SEC v. James VanBlaricum, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 3, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

Report an error in this record (sec-james-vanblaricum-et-al-ponzi-schemes-2018) by email

In June 2018 the SEC charged Texas businessman James VanBlaricum and six others with running an oil and gas Ponzi scheme through Texas Energy Mutual that raised over $10 million. Six defendants agreed to injunctions, three to officer and director bars, and Erik Rhodes to disgorge $33,000; the claims against Leaverton were continuing and the court was to set Hill's monetary relief.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

$33k

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$33k

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

The SEC announced the case on June 26, 2018 (LR-24176), filed in the Northern District of Texas. It alleges that VanBlaricum, a repeat securities-fraud offender, drove Texas Energy Mutual, installed Pope and Inglis as its public face and used Gilliam, Leaverton, Hill and Rhodes to solicit investors. Investors were promised guaranteed returns and drilling, but the money paid for personal expenses and cash Ponzi payments, and a "special needs" programme kept unhappy investors quiet.

VanBlaricum, Pope, Inglis, Gilliam, Hill and Rhodes consented to permanent injunctions; the SEC continued its case against Leaverton. Rhodes agreed to $33,000 of disgorgement, the only figure fixed in the release. Five defendants were also sentenced to between 30 and 84 months in a parallel criminal case.

The record named the defendants only as "James VanBlaricum, et al."; the seven individuals are now listed.

This library tags the matter as ponzi schemes because the document describes it as a scheme paying earlier investors with later investors' money. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Ponzi schemes — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2018-06-26 Litigation release published

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC litigation release

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.