Another Petro America scam leader pleads guilty
Allen Collins pleaded guilty to playing a role in a $7.2 million securities fraud on Thursday, becoming the fourth defendant in the minister-led Petro America scam to do so. Collins banked at least $172,774 by selling Petro stock to at least 57 investors. Petro also paid him $13,300 in consulting fees and other payments. Collins was never licensed to sell securities and he ignored cease-and-desist orders from Kansas and Missouri while selling the shares.
“Frequently, Collins would pass along information about Petro that he got from a co-conspirator, including that Petro had oil assets and added 30 to 40 gold mines. He would claim that Petro bought and sold oil, and that it had a packaging plant. While much of the time Collins simply repeated information to investors that he had heard from others, he knew that it was incomplete and potentially misleading,” U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark said in a press release.
