Was one girl's lavish, televised coming-of-age bash, aired in February of 2007, funded on the backs of bilked oil investors?
As the New York Times reports, an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 sparked regulatory interest in the affairs of the star's father, Kentuckian Gary M. Milby, suspected of diverting at least $12 million in investors' cash into offshore accounts and family trusts, with dry oilwells and a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint to show for it in the end.
"I love oil," TV debutante Ariel is quoted as saying. "Oil means shoes and cars and purses."
My Super Sweet 16 chronicles moneyed teens and their parents in the preparation and execution of birthday galas, usually with new cars involved, and with the price tags to match.
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Last fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint accusing Mr. Milby of raising more than $19 million from 375 investors over about a year and a half, starting in February 2005. At least $12 million was diverted into offshore accounts and family trusts and millions of dollars was spent on Mr. Milby’s lavish lifestyle, the S.E.C. said in its complaint. Mr. Milby denied all of the accusations against him.
“That MTV show really put Milby on the road map,” said Frank Panepinto, a fraud investigator with the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions. “That really got people aggravated with him.”
What Mr. Milby didn’t tell investors also spoke volumes. He had filed for bankruptcy in 2003, and in 2005 and 2006 several states had banned him from selling securities, the S.E.C. said. The agency also said that Mr. Milby was barred from drilling in Texas and that the Kentucky counties where he was drilling had never produced enough oil to support his lofty claims. And, while some individuals received modest dividends from partnerships managed by Mr. Milby and the Mid-America companies, no investors ever recouped their entire investments, the S.E.C. said.
Was one girl's lavish, televised coming-of-age bash, aired in February of 2007, funded on the backs of bilked oil investors?