News Release

Vancouver - A British Columbia Securities Commission panel has ruled that a United States citizen operating under an assumed name in British Columbia committed a fraud when he sold securities in two B.C. companies to hundreds of investors.

Between February 2008 and March 2010, Robert Lee Flickinger II (a.k.a. Robert Reynolds), sold limited partnership units in Lavaca III Limited Partnership and Gulf Coast Basin Limited Partnership to over 200 investors, promising them that their investment would be used for the acquisition and production of oil and gas properties. None of the money was used for that purpose.

Flickinger fabricated his story to investors and went to great lengths to conceal his fraud:

• He used an alias, Robert Reynolds, to hide his identity and regulatory history in the United States.
• He never disclosed to investors that he was the de facto officer and director of Lavaca and Gulf Coast.
• He falsely stated that the two companies were managed by people who had no involvement in either.
• He created fictitious biographies for the identities he stole, and falsely claimed they had extensive experience and qualifications.
• He lied to investors about Lavaca and Gulf Coast’s quarterly distributions, claiming that they were derived from the revenues generated by the companies when they were, in fact, being made with investors’ funds.

Flickinger has a well-documented history of U.S. securities regulatory infractions. In 2006, he was permanently banned from membership in the National Futures Association, and in 2008 the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint that resulted in him being permanently barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company or from offering penny stocks.

For his fraudulent actions, the commission panel permanently banned Flickinger from our markets, and ordered him to pay to the commission the $6 million he obtained as a result of his illegal activity, as well as an administrative penalty of $12 million.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province. You may view the settlement agreement on our website www.bcsc.bc.ca by typing Flickinger or 2011 BCSECCOM 485 in the search box.  Information regarding disciplinary proceedings can be found in the Enforcement section of the BCSC website.

Please visit the Canadian Securities Administrators’ disciplined persons list for information relating to persons disciplined by provincial securities regulators, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA).

If you have questions, contact Richard Gilhooley, media relations, on 604-899-6713. For public inquiries, call 604 899 6854 or 1 800 373 6393 (toll free).

Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org