Zeons Corporation (ZEON)

[MorningLightMountain]

SEC wins judgment against Rivera
Published 12:01am Sunday, July 24, 2011
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NATCHEZ — A federal judge ruled Thursday that would-be biofuels wizard John Rivera’s claims were not worth the hill of beans he claimed could be magically turned into fuel.

U.S. District Judge David Bramlette handed down a summary judgment against Rivera, affirming charges levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC’s case, filed in 2008, alleged that Rivera used false press releases and other false public statements to drive up interest — and stock price — in his company, U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp.

After the market manipulation was complete, the SEC said, the goal was for Rivera, his then companion, now wife, Alice M. Price and others to dump their insider shares of USSEC, reaping huge profits in what turned out to be a virtually worthless company.

The SEC says that Price sold more than 35 million combined shared in USSEC and Sustainable Power Corporation, another Rivera owned company.

USSEC was initially headquartered in Natchez in 2006, before later being moved to Baytown, Texas.

Rivera burst onto the Natchez scene in 2006 claiming ownership of a company that had patents to a revolutionary process to turn soybeans into biofuel.

His promises were on a grand scale. In 2006, Rivera claimed that his Adams County plans would include the possible hiring of up to 2,000 people and eventually produce 1.5 million gallons of the magical biofuel per day.

The flamboyant Rivera donated money to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office for protective vests in 2006. In return, a Santa-costumed Rivera was allowed to hitch a ride in the ACSO’s helicopter to drop in on a group of needy children at Christmas.

But the pinnacle of his showmanship occurred in November 2006 when he put on a sideshow routine allegedly powering the Vidalia City Hall with a generator, purportedly operating on the amazing elixir he’d managed to squeeze from soybeans.

The show was so impressive that it led to power contract negotiations between USSEC and the City of Vidalia. Rivera’s defense used the negotiations as evidence that his processes were commercially viable. The judge disagreed.

As part of the SEC’s request to the judge, Rivera may be barred from ever acting as a director or officer in a company having securities registered with the SEC. Further, he may be barred from ever participating in any “penny stock” offerings, such as the transactions involving USSEC.

Lastly, the ruling suggests that Rivera may be forced to pay back any of the money he earned illegally, interest earned on the money prior to the judgment and possible penalties for the actions.

The details of just how much he may be forced to pay will be decided at his next court appearance on Aug. 8 at the U.S. District Court in Natchez.

http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2011/07/24/sec-wins-judgment-against-rivera/

[MorningLightMountain]

What would Mama say? Rivera is lesson
Published 12:01am Wednesday, July 27, 2011
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Mama’s lessons never become irrelevant no matter how much the world changes.

And it’s likely that in 2006 when a bit of a mystery man rolled in to town touting his ability to almost magically make fuel from soybeans, more than a few local residents shook their heads and remembered Mama’s lesson.

“If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is,” Mama always said.

John Rivera sounded fishy to many folks as he paraded around town appearing at special events while opening shop at the Adams County port.

Suspicions were confirmed when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began looking into Rivera and his company and later alleged that Rivera used false press releases and other false public statements to drive up interest — and stock price — in his company, U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp.

Last week a judge ruled in favor of the SEC, closing the book on USSEC and John Rivera.

The details of just how much he may be forced to pay will be decided at his next court appearance on Aug. 8 at the U.S. District Court in Natchez.

It’s good to see that the system identified Rivera and fleshed him out as a crook.

Now, we’d all be wise to realize next time something too good to be true pops up in front of us that we’d better think about Mama’s lesson.

http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2011/07/27/what-would-mama-say-rivera-is-lesson/

[MorningLightMountain]

Remember the guy from CT that was pumping USSE/SSTP and threatening anyone who disagreed?

who could forget.......

[king oil]

There was an episode of American Greed on CNBC last night focused on the mob in NY/NJ and how they made lots of money in pump and dump penny stock schemes. Remember the guy from CT that was pumping USSE/SSTP and threatening anyone who disagreed?

[Knicc]

Criminal prosecution? I certainly hope so, he deserves it. He perpetrated a huge scam. Might be difficult given the missing hard drives and lack of paper records. Oh, and the 'fire and/or flood'. Testimony may do him in though. I hope they try him just for the pain it will cause him and those involved. And yet...some will still believe he really had something.

[scion]

A Wells Notice was almost certainly part of the process, but I don't recall seeing any disclosure of it.

Next step should be a criminal prosecution -

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=65470404

[Stock]

That took a long time. Did his problems start with a Wells Notice?

[blackbird]

Justice!!! Let's see what August 8 brings.

[scion]

SEC Wins Summary Judgment Against Biofuel Scammer

Jul. 22 2011 - 10:05 am | 33 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments
http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfisher/2011/07/22/sec-wins-summary-judgment-against-biofuel-scammer/

The long, strange career of would-be biofuels pioneer John H. Rivera came to an end yesterday when a federal judge in Mississippi granted the Securities and Exchange Commission a summary judgment against Rivera, barring him forever from the penny-stock business.

From the beginning, the facts behind SEC vs. Rivera were almost too good to be true — for a journalist. I came across Rivera when I was poking into the the profusion of green-energy scams in late 2006 that sprang up in first flowering of biofuels mania. Rivera was a small-time hustler who had a history of promoting tires-to-energy schemes, among other things. He saw his main chance arrive when biofuels became a national priority. Faster than you can say “unregistered stock,” he whipped together a publicly traded outfit called U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp.

You gotta give the man credit: He was committed to his version of reality. In an interview Rivera would have been smarter to have skipped, he tried to convince me his magical process could convert soybeans into biodiesel at a rate that defied the laws of physics and chemistry. When I told him I had already consulted the leading experts in the exact process he claimed to be using, and they said his numbers were nonsensical, Rivera simply told me the experts were wrong.

The SEC followed a year after my story with a lawsuit accusing Rivera of penny-stock fraud.

The recitation of facts shows just how much a determined scamster can get away with in the public markets, especially when the SEC only pursues a fraction of these cases. One SEC lawyer told me the agency simply can’t justify the expense of going after penny-stock swindlers, since even a clear-cut case like Rivera’s can occupy a trial lawyer’s time for months or even years.

In Rivera’s case, he told bold-faced lies about how he had souped up a centuries-old process called pyrolisis to produce millions of gallons of biodiesel. He also put out a press release saying he’d secured the backing of a major investment bank — false — and that he’d recruited a director named Dr. David Crow, who promptly ordered Rivera to retract the announcement when he found out about it.

The biggest mystery in the Rivera case is why it didn’t involve John Stanton, the Tampa penny-stock promoter who provided financial backing to Rivera and many other dicey operations. Stanton put out press releases promoting USSE and lent the company $3.3 million. When I got him on the phone, briefly, he explained he didn’t back Rivera’s USSE but another company that just happened to have the same name. He couldn’t explain the public company’s filings identifying him as a backer, and quickly ended the interview.

Stanton’s name isn’t mentioned in the Rivera summary judgment. Nor are the names of any of the shady brokers and intermediaries who allowed Rivera to sell millions of shares in USSE during its prime. Instead of focusing on whether a longtime hustler with a history of making grandiose statements about his scientific process could really defy the laws of physics and chemistry, the SEC should have spent its time figuring out who facilitated the sale of so much worthless stock on the open market.

The summary judgment says Rivera could be ordered to disgorge his profits from the scam and pay fines and pre-judgment interest at an Aug. 8 hearing. It would be interesting to know how much money others made on the spread between what Rivera got for his shares and what the suckers on the other end ultimately paid.

http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfisher/2011/07/22/sec-wins-summary-judgment-against-biofuel-scammer/

[blackbird]

I feel cetain that Rivera and Price will face justice and pay their dues, but will us shareholders recoup any of our losses? Maybe so, if there are enough tangible assets to auction off as with the case of Bernie Madoff.

[king oil]

Relief Defendant Price resides with Rivera and is his
caregiver. Price sold more than 35 million combined shares of USSE
(15,837,740 shares) and Sustainable Power Corporation (“SSTP”)2
(19,669,000 shares) and allegedly used the more than $2 million
proceeds to fund her lifestyle with Rivera and the activities of
USSE.

[scion]

The undisputed evidence in this case establishes the core misrepresentations that USSE had a “fully operational plant in production” and was “ready for Green Fuel production.” The undisputed evidence also proves other repeated misrepresentations: that USSE had engaged a prominent investment banker; that a prominent industry figure had joined its board; that USSE had purchased its production facility in Natchez; that USSE had patented technology; that USSE owned patent pending technology; that USSE sold fertilizer in April 2007 and was a revenue producing company; and that USSE had developed an OD-66 certified product that it would begin shipping in 72 hours. The core misrepresentations are supported by undisputed collateral facts that USSE could not produce 6,000 gallons of fuel per day as Rivera repeatedly claimed; that USSE’s equipment had never been continuously operated for more than four or five days; and that USSE had no reasonable basis to claim that it could produce fuel for $0.50 per gallon. Rivera’s attempt to create an issue of fact as to whether USSE could produce five gallons of fuel from each bushel of soybeans fails because Boone’s affidavit fails to address the undisputed fact that the biocrude from the Rivera Process, even in the mini-reactor, contains some percentage of water, which might be higher than 25%. The Response offers no evidence to contradict the testimony of Brent (Rivera’s trusted plant manager), Smith (the chemical engineer), and Mazer (Rivera’s almost constant companion for a year) that the USSE equipment never produced as much as half of 6,000 gallons per day, that the USSE biocrude output contained significant amounts of water that had to be removed to produce any fuel, that USSE never had a product to sell and that the USSE equipment was experimental and never operated continuously for longer that four or five days.

Each of these material misrepresented facts establishes a violation of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, as alleged in the complaint. Together, they stablish repeated material misrepresentations to USSE investors that allowed enough USSE shares to be sold for Rivera to continue falsely promoting the company.

Doc 88 PDF file
https://viewer.zoho.com/docs/pdmad

[scion]

07/21/2011 88 ORDER granting 61 Motion for Summary Judgment as to liability. A hearing on remedies will be held August 8, 2011. Signed by Honorable David C. Bramlette, III on 7/21/2011 (ECW) (Entered: 07/21/2011)

Doc 88 PDF file
https://viewer.zoho.com/docs/pdmad

[scion]

Pacer update 21 Jul 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

07/21/2011 Set Hearings: HEARING ON REMEDIES set for 8/8/2011, 10:00 AM in Courtroom 1 (Natchez) Bramlette before Honorable David C. Bramlette III (dtj) (Entered: 07/21/2011)

07/21/2011 88 ORDER granting 61 Motion for Summary Judgment as to liability. A hearing on remedies will be held August 8, 2011. Signed by Honorable David C. Bramlette, III on 7/21/2011 (ECW) (Entered: 07/21/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[scion]

07/14/2011 87 ORDER denying 86 Motion to Continue Due Date of Pretrial Order and Trial. Signed by Honorable David C. Bramlette, III on July 14, 2011. (lda) (Entered: 07/14/2011)


Doc 87 PDF file
https://viewer.zoho.com/docs/ldPdBi


Extract -

The Court expects to issue a ruling on the plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment within seven (7) days from the date of this Order. The Court shall, therefore, deny the Motion to Continue. If, upon the receipt of the Court’s ruling, either side requires additional time to prepare the Pre-Trial Order, they may request it.

Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the plaintiff’s Motion to Continue Due Date of Pretrial Order and Trial Date (docket entry 86) is DENIED.

SO ORDERED, this the 14th day of July, 2011.

[scion]

Pacer update 14 Jul 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

07/14/2011 87 ORDER denying 86 Motion to Continue Due Date of Pretrial Order and Trial. Signed by Honorable David C. Bramlette, III on July 14, 2011. (lda) (Entered: 07/14/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[scion]

07/07/2011 86 MOTION to Continue Due Date of Pretrial Order and Trial by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 07/07/2011)

Doc 86 PDF file
https://viewer.zoho.com/docs/vMOsd

[scion]

Pacer update 07 Jul 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

07/07/2011 86 MOTION to Continue Due Date of Pretrial Order and Trial by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 07/07/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl © 2011 InvestorsHub.Com, Inc.

[scion]

Pacer update 15 Jun 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

06/15/2011 TEXT ORDER ONLY Pending determination by the Court regarding the Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court finds that the Pre-Trial Order must be submitted on or prior to July 25,2011. No further order shall be written by this Court. Signed by Magistrate Judge John M. Roper on JUNE 15,2011 (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 06/15/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[blackbird]

or hide in the D.R. and eat lobster!

[king oil]

awesome, 2 more months to spend or hide investors money.

[scion]

Pacer update 06 Jun 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

06/06/2011 Reset Hearings: PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF TRIAL DATE. Jury Trial reset for 8/8/2011, 09:00 AM in Courtroom 1 (Natchez) before Honorable David C. Bramlette III. The Court is resetting the trial of this matter due to a criminal trial setting on the Court's docket with a speedy trial issue. (dtj) (Entered: 06/06/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[king oil]

How are those big decisions coming?

I wonder why the SEC investigation is limited to Rivera?

[king oil]

The longer it drags out the more time to spend and hide all the money he took from investors. It's a great strategy.

[MorningLightMountain]

because Rivera drags things out as long as possible, IMO......

PS: also, he is a RHINO!!!!

[scion]

I wonder why no settlement was reached.

[MorningLightMountain]

yeah, it was a historical-rhetorical question, going back to the port gibson days.......

[scion]

It looks more like a settlement could not be reached, and so it goes to trial. -

05/18/2011 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge John M. Roper: Settlement Conference held on 5/18/2011. Settlement was not reached. (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 05/18/2011)

[MorningLightMountain]

hmmmm, did a flood (and/or fire) save Rivera yet again????

[scion]

Pacer update 19 May 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

05/19/2011 Reset Hearings: PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE TRIAL IS SET TO BEGIN. Jury Trial reset for 7/25/2011, 09:00 AM in Courtroom 1 (Natchez) before Honorable David C. Bramlette III. (dtj) (Entered: 05/19/2011)

05/19/2011 Set/Reset Hearings: In light of counsel's health issues,purusant to a conference held on May 16,2011, the Bench Trial is RESET for 7/18/2011 09:00 AM before Honorable David C. Bramlette III in Natchez,Ms. (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 05/19/2011)

05/18/2011 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge John M. Roper: Settlement Conference held on 5/18/2011. Settlement was not reached. (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 05/18/2011)

05/18/2011 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge John M. Roper: Pretrial Conference held on 5/18/2011. The trial of this matter will be held on July 18,2011 in Natchez, MS. Jury charges must be submitted on or prior to July 10,2011. The Pre-Trial Order must be submitted on or prior to June 30,2011. (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 05/18/2011)

Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[scion]

Pacer update 13 May 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

05/13/2011 85 NOTICE of Appearance by Kristin B. Wilhelm on behalf of Securities and Exchange Commission (Wilhelm, Kristin) (Entered: 05/13/2011)

05/11/2011 TEXT ORDER ONLY denying 84 Motion for Settlement/ Pre Trial Conference. The Court finds that the Pre-Trial/Settlement Conference will proceed on May 18,2011 at 1:30PM. Lead trial counsel and parties with full settlement authority must be present. No further written order shall be issued by this Court. Signed by Magistrate Judge John M. Roper on May 11,2011 (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 05/11/2011)

05/10/2011 84 Third MOTION for Settlement Conference by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 05/10/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[blackbird]

Those memories are priceless scion! I do remember and I am LMAO ! I will treasure these and read them aloud on days when I'm down and, as bedtime stories for my grandchildren's children - "JR and His Magic Oil Machine", a.k.a., "Kissy Kat and the Magic Diesel". Once upon a time...

Where's that picture MorningLight? I need a good belly laugh!

[MorningLightMountain]

lol, good stuff!!!!!

[scion]

KissyKat And The Magic Diesel

Daniel Fisher 02.26.07
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0226/078.html

When the cry goes up, "Renewable Energy!" an army of penny-stock operators swings into action.

An aerial photo on the web site of U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp. shows a plant in Natchez, Miss. where the company says it will soon begin producing 1.5 million gallons a day of biodiesel-like fuel from soybeans. To put that in perspective, that's double the current biodiesel output in the entire country.

John Rivera, U.S. Sustainable's chairman, admits he gets some skeptical looks when he describes his "secret" process for turning soybeans into liquid gold at a rate (five gallons per bushel) that experts say defies the laws of chemistry and physics. "Everybody comes out here and says, 'Hey, you're full of it,' and then they see me do it," says Rivera, who in the 1990s promoted a similar process for turning used tires into fuel oil. "That's when I turn to them and say, 'Welcome to the Liars Club. Because now nobody's gonna believe you, either.'"

Somebody's buying Rivera's story. His company, which has not yet reported any revenue (it intends to start filing financials with the Securities & Exchange Commission "soon"), carries a market value of $227 million. Hey, that's nothing. A December news release from U.S. Sustainable says that the company could have "an immediate market value" of $12 billion.

Things only get more confusing if you follow the trail to EarthFirst, a Tampa outfit that told the SEC it loaned $3.3 million to U.S. Sustainable Energy last year. EarthFirst Chairman John Stanton put out a news release in April trumpeting U.S. Sustainable's revolutionary biofuel process. In the days before the release EarthFirst's trading volume spiked to 5 million shares from several hundred thousand and the stock price bounced to 17 cents, briefly arresting a long slide to a nickel a share.

No, no, says Stanton. That's a different U.S. Sustainable Energy. Rivera wanted to use the same name for his company, explains Stanton, who admits doing business with Rivera in the past.

Details, details. The big picture: Everyone is in love with renewable energy--George Bush, any congressman you could name, the eminent venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ). At the upper end of the investment spectrum the field has attracted $53 billion in private capital over the last three years for windmills, solar panels and low-carbon energy sources. At the lower end there are the penny stocks.

Watch your wallet. Des Moines lawyer Steven Wandro is trying to recover $3.8 million stolen a few years ago from a group of grain farmers who thought they were investing in an ethanol plant. The money passed instead to a film studio and a Florida scamster named Jerry Drizin, allegedly at the behest of a Nigerian in Germany, as detailed in a federal judge's ruling in the case. "People are just running to this thing in a way that I think is scary," sighs Wandro, who recalls how legitimate ethanol projects in Iowa collapsed after oil prices fell in the mid-1980s. "It's a prescription for dashed expectations."

Capitalizing on the popular mania for sustainable energy, the penny-stock operators are converting failed Canadian mining outfits and Internet firms into green machines with names like Western Wind Energy and Hydrogen Power International. Western Wind, run by Vancouver mining-stock executive Jeffrey Ciachurski, paid Khandaker Partners, a New York research firm, $22,000 for a November report touting a "price target" of $11.59 a share. Ambitious, given that the price is now hovering around a buck. Western Wind is trading lawsuits with former employees who accuse the wife of the chief executive of posting unflattering comments on a stock bulletin board, including one suggesting that one of those employees was "caught shagging some Red Head" near the proposed wind-farm site. (Ciachurski denies his wife ever made such comments.) Hydrogen Power of Englewood, Colo. says it has a revolutionary method for making hydrogen fuel out of aluminum. One problem: The fuel source weighs more than the high-pressure hydrogen tank it is supposed to replace. That problem is being worked on.

Cornell Capital of Jersey City, N.J. has pumped at least $100 million into green-themed companies in the past couple of years. "Solar, wind, clean technology plays--we love the space," says Troy Rillo, a Cornell managing director. "We think the trends are great."

Great for Cornell, which gets shares at a discount that it can then sell in the open market. Great for investors paying full price?

Check out some Cornell clients. NewGen Technologies, which says it plans to build several hundred million dollars' worth of ethanol refineries, was formed out of a shell company. XsunX, formerly known as Sun River Mining, is now a solar-cell company with no revenue and no orders. Market cap: $86 million. Earth Biofuels, whose mascot is country music star Willie Nelson, raised $52.5 million from Cornell and other convertible-debt buyers but sank more than half the dough into a Louisiana ethanol refinery project that has stalled amid charges of excess costs and failed financial commitments. Power Technology (otcbb: PWTC.OB - news - people ) is on the verge of producing what it claims is a revolutionary lightweight lead-acid battery but has yet to find any potential customers. Still, it's aiming to raise capital in a public share offering; proceeds will repay a $1.4 million loan from Cornell.

Don't like the Cornell portfolio? Maybe there's something in the cozy family of GreenShift Corp., a holding company for six publicly traded entities--combined shares outstanding: 3 billion--with names like gs CleanTech and GS AgriFuels. GreenShift is working on technology to feed carbon dioxide to algae and then harvest the algae as if they were corn stalks. If you find this impractical you are presumably not among the investors whose enthusiasm has given GreenShift a market cap of $114 million.

In 2005 a predecessor of a GreenShift unit, called Incode, was flogging KissyKat, an online dating service for pet lovers. That operation didn't work out. Reincarnated as resource firm, GreenShift lost $9 million on sales of $17 million over the first nine months of 2006. Most of that revenue came from a waste-disposal business and a machine shop in Ohio. But GreenShift's chairman and controlling shareholder, Kevin Kreisler, has dreams, and the algae venture is just one of them. Another is to convert the waste material from corn ethanol plants into oil that can be used to make biodiesel. GreenShift says it has sold several of the $1.6 million units so far, but there's a reason it has the business largely to itself: Michael Ladisch, a Purdue University engineering professor, says that few ethanol plants produce enough waste oil to justify trucking it to a biodiesel plant.

No problem, says Thomas Scozzafava, president of GreenShift's gs AgriFuels unit and a former Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) merchant banker. All you do is cluster the corn-oil units around biodiesel plants that use another money-saving GreenShift innovation: a "continuous base catalyst reaction" system that relies on a "proprietary process intensification and advanced separation technologies"--whatever those are. There are plans to use them in a new Mean Green Biofuels plant, in Memphis. Mean Green is meantime applying for emissions permits.

EarthFirst, John Stanton's firm, claims to be at "the forefront of alternative energy sources," according to its Web site, but still gets most of its revenue from moneylosing waste-disposal and biodiesel-import businesses, and recently filed to allow Laurus Capital to sell 76 million shares, whose proceeds would be used to retire convertible debt held by Laurus. A self-described turnaround expert, Chairman Stanton doesn't disclose in EarthFirst's sec filings anything about the $157 million collapse of Keller Financial, a used-car finance firm in Florida he briefly ran. A plaintiff attorney reportedly claimed that Keller preyed on unsophisticated, elderly investors. Stanton later paid $181,000 to settle a bankruptcy trustee's claim.

Stanton owns stakes in U.S. Energy Initiatives, which lost $4.5 million on sales of $426,000 in the first half of 2006 trying to sell kits to reconfigure diesel engines so they run on natural gas; and U.S. Sustainable Energy, which claims a catalytic vacuum distillation process that sounds remarkably similar to the one John Rivera is cranking up over in Natchez. Both involve heating organic materials in a vacuum until they break down into carbon and vapors that can be condensed into a low-grade fuel oil. "Why you'd put soybeans in there, I don't know," says Thomas Adams, a biofuels expert at the University of Georgia. "Sewage works just as well."

Adams questions how Rivera can produce biodiesel without methanol--or transform 60 pounds of soybeans into 37 pounds of biodiesel, versus the 27 pounds generally considered the limit. Rivera says his process is a secret and now claims he means "biofuel." He's not the only one pushing the limits of science: In its sec filings EarthFirst claims it can create more than 20 pounds of carbon, fuel oil, combustible gas and scrap steel from a 20-pound tire.

While scrambling for green-energy investments they can trumpet in news releases, penny-stock operators invariably collide. That's what happened in Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, where Earth Biofuels of Dallas last year announced plans to restart an alcohol refinery, closed since the first ethanol boom went bust in the early 1990s. Months later South-ridge Enterprises, a onetime mining operation now in the ethanol business, said it was buying $6 million worth of equipment from the same plant to build its own 60-million-gallon-a-year ethanol refinery. Its shares jumped 20 cents to $1.84 on the news.

Earth cried foul, saying it owned the equipment. Southridge has sued Earth's partner in the deal, blaming it for the loss of $60 million in market value. A lawyer for the Louisiana partners says he expects the case to be dismissed, but the point seems moot: Earth has since imperiled its own $27 million investment by failing to come up with $80 million to finish the refurbishment by a Dec. 4 deadline. Earth says the project is "still viable."

So, apparently, is AFV Solutions of Irvine, which plans to import hybrid natural-gas/electric buses from China. Up until early 2005 AFV was known as Dogs International and planned a chain of "bed and biscuit" upscale kennels. (It still owned one in Flagler Beach, Fla. as of its most recent sec filing in November.) Dogs International turned green after Jeffrey Groscost, former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, took over as chief executive. Groscost was famous in Arizona for pushing through a subsidy program for alternative-fuel vehicles in 1999 that cost the state more than $200 million before it was shut down; buyers could get up to half the cost of a $50,000 suv back from the state.

AFV shares surged from $1.60 in 2005 to $11.30 in May 2006. That's when it announced $4.8 million in financing and plans to import Chinese buses. AFV has yet to sell a bus, and its share price has since deflated to $4.50. Groscost died suddenly in November.

Some schemes are outright fraud. LeeRoy Allen was ordered to pay $270,000 and barred from involvement with public companies last October after the sec accused him of converting a penny stock called J-Bird Music Group (former home of faded stars like Billy Squier and The Guess Who) into a purported biodiesel company with "no assets, funding or viable product." Allen consented to the charges without admitting or denying guilt.

In New Jersey the state attorney general last fall filed civil fraud charges against Brian Smith and his wife for promoting Digital Gas (other-otc: DIGG.PK - news - people ). The company lacked even a bank account yet had shares trading on the pink sheets that briefly soared to 90 cents a share last spring, giving it a theoretical value of $22 million. As he pumped the stock with press releases like the one claiming Digital Gas had a "high temperature fuel cell" that would unlock as much as 1.1 billion gallons of oil from a neglected oil shale deposit, New Jersey officials say, Smith was using stock to renovate his home and pay his attorney.

Smith insists, in an e-mail, that he's innocent and his company "is actively seeking to commercialize its energy savings, alternative energy and farming opportunities." For assets, his Web site offers a grainy image of the deed to a 178-acre granite quarry in Nova Scotia, Canada. Despite Digital's legal problems, "We're still in the pipeline," says Theo van Bakkum of iccu Holding bv, a Smith partner who is working on a new method for storing electricity.

"We are here to help farmers, lessen the heavy yoke of imported fuel, help to create food and jobs for Americans and offer the greatest solution to the world's need for energy since humans harnessed the power of fire itself," says Taylor Moffit, chief executive of Originally New York, an o-t-c bulletin board and would-be ethanol producer with a grand total $331 in revenue since it launched in 2001. Dream on--you'll get a lot of investors to dream with you.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0226/078.html

[scion]

The resulting story bore one of the best headlines an editor has ever graced my work with, “KissyKat and The Magic Diesel.” In it I revealed how US Sustainable was peddling a warmed-over version of pyrolisis, used since ancient times to make charcoal. The pyrolisis-mongers revive it whenever energy prices spike, promising limitless electricity and fuel from old tires, tree stumps and other junk.

Penny-Stock Promoter Stanton Caught In Web Of Accusations

Apr. 4 2011 - 10:42 am
http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfisher/2011/04/04/penny-stock-promoter-stanton-caught-in-web-of-accusations/


One of the weirdest interviews I have ever conducted was with John Stanton, a Florida concrete magnate who also appeared to be the financial backer of a tawdry little Mississippi penny stock called U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp. I uncovered USSEC back in 2006 when I was looking into green scams, or stocks aimed at then-hot dreams of alternative energy, pollution-free vehicles and the like. It was an easy search: Just about every rock I lifted in the “green” zone revealed penny-stock operators scuttling away into the darkness.

The resulting story bore one of the best headlines an editor has ever graced my work with, “KissyKat and The Magic Diesel.” In it I revealed how US Sustainable was peddling a warmed-over version of pyrolisis, used since ancient times to make charcoal. The pyrolisis-mongers revive it whenever energy prices spike, promising limitless electricity and fuel from old tires, tree stumps and other junk. (Perhaps not incidentally, similar furnaces are used to make concrete.)

US Sustainable said it could defy the laws of physics and chemistry to produce five gallons of diesel per bushel of soybeans. (“Why you’d put soybeans in there, I don’t know,” said one expert of the company’s needlessly expensive raw material. “Sewage works just as well.”) Years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission woke up and sued the company’s chairman, John Rivera for pump-and-dump fraud; apparently a trial is set for later this year.

Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Stanton had some kind of financial relationship with US Sustainable. But when I finally tracked him down to his cellfone, he came up with a whopper of a tale. Yes, he said, he had been involved in deals with Rivera. But the publicly traded US Sustainable that made reference to him wasn’t the company he was backing. His was a private company with the same name, Stanton told me with as close to a straight face as I could imagine over a cellfone connection to Florida.

Rivera “wanted to use the same name with the public company,” Stanton said, and apparently the otherwise savvy Florida investor let him do it.

Now the St. Petersburg Times has this wonderful tale of how Stanton has gotten himself embroiled in a nasty divorce replete with allegations of tax fraud, hiding assets and attempting to swipe control of the concrete company that was the source of his fortune. The St. Petersburg Times say the IRS has opened a criminal investigation of Stanton. The Keystone Cops at the SEC, meanwhile, see nothing wrong with him remaining involved with several public companies including Bulova Technologies Group, whose shares have recently tripled on reports the spinoff of the old watch company has won $500 million in defense contracts.

The son of a Baptist preacher lives, according to the St. Petersburg Times, in a a $1.2 million home owned by Bulova’s president “with his 30-year-old girlfriend, a $4,000-a-month Bulova employee.”

http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfisher/2011/04/04/penny-stock-promoter-stanton-caught-in-web-of-accusations/

[MorningLightMountain]

No further written order shall be issued by this Court.

how many times is that now????

[scion]

Pacer update 16 Mar 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

Date Filed # Docket Text

03/16/2011 Set/Reset Hearings: Jury Trial set for a three week calendar beginning 6/6/2011 09:00 AM before Honorable David C. Bramlette III Pretrial Conference set for 5/18/2011 01:30 PM before Magistrate Judge John M. Roper (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 03/16/2011)

03/16/2011 TEXT ORDER ONLY This matter will be reset for trial on the Court's three week calendar beginning June 6,2011.The pre-trial conference/ settlement conference will be held in Natchez, Ms. on May 18,2011 at 1:30PM. Confidential memoranda must be submitted on or prior to May 11,2011. Parties with full settlement authority MUST BE PRESENT in Natchez,Ms. Lead /Trial counsel MUST BE PRESENT. No further written order shall be issued by this Court. Signed by Magistrate Judge John M. Roper on March 16,2011 (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 03/16/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[scion]

Website at ZeonsGlobal.com

Registrant:
Khanstellation Group, Inc.
30552 Puerto Vallarta
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
United States

Khanstellation Group, Inc. (KGI), a leading Export Management Company ("EMC") is a full service consulting firm, specializing in international business development and export services. For more than 16 years, KGI has been assisting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to successfully export their products and services globally. Our services provide assistance to first-time exporters and assist current exporters to:

[...]
http://khanstellationgroup.com/

Background
Amir Ali, President of AT Labs, Inc. said, "As part of our business strategy we're looking to develop export opportunities. We want to be able to export on a global scale and we contacted KGI to help us. Our international trade adviser Mr. Khan was extremely helpful. He did an investigation and carried out research into potential markets. U.A.E. was identified as it is a huge trade centre, with a huge potential market place and a lot of the population travels regularly.

http://www.khanstellationgroup.com/case-studies.html

[Tejan]

Looks like they have a new website at ZEONSGLOBAL.COM. Zeons.biz is suspended.

Website at Zeons.biz:

Domain Name: ZEONS.BIZ
Domain ID: D29496215-BIZ
Sponsoring Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 303
Registrar URL (registration services): www.publicdomainregistry.com
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registrant ID: DI_8636925
Registrant Name: Naved Jafry
Registrant Organization: Zeons
Registrant Address1: 123 N Post Oak Ln
Registrant Address2: Suite 300
Registrant City: Houston
Registrant State/Province: Texas
Registrant Postal Code: 77056
Registrant Country: United States
Registrant Country Code: US
Registrant Phone Number: +1.8328185759
Registrant Email: [e-mail]
Administrative Contact ID: DI_8636925
Administrative Contact Name: Naved Jafry
Administrative Contact Organization: Zeons
Administrative Contact Address1: 123 N Post Oak Ln
Administrative Contact Address2: Suite 300
Administrative Contact City: Houston
Administrative Contact State/Province: Texas
Administrative Contact Postal Code: 77056
Administrative Contact Country: United States
Administrative Contact Country Code: US
Administrative Contact Phone Number: +1.8328185759
Administrative Contact Email: [e-mail]
Billing Contact ID: DI_8636925
Billing Contact Name: Naved Jafry
Billing Contact Organization: Zeons
Billing Contact Address1: 123 N Post Oak Ln
Billing Contact Address2: Suite 300
Billing Contact City: Houston
Billing Contact State/Province: Texas
Billing Contact Postal Code: 77056
Billing Contact Country: United States
Billing Contact Country Code: US
Billing Contact Phone Number: +1.8328185759
Billing Contact Email: [e-mail]
Technical Contact ID: DI_8636925
Technical Contact Name: Naved Jafry
Technical Contact Organization: Zeons
Technical Contact Address1: 123 N Post Oak Ln
Technical Contact Address2: Suite 300
Technical Contact City: Houston
Technical Contact State/Province: Texas
Technical Contact Postal Code: 77056
Technical Contact Country: United States
Technical Contact Country Code: US
Technical Contact Phone Number: +1.8328185759
Technical Contact Email: [e-mail]
Name Server: NS621.WEBSITEWELCOME.COM
Name Server: NS622.WEBSITEWELCOME.COM
Name Server: NS1.WISTEXHOSTING.COM
Name Server: NS2.WISTEXHOSTING.COM
Created by Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
Last Updated by Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
Domain Registration Date: Wed Jan 28 21:05:49 GMT 2009
Domain Expiration Date: Fri Jan 27 23:59:59 GMT 2012
Domain Last Updated Date: Tue Jun 15 07:37:29 GMT 2010

Website at ZeonsGlobal.com

Registrant:
Khanstellation Group, Inc.
30552 Puerto Vallarta
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
United States

Domain Name: ZEONSGLOBAL.COM
Created on: 14-Nov-10
Expires on: 14-Nov-15
Last Updated on: 14-Jan-11

Administrative Contact:
Khan, Asim
Khanstellation Group, Inc.
30552 Puerto Vallarta
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
United States
[phone] Fax -- [phone]

Technical Contact:
Khan, Asim
Khanstellation Group, Inc.
30552 Puerto Vallarta
Laguna Niguel, California 92677
United States
[phone] Fax -- [phone]

Domain servers in listed order:
NS01.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS02.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

[blackbird]

That's a good one MorningLight!

I liked the photo of the ladybug crawling up the exhaust pipe of the diesel engine with JR pointing to it with on-lookers. That's real scientific testimony of some BS !!! (??)

[MorningLightMountain]

While we were there, an old diesel engine with over 1,000,000 hours, and filled with biofuel was started up.

More extreme BS.....unless that engine had over 114 YEARS of nonstop usage on it......lol, guess they don't make them nowadays like they did back in the 1800s!!!

(I love those Rivera "time machines", he had access to a diesel engine older than the first one made!!)

anyway, that's my 18 cents worth of opinion on made up data.....

[scion]

5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR Securities and Exchange Commission v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al

David C. Bramlette, III, presiding

John M. Roper, referral

Date filed: 07/17/2008

Date of last filing: 01/26/2011

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[EarnestDD]

Can't believe how long this case against Rivera is taking.
jmo

[scion]

01/24/2011 83 Amended MOTION to Continue Settlement Conference by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 01/24/2011)

Doc 83 PDF file
http://viewer.zoho.com/docs/xbHaaM

[scion]

Pacer update 26 Jan 11 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

Date Filed # Docket Text

01/26/2011 TEXT ORDER ONLY granting 82 Motion to Continue; granting 83 Motion to Continue. The Court finds that the settlement conference and the pre-trial conference should be continued pending a determination regarding the pending dispositive motion. This matter will be reset, if appropriate, upon the aforementioned determination. No further written order shall be issued by this Court. Signed by Magistrate Judge John M. Roper on January 26,2011 (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 01/26/2011)

01/24/2011 83 Amended MOTION to Continue Settlement Conference by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 01/24/2011)

01/24/2011 82 Second MOTION to Continue Settlement Conference by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 01/24/2011)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[PaperProphet]

Re:<"A free, bonus, mystery link ??? Only true Longs will appreciate this one:">

I believe the "E-Oil" was influenced by Dr. Matthew Zuckerman who many may remember was also CEO of USSE for a short while. USSE's pyrolysis oil was supposed to be the base for E-Oil engine oil.

After that Dr. Zuckerman essentially launched Green Earth Technologies (GETG) where he started "G-oil" which had rendered cow fat as a "base" for his engine oil.

My guess it's the 'add 99% real engine oil and 1% of another oil' technique to fool consumers and investors alike. Mr. Rivera used that trick himself with his "OD-66" diesel product which was 1% of his pyrolysis oil and 99% real fuel (diesel and ethanol). There are no standards for calling something "green" so add maybe 1% cow fat and mark the price up 200% for consumers by calling it "green" and it's a winning combination.

GETG has been hemorrhaging money, mostly by what looks like massive and unrealistic salaries. You can guess what's happening there.

The games go on and on and PT Barnum's hypothesis continues to stand firmly on its own merits.

.

[blackbird]

Hey MorningLight, thanks for the link www.jhrivera.com. I forwarded that one out to a lot of people.

BTW, I remember well the 2 Cycle Oil bottle - LOL! That and a couple hundred pounds of fertiizer, and mega-megatons of BS is all JR and his company produced!!!

[scion]

Pacer update 06 Dec 10 SEC v. U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp et al 5:08-cv-00245-DCB-JMR

Date Filed # Docket Text

12/06/2010 Reset Hearings: Pretrial Conference RESET for 1/31/2011 03:00 PM before Magistrate Judge John M. Roper in Natchez. This was incorrectly set as a Telephonic Case Management Conference. All previous instructions given will remain in effect. (Regenold, Sheryal) (Entered: 12/06/2010)

12/06/2010 Reset Hearings: Telephonic Case Management Conference RESET for 1/31/2011 3:00 PM before Magistrate Judge John M. Roper. Local counsel, lead trial counsel and all clients with full and final settlement authority MUST be present. Parties must submit a three page settlement memoranda which will include the parties settlement position, all prior mediation attempts and the final settlement position of the parties, to Judge Roper at [e-mail] no later than January 24, 2011. (Regenold, Sheryal) (Entered: 12/06/2010)

12/01/2010 TEXT ORDER ONLY granting as unopposed 81 Motion to Continue. Parties are instructed to bring their clients with full settlement authority to the pre-trial conference to be held on January 11,2011 to afford additional mediation.No further written order shall be issued by this Court. Signed by Magistrate Judge John M. Roper on December 1,2010 (Nicaud, Jenny) (Entered: 12/01/2010)

11/30/2010 81 First MOTION to Continue Settlement Conference by Securities and Exchange Commission (Rue, Alex) (Entered: 11/30/2010)


Defendant U. S. Sustainable Energy Corp

Defendant John H. Rivera

Defendant Alice M. Price

https://ecf.mssd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iquery.pl

[MorningLightMountain]

so.....how many of those 36 listed items were even remotely based on reality????....as PP often said, JR must be one unlucky individual......

PS: it looks like the final loon has left the nest...WTF???....this guy has ripped off unknown numbers of people.....I certainly hope HIS rights to deceive were not inconvenienced by the SEC or anyone......

http://www.jhrivera.com/

[MorningLightMountain]

A free, bonus, mystery link ??? Only true Longs will appreciate this one: