interviews without any follow up. They really put on a good show for a bit last summer and had me believing they really had a winning product in the ever popular lithium battery market and they also was pumping the school mentioned previously for a short stint. The school in itself didn't thrill me so much as a revenue source but I felt it gave the company some legitimacy just like the FDA approving AEMD as an emergency treatment for Ebola did concerning that company though it was another pump by James Joyce that wasn't exactly 100% truthful. He also claimed they sent a Hemopurifier to the Neb hospital that was an approved Ebola facility which he may or may not have actually sent one but it wasn't by request if he did.

Sorry for spewing some sour grapes but it amazes me how these firms get by with walking a fine line between spewing some truth and just outright lies. If most of us operated our own lives the way these people operate we would be tarred and feathered actually sued, fined or possibly jail time. I know before I retired and owned an insurance and securities firm we were so restricted in what was appropriate/ legal to say/present to clients and even our business cards, phone listings, advertising, ect... was heavily scrutunized and needed compliance approval.

[mdm92]

Yeah, that's probably right. All my info came from around the spring of 2016 and before. I got lucky on this one. Sold all my shares between .60 and 1.20 when another investment opportunity came around.

[BatteryInvestor]

I think we are discussing different eras. There were many phases to the Oakridge story. Once, they made cells and assembled actual products in the Sarno road facility. The actual quality of these products is unknown to me. But when the company was relocated to Palm Bay and Lee Arrowood and the initial team dismissed, Steve Barber changed his story.

From Spring 2016 forward, the sales pitch to employees and visiting investors was that Oakridge would design and assemble products made from cutting edge, latest generations cells from Japan. Barber claimed to have a unique pipeline to superior cells because of his business relationships there. Products were designed by the engineering team in 2016 that were all powered from Japanese lithium ion cells of common formats.

None of the new products designs that were shown to potential investors could be made from the small pouch cell making equipment in Palm Bay. So there was no plan to "modify" the existing equipment to make the new products, this could not be done.

The best proof of that is found in the press release where Barber claims to want to partner with a Florida University to turn the Palm Bay building into a Battery University. It is clear that he wanted to donate all the small format pouch cell making equipment to a university in exchange for them taking over the lease, thus freeing him to start from scratch in another building. I've been told that no Florida University was ever remotely interested.

[mdm92]

It could, but we don't know how it was actually used. I also thought I read another PR that said it was going to pay off old debt.

An acquaintance of mine used to be on the board. They had a good product, and they were betting on being able to modify the used equipment to create it. Obviously they were wrong. They would have made millions of dollars a year if they succeeded.

The only chance they have now is to find a way to get production going. It would take a very big foreign investor to dump 10s of millions of dollars into them for equipment. It's not likely to happen though at this point.

[BatteryInvestor]

The information I have comes from former Oakridge employees. They are easy to find on LinkedIn and many are eager to tell their story. It is not pretty.

Lee Arrowood tells people that he resigned but Steve Barber claims to have fired him and has blamed all the company's previous issues on him. I think it is quite possible that Mr. Arrowood was placed in a position where he had no choice but to resign.

I was surprised that the Leclanche shares did not bring enough capital to finance the company longer. However, that is assuming that all the proceeds of the sale went into the coffers of Oakridge, not to pay off other debts. Former employees describe the Barbers as being in non-stop fundraising mode all summer, despite the Leclanche sale, so I guess very little went for Oakridge.

Oakridge press releases did mention the Leclanche sale proceeds as going to fund Oakridge operations and growth.

This was the press release: "MELBOURNE, FL--(Marketwired - Jan 5, 2016) - Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. ( OTCQB : OGES ) is excited to announce that it has sold its entire interest, 11,000,000 shares, of European battery manufacturing company Leclanché (LECN), with financial close dated December 30, 2015. While details of this transaction are under non-disclosure with the buyer, Golden Partner Management SPC of Luxemburg, the purpose of the sale is to make available the necessary capital to fund Oakridge's previously announced expansion strategy."

People invested in Oakridge and others left jobs to take positions with Oakridge based on this press release stating that the sale would finance the company! If the funds went elsewhere, would this not constitute fraud?

[mdm92]

Sell it, and throw it into COHO. Do you DD on it. Should jump when EOY Fins hit.

[pourtimes]

Joining the party. I'm out $40K. Yes, this was a high risk, foolish investment. Biggest question: walk now with the $3K left of 55K shares...?
Fun times. Will stay tuned in. Just nice to see some discussion.

[Madmoney08]

I have been trying to point out red flags sice aug last year

I have been hoping to get people to engage in some objective dialogue about OGES for a long time, but all i got was unfettered optimism based on nothing but company claims and paid for advertising.

[Madmoney08]

It was reported Lee Arrowood left for family reasons. Is this a blatant lie?
His linkedin reports he's working again

The business appeared to be adequately financed after it sold off its stake in Leclanche, but seem to have squandered all that money.

You seem to have some inside information though. Steve Barber's background is so vague, a lot of boilerplate language but there is no mention of any specific achievements. Has he even run a company before?
Did he just waste family money or something?

[BatteryInvestor]

I agree that this company once had potential and blame the incompetent management of Steve Barber for the loss of Oakridge's share price. The worst mistake was the sacking of Lee Arrowood to be replaced by Brendan Melling as General Manager. Not only is Mr. Melling not an engineer by education or training, but he had no lithium-ion battery experience. I've been told that he was essentially a lead acid battery salesman back in Australia.

Furthermore this change in leadership was never communicated to the investing public. No press releases mention him being in the leadership role. Maybe because he was working here illegally, as was communicated by several former employees? And what happened to Phil Meeks, who was mentioned in the may 19, 2016 press release as president and CEO?

It is possible for a company to be profitable as a battery pack assembler, as Bren-Tronics does. However, it must be managed competently, be adequately financed at the beginning to survive until sales materialize and must attract and retain personnel with specialized technical skills. At Oakridge, Steve Barber failed to accomplish any of these tasks.

[mdm92]

This one had so much potential. I sort of know one of the guys who helped start up this company. He retired before everything went downhill. He had a few million shares. I hope he sold some of them when it was over $1. They had really good products. Horrible execution though. Sell this and put your money in COHO. There's a decent chance that one pops with financials this year. You might be able to make your money back on it. Good luck to everyone.

[mdm92]

Fortunately I got out with a small profit to try put my money in COHO. I'm glad that hasn't gone up yet. My plan was to make a profit on that and move it back to this one.

[Lvannoy88]

I too have written this off mentally as a theft of my investment....$5,000....SMH. Before I found this web page all I had to go off of was the BS messages and announcements they had made...I really thought there was a potential in OGES...good con artists. Dumped my remaining shares....

[emhaigh1]

Many thanks for the reply and extra detail. I wonder how the Japanese feel about this? They're usually noted for due diligence yet this one would seem to have caught them as well. And Precept? How much are they down? Where has the money gone???

It's clear to me that last years press releases were without substance. In particular, and given the scandalous situation that was both on-going at the time and without realistic prospect of resolution, this January's very positive sounding update was a pack of lies. Whilst the Disclaimer may get them off the regulatory hook it does not alter the fact that the update was premeditated and designed to deceive and defraud investors of the Company. That, under any jurisdiction, is criminal behaviour - an allegation borne out by the fact that the perpetrators have now fled the country and removed assets indirectly paid for by those investors in an attempt to escape full investigation and possible prosecution. What does Bill James have to say about it all?

If the SEC is powerless to protect investors and ensure those responsible for criminal actions are brought in front of the Courts then I wonder what the IRS could do? I understand their arms are long enough to reach around the world. So too are the arms of the Japanese business community who may have other ways of seeking recompense.

I have mentally written my investment off as stolen. I don't expect to see anything back from it but, depending on the small print in the various Japanese contracts regarding penalties for breach by OGES, there may be some value in the Patents - that is if OGES actually own them. Either way, if there's a share out at some point would you mind having a word with your lawyer and put me down for one of the HDs. Lol.

Many thank once again for your reply. I'll keep checking in. GL.

[BatteryInvestor]

All good questions. I've discussed this topic with my lawyer and the answer is that the Barber's personal assets can't be the target of any lawsuit involving Oakridge. In the US, one creates a company for just that purpose, to shield the investor's personal property from liabilities suffered by a corporation. If the management has broken any laws, there could be criminal prosecution of the officers of the company but it seems incompetence is not a crime.

As far as inventory, there is none. There was no production last year save a few golf cart battery prototypes. There is some cell making equipment, probably left behind in the padlocked building in Palm Bay or in storage. And the company claims to have a patent portfolio. I guess a bankruptcy judge will have to determine who gets what crumbs are left behind. Used battery making equipment sells at a deep discount at auction, I would not expect millions from Oakridge's stuff. The value of the patents is unknown.

Many would be interested to know if Steve Barber was the owner of the cars and HD motorcycles used by him or if they were company property. Employees tell me they were seen in a Dodge Charger Hellcat and a BMW. Several HD motorcycles were parked in the company garage.