SEC Charges Dallas Investment Firms With Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday announced fraud charges and an emergency court order to stop an investment offering the agency said is fraudulent. Patrick O. Howard and two Dallas-based companies he controls -- Optimal Economics Capital Partners, LLC and Howard Capital Holdings, LLC -- raised about $13 million from 119 investors "through the fraudulent offer and sale of interests in three private funds," beginning in February 2015, the agency said. Howard and his companies told investors that they would earn between 12 percent and 20 percent annual returns through investing in these funds with minimal risk exposure, according to the SEC's complaint. On its Website, Optimal Economics Capital Partners said it invests "in the future revenues of our portfolio companies." Among the companies listed on the site are Unequal, which sells sports gear and TU-Perform, which sells gear for athletes and runners.   Continue reading...