Brady Jack Speers, Chatree Thiranon, and GHAP, LLC d/b/a Blue Star Texas

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25818 / August 31, 2023

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brady Jack Speers, Chatree Thiranon, and GHAP, LLC d/b/a Blue Star Texas, No. 4:2323-cv-00905 (N.D. Tex. filed Aug. 31, 2023)

SEC Charges Recidivist and Others in Real Estate Offering Fraud
 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a complaint against Brady Speers, Chatree “Ben” Thiranon, and GHAP, LLC d/b/a Blue Star Texas (“Blue Star”) for running a fraudulent house-flipping scheme that raised almost $8 million from 40 investors through the unregistered sale of promissory notes.  Speers, Thiranon, and Blue Star represented that they would use investor funds to buy, renovate, and sell residential properties.  The SEC’s complaint alleges, however, that the defendants misused more than $2.9 million of investor funds to pay personal expenses and to make Ponzi-like payments.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Speers, Thiranon, and Blue Star, a company they owned and controlled, raised funds by misrepresenting and omitting material information.  The SEC’s complaint alleges that Blue Star told investors that their funds were secured by property interests in the real estate assets underlying the investments, when in reality Blue Star only secured investor interests in isolated instances and sometimes never even held title to the properties at issue.  The SEC also alleges that Blue Star rolled over investor funds to other projects without required authorization.  Additionally, the complaint alleges that Blue Star touted Speers’s business experience and background without also disclosing that the SEC charged him with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws in 2015 and that he filed for personal bankruptcy on two separate occasions.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, charges Speers, Thiranon, and Blue Star with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”), and the securities-registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act.  Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Speers, Thiranon, and Blue Star have agreed to a partial settlement, consenting to the entry of a judgment that permanently enjoins them from future violations of the charged provisions and orders each to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties in amounts that will be determined by the court upon future motion of the SEC.  Speers and Thiranon have also consented to conduct-based injunctions and bars from serving as an officer or director of a public company.  Finally, the defendants have agreed to the appointment of a liquidation agent to sell properties that are under renovation.  The partial settlements are subject to Court approval.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jeaneen Kappell, Carol Hahn, and Jamie Haussecker of the Fort Worth Regional Office, under the supervision of Jim Etri and Eric Werner.  The litigation will be conducted by Jason Reinsch and supervised by B. David Fraser.

• SEC Complaint