In addition to representing a number of investors and consumers in individual litigation and arbitration, we are also counsel of record in a number of current and potential class actions:

In an Amended Complaint filed on December 3, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has charged Provident Royalties, LLC, Provident Asset Management LLC, and founders Brendan Coughlin, Paul Melbye, and Henry Harrison with securities fraud.  The SEC claims that the limited partnership interests and preferred shares that the defendants sold in various Provident and Shale Royalties entities were part of a $485 million “Ponzi” scheme.

Investors believed they were buying interests in various oil and gas and other natural resource investments.  But, according to the SEC, Provident used new investors’ money to pay investment returns promised to earlier investors.

According to the SEC, from at least June 2006 through January 2009, Provident allegedly made approximately $500 million of fraudulent limited partnership and preferred stock offerings under the names Provident Energy, Provident Resources, and Shale Royalties.  7,700 investors bought these securities, believing they would receive returns of more than 18% per year.

Less than 50% of the offerings were used to purchase oil and gas interests.  A significant portion of the proceeds went toward paying out the promised returns to earlier investors and paying expenses.

Many of the Provident and Shale Royalties investments were sold through Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) member brokerage firms, such as Securities America, Capital Financial Services, Capwest Securities, QA3 Financial, Okoboji Financial, Wedbush Morgan, and others.

Provident Royalties, LLC and 26 subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 22, 2009, causing the thousands of Provident investors to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.  In the bankruptcy proceeding, Provident listed assets of $1 to $10 million and liabilities of $100 to $500 million.

The Nygaard Law Firm (www.nygaaardlaw.com) currently represents a number of Provident and Shale Royalties investors.  The firm has filed and will continue to file FINRA securities arbitration claims against the brokerage firms that sold the investments in an effort to recover clients’ investment losses.  The brokerage firms failed to perform adequate due diligence before recommending and selling the Provident and Shale Royalties investments to their clients.  Some brokerage firms misrepresented the level of risk associated with the investments and sold them to “unaccredited” investors for whom they were unsuitable.

If you lost money in Provident or Shale Royalties limited partnerships or preferred shares, please contact attorney Diane A. Nygaard of The Nygaard Law Firm at (888) 469-5544 or diane@nygaardlaw.com for a free case evaluation.

The Nygaard Law Firm files ERISA case on behalf of retired employees of Yellow Freight and Railway Express. Click here to see a copy of the complaint.

If you are a current or former employee of Yellow Freight or Railway Express or have questions about this case, please contact us:

Diane A. Nygaard
11050 Roe Avenue
Suite 212
Leawood, Kansas 66211

Phone:  (913) 469-5544
Fax: (913) 469-1561
Toll Free: (888) 469-5544

Diane Nygaard is co-lead counsel representing stockholders of Kinder Morgan, Inc. in actions that initially challenged the proposed acquisition of Kinder Morgan by a buyout group lead by its largest stockholder and chairman, Richard Kinder.  More information can be found here.