The SEC alleges that Bixby’s former CEO and former CFO made repeated misstatements both verbally and in writing to investors about the company’s core product – a machine that supposedly produced synthetic natural gas through a proprietary clean coal technology. They told investors that Bixby’s coal gasification machine was proven and operating when in fact it had substantial technological defects, did not function properly, and was at risk of self-destruction. The CEO and CFO never disclosed these problems to investors.
Monday, December 26, 2011
SEC Charges Executives at Clean Coal Technology Company for Misstatements to Investors
The SEC charged the former CEO and CFO at a Minnesota-based clean coal technology company for making false and misleading statements to investors. The SEC separately charged a network of brokers who sold the company’s securities without being registered with the SEC to do so. Bixby Energy Systems raised at least $43 million from more than 1,800 investors through a series of purported private placement offerings of stocks, warrants, and promissory notes during a nine-year period. The company used this capital raising activity to help fund operations, pay salaries, and pay commissions to brokers that sold Bixby securities.
