A federal court appearance is expected soon for a Garland man who is among seven people indicted in the state of New York for fraud.
Federal prosecutors say Richard Dale Sterritt, Jr liked to live large, driving his Bentley around as owner of Dallas-based Zona energy.
In fact, an indictment out of the Eastern District of New York says Sterritt and four others were behind a $10 million fraud scheme and were living large on other people’s money.
Federal prosecutors say Zona and his partners were supposed to be exploring oil and gas in the Permian basin in west Texas, but was instead using the investor money to line their own pockets. The cars, apartments and even plastic surgery for girlfriends were bought with the cash.
The Securities and Exchange commission has also jumped in, claiming Sterritt raised more than $16 million from more than 300 investors.