The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office has issued an order against an alleged fraudulent business dealer from continuing to scam residents.
On October 26, Secretary Michael Watson and his office’s securities division issued an order against Stephone N. Patton, an alleged serial fraudster with multiple convictions in Mississippi and Florida.
Through business filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the state of Mississippi, Patton calls himself the CEO of the following companies:
- Star Oil and Gas Company, Inc.
- North Gulf Energy Corporation, Inc.
- Patton Oilfield Services, Inc.
- Patton Farms, LLC.
Using these business filings and company websites, Patton claims to have raised hundreds of billions of dollars through investment opportunities.
The order finds that Patton induced investors to purchase shares in his companies by promising investors substantial investment returns, monthly payments, and board membership positions.
After investigating, authorities discovered that none of Patton’s companies are operational, nor do they have any assets or generate any revenues. Account records show that Patton spent investors’ funds almost as soon as he received them on personal expenses.
The total amount of known investments made to Patton’s fraudulent companies is over $80,000. None of Patton’s investment offerings have been registered or notice filed with the proper regulators.
Patton is alleged to continue to circumvent all investor requests to return funds that were given to his fraudulent businesses.
The cease and desist order from the SOS office requires Patton to stop offering investments with his companies, requiring Patton to permanently deactivate his companies’ websites to prevent any further dissemination of his false or misleading information.
Patton is also ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $25,000 to the state of Mississippi for the respective violations, in addition to restitution owed to all his local investors.
