The SEC Accuses AEHI of Fraud

A year or so ago, I wrote:

It may just be that AEHI is trying everything it can to find and develop a market and interest enough venture capital to help it stay afloat until it makes a sale – either in Idaho or China. Certainly not unusual (if a bit unusually far flung), often not successful, but that’s how it works. All one can really do from the outside is speculate. Let’s keep half an eye on AEHI and see how it goes.

Well, both eyes open beats half an eye:

The SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] alleges that Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. (AEHI) has raised millions of dollars from investors in Idaho and throughout the U.S. and Asia while fraudulently manipulating its stock price through misleading public statements that conceal the secret profits reaped by its CEO Donald L. Gillispie and Senior Vice President Jennifer Ransom.

It gets worse:

The SEC’s complaint charges AEHI, Gillispie, and Ransom with violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, and names as relief defendants two companies controlled by Gillispie and Ransom (Executive Energy Consulting LLC and Bosco Financial LLC).

As usual in cases like this – that is, that involve alleged misuse of funds -there are alarming details:

Gillispie enriched himself using the proceeds of these nominee sales. Ransom transferred at least $200,000 of the $675,326.14 in proceeds from her sales of AEHI stock to Gillispie. Ransom wrote a check to Bosco (her limited liability company) for the majority of the $200,000, but the check was deposited in Gillispie's Energy Executive bank account, which Gillispie uses for personal expenses, such as jewelry, cruises, and his Maserati sports car. Thus, Gillispie's statement that he never sold AEHI shares was false in light of his use of Ransom and Webb as his nominees for stock sales.

Now, being accused of something and being guilty of it are two different things and the SEC hasn’t yet proven anything. However, if nothing else, this episode reinforces that it’s always wise, regardless of the business, to research any company one wants to invest money in.

The Idaho Statesman has more here.

AEHI’s proposed site in Payette County, Idaho.