This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Mike Caswell

Brian Fox, the Calgary man facing civil charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for inflating the revenue of an Alberta-based oil and gas listing, denies any wrongdoing. He says that the company legitimately made money selling minor interests in producing properties. He blames the company's problems on a former associate and a court-appointed receiver.

The charges Mr. Fox faces stem from accounting irregularities at Powder River Petroleum Inc., a former OTC Bulletin Board listing for which he served as president. In a complaint filed in the Northern District Oklahoma on April 8, 2011, the SEC claimed that the company improperly recognized as revenue $33.5-million worth of money that it received from Asian investors in 2007. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Mr. Fox told the company's auditor that the money represented "prepaid production payments." In reality, the money was a form of loan, which Powder River was to repay at a rate of 9 per cent annually, the SEC said.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS