Tri-Valley Corp (fka TVLYQ)

[jonesieatl]

Tiburon man to pay $22.5 million to settle SEC charges of unregistered brokering

http://www.marinij.com/crimebeat/ci_25772003/tiburon-man-pay-22-5-million-settle-sec

By Gary Klien
Marin Independent Journal
Posted: 05/15/2014 04:47:38 PM PDT

A Tiburon man was charged Thursday with selling millions of dollars in energy securities without registering as a broker with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Behrooz Sarafraz, 53, has agreed to settle the charges by paying more than $22.5 million without admitting or denying the charges, the SEC said. The settlement must be approved by a federal judge.

The case involved two oil and gas drilling companies in Bakersfield, Tri-Valley Corp. and TVC Opus I Drilling Program LP. Sarafraz, acting as an unregistered full-time broker, raised $140 million in investments for the companies between 2002 and 2010, the SEC said. About 300 investors contributed.

The energy companies paid Sarafraz about $18.3 million in commissions. He paid $1.9 million in referral fees to other parties and kept the remaining $16.4 million, the government said.

Tri-Valley Corp. was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in June 2012. In August 2012, Tri-Valley filed for bankruptcy on behalf of itself and TVC Opus.

Under the settlement, Sarafraz agreed to disgorge the $16.4 million and pay nearly $6.1 million in interest. He will also pay a $50,000 penalty.

"By failing to become associated with a registered broker-dealer, Sarafraz denied investors the protections of regulatory oversight and firm supervision," said Michele Wein Layne, an SEC lawyer based in Los Angeles. "The SEC is committed to holding such unregistered salespeople accountable for their conduct."

Sarafraz could not be reached for comment.

Contact Gary Klien via email at [e-mail] or https://twitter.com/GaryKlien