A Dallas man pleaded guilty this week to defrauding investors of more than $27 million through oil, gas and water rights fraud.
Dennis James Rogers II, 35, fabricated fake business opportunities and convinced investors to hand over millions of dollars, which he spent on a private jet, a home-building service and real estate, among other things, according to federal court documents.
Rogers, originally from Las Cruces, NM, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of securities fraud. He faces up to 10 years in a federal prison when he is sentenced in December. An attorney for Rogers did not immediately respond to an email or phone call seeking comment.
Court documents describe several scams involving Rogers’ two Uptown Dallas companies, Oregon Mountain Trading Company and Bootstrap Ventures.
In August 2019, Rogers asked an investor, identified in court documents as JI, for $10 million to buy fuel for the Oregon Mountain Trading Company. JI gave the money after the pair agreed he would receive a 50 percent return on the investment. Instead of buying fuel, Rogers funneled the funds to the private jet, a custom home builder, a law firm, an investment account, credit card companies and other business entities.
Ten months later, in June 2020, Mr. Rogers solicited $4.1 million and $2.1 million, respectively, from two investors identified in court documents as SW and DW. He told the investors that a major international fuel company was exiting its stock position in Brownsville, Texas, and planned to sell its fuel through an invitation-only auction.
The company never held an auction and had no relationship with Rogers. Instead of buying fuel, Rogers used the money to fund an independent investment account, buy real estate, and pay personal expenses.
Rogers engineered a third scam using Bootstrap Ventures for a purported water rights deal involving a New Mexico dairy farm. He made phone calls to an investor and a purported member of the dairy farm family and emailed contract details, court documents show. He collected $11 million from investors between July 2019 and October 2020.
When Rogers failed to repay investors, they learned that he had no relationship with the dairy farmer and that there was no water rights contract. He used the money to pay other investors, buy real estate, and cover personal expenses.
“This defendant lined his pockets at the expense of potential investors and lied and cheated his way to a life of luxury,” U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton said in a press release, calling the confession a “step toward justice for his victims.”
