2026-04-17 sec-litreleases litigation_release 64 KB 2,199 chars

SEC v. Kevin N. Richards, No. LR-26531, Central District of California (Apr. 17, 2026) — Press Release

raw: Kevin N. Richards

Kevin N. Richards, No. 8:25-cv-02057 (Apr. 17, 2026)

Caption: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kevin Richards

summary

Kevin N. Richards obtained a final judgment for selling $12 million in unregistered oil and gas securities and acting as an unregistered broker, resulting in a $797,709 monetary penalty.

paragraph

Kevin N. Richards was charged with selling $12 million in unregistered oil and gas securities and failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest. He earned over $600,000 in transaction-based compensation while acting as an unregistered broker. The final judgment requires him to pay $797,709 in disgorgement, interest, and civil penalties.

narrative

Kevin N. Richards, a former California insurance agent, was charged by the SEC for marketing $12 million in unregistered oil and gas securities to approximately 25 retail investors. Richards utilized mass marketing, including his own radio show, to solicit investors and earned over $600,000 in transaction-based compensation. He was also charged with acting as an unregistered broker and failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest to advisory clients. Through a consent judgment, Richards was permanently enjoined from violating key securities laws and banned from the industry for five years. The final judgment entered on April 7, 2026, ordered him to pay a total of $797,709, which includes $618,794 in disgorgement, $128,915 in prejudgment interest, and a $50,000 civil penalty. This settlement concludes the litigation regarding his unregistered offerings and brokerage activities.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: unregistered-securities (95%)
Court: Central District of California
Case No.: 8:25-cv-02057
Outcome: settled · 2025-12-16
Disgorgement: $618,794
Civil penalty: $797,709
Victim loss: $12,000,000
Entity: Kevin N. Richards

Classified unregistered-securities(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D/S-1· recall 41% / precision 30%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 6

$12.00M $12 million $10M–$100M
$798K $797,709 $100K–$1M
$619K $618,794 $100K–$1M
$600K $600,000 $100K–$1M
$129K $128,915 $100K–$1M
$50K $50,000 $10K–$100K

Entities 3

company approximately $12 million of investments in oil and gas securities
company richards from issuing, purchasing, offering, or selling securities
court united states district court for the central district of california

Triples 13

United States District Court for the Central District of California entered final judgment as to Kevin N. Richards
SEC charged Kevin N. Richards with selling securities in unregistered oil and gas offerings
SEC charged Kevin N. Richards with acting as an unregistered broker
SEC charged Kevin N. Richards with failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest
Richards marketed and sold approximately $12 million of investments in oil and gas securities
Richards solicit investors
Richards received more than $600,000 in transaction-based compensation
Richards consented to a judgment
Court permanently enjoined Richards from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933
Court permanently enjoined Richards from issuing, purchasing, offering, or selling securities
Court permanently enjoined Richards from acting as or associating with a broker, dealer, or investment adviser for five years
Court ordered Richards to pay disgorgement of $618,794, prejudgment interest of $128,915, and a $50,000 civil penalty
Richards pay total monetary judgment of $797,709

View original SEC litigation releasesec.gov

Extracted body text (2,199c)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26531 / April 17, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kevin N. Richards, No. 8:25-cv-02057 (C.D. Cal. filed Sept. 11, 2025)SEC Obtains Final Judgment as to Investment Adviser in Alleged Unregistered Oil and Gas OfferingsOn April 7, 2026, the United States District Court for the Central District of California entered a final judgment as to Kevin N. Richards, whom the SEC previously charged with selling securities in unregistered oil and gas offerings, acting as an unregistered broker, and failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest to advisory clients.The SEC’s complaint, filed on September 11, 2025, alleged that Richards, a former California-based insurance agent, marketed and sold approximately $12 million of investments in oil and gas securities to approximately 25 retail investors in a series of unregistered securities offerings. The complaint alleged that Richards used mass marketing, including his own radio show, to solicit investors, and that he received more than $600,000 in transaction-based compensation for selling the unregistered securities.Previously, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Richards consented to a judgment, entered by the Court on December 16, 2025, that permanently enjoined him from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Section 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; permanently enjoined him from issuing, purchasing, offering, or selling securities except for purchases or sales for his own personal account; and enjoined him from acting as or associating with a broker, dealer, or investment adviser for five years. The final judgment, entered by the Court on April 7, 2026, further ordered Richards to pay disgorgement of $618,794, prejudgment interest of $128,915, and a $50,000 civil penalty, for a total monetary judgment of $797,709.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Brian Fitzsimons and David Frisof and was supervised by Brian Quinn and Michael Brennan. The SEC’s litigation was led by Mr. Fitzsimons and Rachel Yeates and was supervised by James Carlson.

OCR text (2,199c · html-text · 99% conf)