by Dave Stafford (The Indiana Lawyer) Evansville-based Imperial Petroleum Inc. has been ordered to pay nearly $32 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission after it failed to reply to the SEC’s court filings seeking damages in a biofuels fraud case that resulted in prison time for the former company president. Senior
Securities and Exchange Commission
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In November 2011, the Digest ran a story on a remarkable proposition — advanced by Richard Hamilton, then CEO of Ceres — that biofuels companies – on the “level playing field” theory advanced by opponents of government mandates and subsidies, should have a mechanism to book
by Amy Harder (Axios) … Trillium proposed a resolution calling on EOG to set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. EOG complained to the SEC in late December that the proposal would micromanage the company, calling it a “rigid, time-bound” target, and asked to omit it from consideration. Responding in late February, the SEC
by Jeff Amy (Fox Business/Associated Press) A federal judge has approved a $4.5 million settlement for private shareholders of failed biofuel maker KiOR, and a lawsuit by the state of Mississippi seeking to recover a much larger amount continues. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal issued the order Monday in Houston
by Timothy Gardner (Reuters) The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission informed eight Democratic U.S. senators last month that it is not investigating biofuels credits after the lawmakers had urged it to probe billionaire Carl Icahn’s activity in that market, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters on
(Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren) U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), called on the heads of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Montana, Blue Marble Biomaterials will become the first biomaterials company to utilize Regulation A+, a type of equity crowdfunding regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will offer equity shares to the public. Regulation A+ differs from other popular crowdfunding methods, such as Kickstarter.
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In 2011, KiOR raised $150 million in its June IPO, claiming that it was generating yields of 67 gallons per ton in its Demo unit operations. But it was miles short of that. In our previous installments, we have charted how KiOR moved from a
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) On September 26, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Texas-based Mard, Inc., formerly known as KiOR, Inc., (“KiOR”), and its former CEO and President Fred Cannon for failing to disclose important assumptions about the yield that KiOR had claimed to have achieved through the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … But so far, the company and its celebrity investors and directors such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and famed venture capitalist Vinod Khosla had escaped close scrutiny. … The methods for keeping the truth bottled up were not pretty. According to our sources
(U.S. Department of Justice) U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana announced today the guilty verdict after an eight-day jury trial of Jeffrey Wilson of Evansville, Indiana, who was charged with securities fraud related to a massive multi-state fraud scheme. Wilson’s crimes centered on the e-biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … The company was beginning to hurtle towards an IPO. But the fuel yields were low; the fuel was not usable by their initial chosen downstream partner; the catalyst they were using to get even down to this unsatisfactory product, ZSM zeolite, was in the $7,000
by Devin Henry (The Hill) Natural gas developers are providing very restricted information about their methane emissions to investors, according to a report released Monday by a green group. According to an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis, only 18 of 65 major gas companies disclosed methane emissions to their investors, and
(Influence Map) An analysis of SEC 10-K filings by the 20 leading US industrial companies … — The findings in this report complement the existing CERES/CookESG Research SEC sustainability search tool, which covers climate change and water risks for 4,500 public companies (10-Ks only) from 2009 to the present. Summary of Key Points The
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Unlimited oil production, no exploration risk, positive on environment, cheaper than unconventional US crude — what’s not to like about certain biofuels? This year, Joule Unlimited noted that a “10,000 acre plant represents a reserve value of 100 million barrels of Solar Fuels, equivalent to
by Ryan Koopmans (Des Moines Register) … For the last decade, Big Oil has been running nervously through the halls of the U.S. Capitol and the EPA, screaming — to anyone who will listen — that the Renewable Fuel Standard is an “unworkable,” “infeasible,” “unsustainable,” rule that will create a “death
by Siri Srinivas (The Guardian) Shareholders ask the five largest US oil companies – Valero, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Chevron – to disclose the risks their operations and facilities face from rising sea levels and storm surges. … In letters signed by Calvert Investments, Pax World Management, Walden
by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) Just over a year ago, billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla was bubbling with optimism about one of his latest investments: KiOR, a biofuel outfit he said would turn wood chips into hydrocarbons that could be poured straight into a refinery, pipeline or vehicle. …
(Global BioBusiness) A former cofounder of biofuel maker KiOR says he tried to warn other board members about problems with KiOR’s technology. The claims come from Mr. Paul O’Connor, who cofounded the company and worked there until June 2012 and then was hired back as a consultant but definitely quit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Key figure and company director Paul O’Connor resigns. Allegations relating to possible inside trading, suppression of 3rd party technology report laid by the Board against O’Connor. O’Connor makes allegations concerning “KiOR’s management team and KiOR’s technology”. In Texas, a nasty board-level fight at KiOR spilled
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The following is excerpted from KiOR’s most recent 10-Q quarterly report, as filed with the SEC. “We have substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern. To continue as a going concern, we must secure additional capital to provide us with additional liquidity.
by Joe Leo (Biodiesel Magazine/BrownWinick Law Firm) Let’s be honest, despite the fact that the biodiesel industry is experiencing arguably its most successful year, it is still difficult for biodiesel producers to raise capital in the current investing climate. This difficulty in accessing the capital markets, especially equity capital, is
(PR NewsWire/ Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross) Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Kior, Inc. (“Kior” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: KIOR) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, and docketed under 13-cv-2443, is on
by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) Renaissance in biobased capital raising expected; register your interest in raising capital or seeing deal flow. In Washington, SEC Commissioners have voted 4-1 to lift the ban on general solicitation, and to create a new 506( c) class of offering, which will allow advertising of the
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The first gas fermentation technology to come to the public markets: Coskata files its $100 million IPO. Here’s our 10-minute version of the filing, with a translation of the risks into English. …Coskata, which in the past year lost $28.7 million while recording $250K in
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Can PetroAlgae find a market for its feed among the aficionados of alfalfa and fishmeal, with fuels on the side? In its recent IPO revision, it says “sure can”. … PetroAlgae has filed a massive revision to its S-1 registration for a proposed initial public
by Kevin Cooper (Natchez Democrat) A federal judge ruled Thursday that would-be biofuels wizard John Rivera’s claims were not worth the hill of beans he claimed could be magically turned into fuel. U.S. District Judge David Bramlette handed down a summary judgment against Rivera, affirming charges levied by the U.S.