US authorities have arrested five individuals – Richard Dale Sterritt, Jr., Michael Greer, Robert Magness, Mark Ross and Robyn Straza – for securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, among other offenses. The five were involved in several securities fraud schemes, including an offering fraud targeted at investors and potential investors in the Texas-based oil and gas company Zona Energy.
During March 2018 – January 2021, Sterritt, Greer, Magness and Ross participated in several related fraud schemes. One scheme involved an offering fraud in the securities of Zona Energy. This scheme led to misappropriation of over $10 million of investor funds through the sale of the company’s shares. The defendants used the misappropriated funds for luxury goods, personal expenses or supporting other ventures including a cannabis company.
Another scheme involved manipulation of the price and trading volume of publicly traded shares of stock in OrgHarvest, Inc. As part of this scheme, Sterritt, Magness and Ross conducted matched trading to artificially increase the company’s share prices. This helped them raise revenue and conceal the Zona Energy misappropriation scheme. All the defendants then laundered the illicit funds from these schemes.
Source: US Department of Justice