SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 16334 / October 15, 1999
Securities and Exchange Commission V. Titan Petroleum Corp., Magnum
Petroleum Enterprises, Inc., Magnum Oil & Petroleum, Inc., Natale L.
Montozzi and Philip Leitner Civil Action No. 98-1111-CIV-KING (S.D.
Fla.)
On September 29, 1999, the Honorable James Lawrence King, United
States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, entered a
permanent injunction by default against defendant Titan Petroleum
Corp. ("Titan"). The order permanently enjoins Titan from future
violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section
10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
thereunder, sets disgorgement as to Titan at $759,533, representing
its ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and sets civil
penalties as to Titan at $550,000.
The Commission's complaint, filed on May 19, 1998, and amended on June
7, 1998, alleged that from April 2, 1997 through September 24, 1997,
Titan and its principals, Natale L. Montozzi and Philip Leitner,
fraudulently raised at least $654,770 by selling undivided, fractional
working interests in three separate oil and gas well drilling programs
to sixty-five investors. The complaint alleged, among other things,
that the Titan offering documents represented that the amount of each
investment was to cover all costs for drilling and completing the
particular well in which it was invested, that Titan failed to
disclose to investors that the amount of money raised in each case was
far in excess of the costs it knew it would incur to drill and
complete the well for which the funds were raised, that investor funds
were commingled and used to pay a wide variety of expenses not
provided for in the offering documents, including, large undisclosed
payments to related parties, that two of the wells were drilled in
locations different than those described in the offering documents,
and that the offering documents and telephone script contained false
or misleading statements concerning the success, experience and
history of the company.
(June 2, 1998); (May 14, 1999).
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Modified 10/20/1999
SNIPPETS:
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Securities and Exchange Commission V. Titan Petroleum Corp., Magnum Petroleum Enterprises,
On September 29, 1999, the Honorable James Lawrence King, United States District Judge for
The order permanently enjoins Titan from future violations of Section 17of the Securities Act
The Commission's complaint, filed on May 19, 1998, and amended on June 7, 1998, alleged that
The complaint alleged, among other things, that the Titan offering documents represented that
of expenses not provided for in the offering documents, including, large undisclosed payments to
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