Ex-Prof and Houston Lawyer Accused of Faking Investor Returns

A Houston lawyer and former finance professor at Texas A&M have been accused of faking bank records to mislead investors into believing they were able to produce annual returns of more than 23 percent in foreign exchange trading.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says Houston lawyer Daniel Petroski and former professor Robert Watson raised at least $19.5 million from more than 60 investors after they founded the company Global One in 2006, according to Reuters and Bloomberg. A judge has frozen the defendants’ assets and appointed a receiver.

The SEC complaint says the men told investors they had earned returns of 23 percent using trading software they called Alpha One, but when regulators asked for supporting documents the defendants produced fake records.

Watson resigned from Texas A&M after teaching one class for four months, school spokeswoman Pam Wiley told Bloomberg. Dallas lawyer Richard Roper, who represents Petroski, told Bloomberg he could not respond before reviewing the pleadings.