PHOENIX — The Arizona Corporation Commission has sanctioned a company that raised money from investors for a gold-processing venture that touted high-tech equipment capable of recovering more precious metals from ore.
The commission has ordered Charles L. Robertson of Houston and his two affiliated companies to repay 63 investors more than $1.1 million and pay a $100,000 administrative fine. The companies are Arizona Gold Processing LLC and AZGO LLC. The commission says Robertson and others he directed contacted potential investors through a national telephone and email marketing campaign. They touted the company’s bogus technology and convinced investors to buy unregulated “private placement” securities. Robertson and the companies didn’t admit or deny the charges but consented to the penalties.
The commission warned investors to scrutinize private placement investments.
