On January 24, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final consent judgment against New Jersey resident Walter Gil de Rubio for his role in a scheme that defrauded approximately 80 investors of over $3.7 million between June 2013 and January 2017. In 2018, the SEC charged Gil de Rubio and two other defendants with fraud and misappropriation through sales of securities in a company that falsely claimed to have exclusive rights to a crude oil processing technology. The SEC's complaint also alleged that Gil de Rubio aided and abetted materially false or misleading statements made by one of his co-defendants concerning the timing and amount of investment returns and the use of offering proceeds.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Gil de Rubio consented to the entry of a judgment that enjoins him from future violations 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. The judgment further orders Gil de Rubio to pay a civil penalty of $160,000.

The SEC's litigation, which continues as to two defendants, is led by Kevin McGrath, Victor Suthammanont, Margaret Spillane, and Neil Hendelman, and is supervised by Thomas P. Smith, Jr.