Investor Alert: Primera Energy

Have you suffered losses investing in Primera Energy? If so, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help you recover your losses in a FINRA arbitration claim against the brokerage firm that recommended the investment.

According to Bloomberg, San Antonio-based Primera Energy Resources Ltd. holds an interest in an offshore oil and natural gas prospect offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization amid a lawsuit filed by unhappy investors in state district court in June 2015. Within the week, Primera’s CEO Brian Alfaro filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.

Investors who bought interests in various oil and gas drilling ventures from Primera Energy LLC,  once headed by Brian K. Alfaro, will recover nothing from a bankruptcy reorganization plan confirmed by a judge on June 27th, 2016.

While the Primera Energy bankruptcy case is considered a Chapter 11 reorganization, for all intents and purposes it’s been treated as a liquidation because there’s nothing left of the business to save.

Investors, the largest group of creditors with about $18 million in claims, will receive nothing under the plan as of now. They have accused Alfaro of defrauding them, a charge he has disputed. Creditors holding mineral liens, who are owed more than $7 million, will get an estimated 20 cents on the dollar.

More than 40 individuals and entities that invested a collective $16 million  are pursuing their own lawsuit against Alfaro, wife Kristi, Primera and others, alleging fraud, violations of state securities laws and civil conspiracy.

The lawsuit accuses Alfaro of operating a boiler-room sales operation that targeted the elderly, who were told oil and gas drilling was a low-risk investment. They also were told they would get a working interest in a well for their investment, but those interests were never conveyed, the suit adds. Thus, their investments were wiped out when Primera filed for bankruptcy in June 2015.

According to the lawsuit, the investors charge Alfaro used their money “to support his millionaire image and lifestyle.” Alfaro alledgedly purchased a home valued at $2.5 million, a fleet of luxury cars that included a Lamborghini valued at $400,0000, and extravagant vacations to such exotic destinations as Madrid and New Zealand, among other things.

Unfortunately, many investors were not made adequately aware of the risks associated with energy investments. Oil and gas investments are generally speculative and can be very high risk ventures. They are arguably better suited for sophisticated and institutional investors that can afford total loss of their investment. Even bonds in the oil and gas industry, which many investors think of as “safe,” are not without risk.

Before recommending an investment, your broker has a fiduciary duty to adequately disclose the risks involved in the investment and to perform the necessary due diligence to determine if the investment is suitable for the investor.  Brokers that fail to perform the necessary due diligence prior to recommending them to clients could be liable for investment losses.

To determine whether you may be able to recover investment losses incurred in Primera Energy please contact The White Law Group at (888)637-5510.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee. Visit our homepage to learn more about the firm.