Oil Promotor Swindles Millions, Owes Millions Back!

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26269, dated March 17, 2025.

The SEC charged Leon Ali Parvizian and his companies, Arcturus Corporation and Aschere Energy LLC, with defrauding investors out of over $22 million through an unregistered offering of oil and gas drilling project interests. The court ordered the defendants to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties, and imposed permanent injunctions.

In Plain English

Imagine someone selling shares in a pretend oil company. They told people they were drilling for oil and making lots of money, but they were actually just taking new investors' money to pay off earlier investors. The government stepped in, stopped the scheme, and made the sellers pay back the money they took and a fine.

Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

1. Selling Unregistered Investments Between 2007 and 2011, Leon Ali Parvizian and his companies, Arcturus Corporation and Aschere Energy LLC, offered investors interests in six oil and gas well drilling projects. These offerings were not registered with the SEC, meaning they bypassed standard disclosure requirements.
2. Raising Funds Through these unregistered offerings, the Parvizian Defendants raised over $22 million from investors. The funds were ostensibly for drilling projects, but the SEC alleged this was part of an offering fraud scheme.
3. Alleged Fraudulent Scheme The SEC's complaint alleged that the Parvizian Defendants defrauded investors. While specific details of the fraud mechanics are not fully elaborated in this release, the context implies that investor funds were not used as promised or that the projects were misrepresented.
4. Acting as Unregistered Broker In addition to the offering fraud, Leon Ali Parvizian allegedly acted as an unregistered broker. This means he facilitated the sale of securities without being properly licensed by the SEC.
5. SEC Investigation and Complaint The SEC filed its Complaint on December 12, 2013, charging the Parvizian Defendants with violations of securities laws, including unregistered offerings and fraud provisions like Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5.
6. Partial Judgment On October 6, 2021, the Parvizian Defendants consented to a partial judgment resolving liability. They did not admit or deny the SEC's allegations at this stage.
7. Motion for Remedies Following the partial judgment, the Commission filed a Motion for Remedies on March 1, 2022, seeking disgorgement, interest, penalties, and injunctions against the defendants.
8. Final Judgment Entered On January 28, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a final judgment. The court granted the SEC's motion in full, ordering the defendants to pay monetary relief and imposing permanent injunctions.

The Enforcement Action

On January 28, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a final judgment against Leon Ali Parvizian a/k/a Alex Parvizian, Arcturus Corporation, and Aschere Energy LLC, resolving all claims arising out of the SEC’s December 12, 2013 Complaint. The Complaint alleged that the Parvizian Defendants defrauded investors out of over $22 million between 2007 and 2011 through an unregistered offering of interests in six oil and gas well drilling projects, and that Parvizian acted as an unregistered broker. The final judgment ordered the Parvizian Defendants to pay, jointly and severally, disgorgement of $9,844,127, plus prejudgment interest of $938,770.65, and civil penalties of $500,000. Permanent injunctions were also imposed against future violations of the antifraud, securities-registration, and broker-registration provisions of the federal securities laws.

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