Texas Man Settles With SEC Over Fraudulent Clean Water Project

A Houston man who allegedly raised around $7.2 million for a purported clean water project and instead spent the money on himself reached a settlement with the SEC, according to federal court filings in Texas.

Verley Lee Sembritzky Jr. and his companies, Bounty of the Ocean Inc. and Ocean Harvest LLC, agreed to pay more than $7.7 million combined in disgorgement, interest, and fines to resolve the Securities and Exchange Commission allegations, the agency told the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Tuesday.

Sembritzky, who also went by “Rocky,” told investors his unregistered and fraudulent securities ...