SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 17409 / March 12, 2002
UNITED STATES V. SIDNEY WADE SERS, No. 6 00-CR-0006-01-C, USDC, NDTX
(San Angelo Division)
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. TRINITY OIL AND GAS, INC., ET.
AL., No.4-97CV-1018Y, USDC, NDTX (Ft. Worth Division)
OIL AND GAS STOCK PROMOTER RECEIVES 17 ½ YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR
CONTEMPT, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND MONEY LAUNDERING
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on March 8,
2002, U. S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings in Lubbock, Texas,
sentenced Sidney Wade Sers to 210 months in federal prison based on
Sers' guilty pleas to contempt of court, obstruction of justice and
money laundering charges. The criminal charges related to Sers'
illegal transfer of nearly $1million, in violation of 1997 and 1998
court orders issued by U. S. District Judge Terry Means of Fort Worth.
These orders were entered in a 1997 Commission enforcement action and
enjoined the transfer of Sers' assets, those of Trinity Gas
Corporation (Trinity) and the proceeds of any sale of Trinity stock.
At the time of the transfers, Sers, age 57, formerly of Brownwood,
Texas, was the president and chief executive officer of Trinity, a
Brownwood publicly traded oil and gas exploration and development
company. From January 1998 until his arrest, Sers was a fugitive
hiding in Columbia. Colombian authorities detained Sers on November
21, 2000 and deported him to Miami, Florida, where Sers was arrested
by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
In his guilty pleas before the Court, Sers admitted transferring
$800,000 of Trinity stock proceeds deposited in a Natchitoches,
Louisiana bank account bearing his daughter's name to a Cayman Islands
bank account styled in the name of Trinity Gas Colombia - a Cayman
Islands company owned and controlled by Sers. Sers also admitted
laundering these proceeds through a number of transactions that
involved the transfer of monies to Colombia, where he was hiding.
Among other illegal transfers, Sers also admitted transferring roughly
$100,000 through a Brownwood, Texas abstract company, converting the
proceeds into cashiers checks and subsequently cashing the checks.
The Court's sentence stems from Judge Means' contempt referral to the
U.S. Attorney's Office which developed during the course of the
Commission's enforcement action in which the Commission charged
Trinity and Sers with bilking Trinity investors out of over $11
SNIPPETS:
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
UNITED STATES V. SIDNEY WADE SERS, No. 6 00-CR-0006-01-C, USDC, NDTX
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. TRINITY OIL AND GAS, INC., ET. AL., No.4-97CV-1018Y,
OIL AND GAS STOCK PROMOTER RECEIVES 17 ½ YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR CONTEMPT, OBSTRUCTION OF
The criminal charges related to Sers' illegal transfer of nearly $1million, in violation of
These orders were entered in a 1997 Commission enforcement action and enjoined the transfer
At the time of the transfers, Sers, age 57, formerly of Brownwood, Texas, was the president
From January 1998 until his arrest, Sers was a fugitive hiding in Columbia.
In his guilty pleas before the Court, Sers admitted transferring $800,000 of Trinity stock
Sers also admitted laundering these proceeds through a number of transactions that involved
The Court's sentence stems from Judge Means' contempt referral to the U.S. Attorney's Office
y inflated price.
Judge Cummings ordered Sers to make restitution of the same amount.
The Commission's staff worked closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern
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