Phillip Offill, a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawyer from Dallas who previously served prison time for a penny stock scam is being accused of a repeat offense. Offill allegedly participated in an investment scheme that fetched him and a trading partner more than $1.3 million.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the SEC filed a civil complaint on January 19, accusing Phillip W. Offill Jr. of Dallas and Justin W. Herman of misappropriating and selling millions of shares in Mansfield-Martin Exploration Mining Inc.
Offill, a former trial lawyer for the SEC, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison in 2010 on charges that included conspiracy to commit securities-registration violations, wire fraud, and securities fraud.
According to The DMN, Offill was one of eleven men caught in an investigation dealing with the manipulation of share prices for small companies, most of which had North Texas connections.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Offill, who was released from prison in 2016, allegedly started a new penny stock scheme using the alias “Jim Jimerson” to hide his real identity and build trust with a controlling shareholder in Mansfield-Martin.
The SEC claims Offill and Herman fabricated transactions that prompted the sale of millions of shares, with both men splitting the profit. However, the controlling shareholder, who has not been identified and works in Dallas, did not authorize the sale.
According to the complaint, Phillip Offill made $386,000 from the transaction, with Justin Herman pocketing $935,000.
The SEC is now demanding the return of the profits plus additional civil penalties and a penny stock bar against Herman.
According to the SEC, Herman had been convicted for a different offense in October and is awaiting sentencing after a federal jury in Cheyenne, Wyoming found him guilty on charges that included conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, securities fraud, and multiple counts of aggravated identity theft. The charges were brought against him for his part in a penny stock scheme in Wyoming.
Herman is currently scheduled for February 4, 2022. He faces a mandatory two years in prison and a maximum of sentence of 53 years.
Offill declined to comment when approached by The DMN, and Herman deferred comment, as the litigation was only recently announced. As of press time, neither of them have publicly addressed the allegations in the complaint.