On March 10, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Joe Leland Tarver and two companies he controls, Rock and Roll Cycles, LLC (RRC) and Cycle For Life, Inc. (CFL) for defrauding investors who were told their funds would be used to manufacture and sell custom tricycles for disabled children and adults.

According to the complaint, from about July 2014 through December 2017, Tarver and his companies raised approximately $491,000 from at least 18 investors in the form of promissory notes issued by RRC and CFL, promising annual returns of between 6% and 9.6%. The SEC alleges that, instead of using the investments to manufacture tricycles, Tarver diverted a significant amount to pay his personal expenses and used new investor funds to pay returns to existing investors. He also allegedly failed to disclose lawsuits brought by earlier investors for failing to repay their promissory notes.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Tarver, RRC, and CFL have consented to the entry of orders enjoining them from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and from, directly or indirectly, participating in the issuance, offer, or sale of promissory notes. They have also agreed to pay, on a joint and several basis, $158,652 of disgorgement and $12,662 of prejudgment interest. In addition, Tarver has agreed to pay a $65,000 civil monetary penalty.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Ty Martinez and David Reece, with litigation assistance from Matthew Gulde, and was supervised by Eric Werner of the SEC's Fort Worth office.