Colorado business regulators have accused a Texas company and its owner of defrauding investors by falsely telling them the firm was working on a new technology to dispose of water used in hydraulic fracturing.
The state Securities Division has issued a cease and desist letter to Weldon Walker and Premier Water Solutions, telling him to stop the sale of any unregistered stocks in Colorado.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports (http://tinyurl.com/nxov8cc ) Walker told investors in 2009 that their money would purchase New Mexico property where the technology, which he said was environmentally friendly, would be manufactured.
Investors received regular reports for several years, but in 2013 one stakeholder got a tip that the New Mexico property appeared abandoned. Authorities said Walker put some money toward the property, but it eventually was repossessed.
“An investment opportunity that takes advantage of the high-profile nature of an issue such as fracking should be treated with extreme caution,” securities commissioner Gerald Rome said in the release.
Jill Sarmo, spokeswoman for the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which oversees the Securities Division, said she wasn’t aware of any state or federal criminal investigation.
Walker, whose last known address was in Durango, couldn’t be reached for comment. His current address isn’t listed, and it’s not clear whether he has an attorney who could comment.
There was no listing for the Texas firm.