Filed with June 17, 2020 https://tips.fbi.gov/ ----------------------------------------- In the event anyone views this as duplicity, let me clarify. I have been in contact with Brad Thompson, the agent in Elk City OK, office in an effort to help provide information on the following First State Bank Altus OK A Colorado land scam Oklahoma Tax credit fraud, involving several cases. More information can be found at prowlingowl.com Although, First State Bank Altus OK, is in Brad’s territory, Brad has been provided this information, and was informed I would be submitting this tips on line. My experience with Brad Thompson has been very professional. There are issues unrelated to Brad, that I feel dictates that I follow official reporting procedures. As a reference I was involved in bringing about the FDIC audit of First State Bank Altus OK, which resulted in, as I understand, an investigation. I am not aware of what resulted or the current status of that investigation, but assume it is still ongoing. I was the one who discovered the $643 million in fraudulent loan documents FDIC forensic auditors missed in a 4 to 5 months detailed audit of the Altus bank. Paul Doughty, then the president, had used those fraudulent loan documents to claim investing $221 million in Quartz Mountain Aerospace, to defraud the state of $66 million, and evidence suggesting twice that much. Evidence showed QMA only received $32 million in investments. The reason I discovered the fraudulent loans was my original and primary interest was uncovering more proof to Paul Doughty had fraudulently obtained tax credits, by claiming $189 million in bogus loans documents, where no money was borrowed, as investments. There was already ample evidence that was rejected by state officials. Those state officials continue to reject the fraudulent loans, along with mounds of other evidence. Evidence that includes an open letter from the president of QMA, that was published in the Altus Times, verifying QMA only received $32 million, and never received the $189 million in bogus loans. For the record. Prior to establishing contact with Brad, in early 2009, I had made two previous attempts to report Paul Doughty’s fraudulent tax credit claims, state officials had rejected, via this tip from Those were apparently disregarded here as well. Another attempt to call the FBI Oklahoma City Office, was rudely dismissed without the courtesy of an opportunity to explain, beyond telling the listener it was about tax credit fraud. An updated version of the original submission with additional evidence will follow in a few days. The information reported here includes newly uncovered evidence, of a similar fraud, in some ways, but involving a different tax credit program and parties. Bank of Oklahoma, located in Tulsa, and Cimarron Business Capital. This fraud involves $91 million for BOK, $3.5 million for Cimarron, for the years 2006 thru 2009, and potentially more than $400 million during other years were less evidence is available. Note: The 7,500 character limit allowed in this online form is not sufficient, to do justice to a complex fraud of this nature and provide sufficient evidence to avoid being dismissed as some wild idea. This might explain why the original submission, which had evidence stripped to fit may have been disregarded. Following is a copy of the SEC complaint recently filed. First the cover letter. June 7, 2010 Securities and Exchange Commission Fort Worth Regional Office Fort Worth, TX 76102 e-mail: dfw@sec.gov and https://tts.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html Subject: False claims, failure to disclose, insiders benefiting Re: BOK Financial Corp (BOKF :NASDAQ) CIK 875357 SIC – 6021 IRS Employer ID No. 73-1373454 An examination of BOK (1) state income tax credit claims, found in Oklahoma Tax Commission emails, reveals evidence, I believe, clearly suggests the following occurred: a failure to fully and properly disclose certain activities related to obtaining and disbursement of Oklahoma state income taxes, and who profited from these activities. I submit this information warrants a complete and thorough investigation to determine the following: Did BOK misrepresent financial transactions to obtain unearned tax credits, for the personal benefit of insiders, totaling as much as $92 million and potentially more than $400 million. Did BOK fail to fully disclose activities related to BOK's role in claiming to qualify for Oklahoma state income tax credits. Activities that may have included: • misrepresented what appears to be interest bearing loans as investments to obtain unearned tax credits; • full value of tax credits received; • values of tax credits sold to insiders for as little as 20 cents on the $1; • value of benefits to insiders in the form of state income tax avoidance. (1) As used, here BOK collectively refers to BOK Financial Corp, subsidiaries and affiliates; most notably, a banking subsidiary BOK Oklahoma; and BOK Oklahoma subsidiaries' Cottonwood Valley Ventures and CVV Partnership. I trust you will give this the attention warranted. Please contact me, if I can be of further assistance. Nick Baker 3309 Windjammer Norman OK 73072 XXX-XXX-XXXX nick@prowlingowl.com Page 2 BOK Financial Holding (BOKF, Nasdaq) 2. Overview 3. Fraudulent activities 3. How this occurred 4. Critical evidence tax commission email 5. Evidence - examination and results 6. Ongoing tax credit investigation and achievements 7. Summary 8. Footnotes For convenience, the following information can be found at the following where links to references are embedded; and new information added if appropriate. http://prowlingowl.com/VentureCap/BOK_SEC_Complaint.cfm Overview BOK refers collectively to BOK Financial Holding, banking subsidiary BOK Oklahoma; and Cottonwood Valley Ventures and CVV Partnership, BOK Oklahoma subsidiaries. The recent surfacing of an Oklahoma Tax Commission auditor’s report (a) questioning BOK tax credit claims revealed evidence suggesting long standing fraud, benefiting BOK insiders. in the form of state income tax credits. More complete evidence (years 2006-2009) clearly suggests $91 million in fraud. Partial evidence for additional years suggests potentially more than $400 million. BOK misrepresented, and failed to fully, and properly disclose in SEC filings: • financial transactions used to facilitate the fraud; • the full amount BOK received in fraudulent tax credits; • tax credits were sold to insiders’ at an approximate 80% discount; • personal gain of more than $72 million by insiders’. Evidence examined includes • BOK SEC filings for years 2001 – 2009, (b) • BOK state income tax credit claims for years 2006 thru 2009 (a) The following conclusions will be restricted to the 2006 thru 2009 period where the most complete evidence, is available. Assuming the 2006 thru 2009 model was used, the following would apply: • SEC filings suggests $188 million more in tax credits for 2001 through 2005 (b) • amended 2008 claim $140 million was certified and to be taken in out years (c) Part 2 of 3 Page 3 Fraudulent activities An examination of 2006 thru 2009 tax credit claims (a) and SEC filing (b) reveal • BOK misrepresented interest bearing, secured loans as investments, to obtain $91 million in tax credits; while avoiding the risks inherent with investments, insuring the bank received interest on the funds, and leaving no fingerprints for auditors and examiners. • The tax credits were then sold to key officers and board members for $19 million. BOK treated only the $19 million as revenue, disregarding the $72 million in unearned profit passed on to insiders. How this occurred – difficult to imagine, but documented! Oklahoma’s “Venture Capital” tax credit program was originally created to operate, free of budgetary limitations, void of accountability, and all information to be held in strictest confidence. An Oklahoma public trust, Oklahoma Capital Investment Board, OCIB, was created to provide independent oversight for this tax credit program. To hide as far off the radar as possible, OCIB was funded using a form of off-balance sheet financing, to further escape oversight and scrutiny. In 2000, OCIB out sourced oversight to a private individual Robert G. Heard (d); giving Heard sole discretionary authority to authorize, which funds and investments qualified for tax credits; Heard, operating in strictest confidence, and void of scrutiny; qualified two funds: 1. Cottonwood Valley Ventures, a BOK subsidiary; addressed in more detail below, under “Evidence - examination and results.” 2. Heard’s own fund, Cimarron Business Capital; where Heard received $3.4 million or 99% of the tax credits he authorized for his own personal investments, for 2006-2008. Heard’s 2009 claim has not been obtained. An examination of Cimarron Business Capital', a private entity, purported investments are pending awaiting additional information. Page 4 Critical evidence, tax commission email Copies of tax commission emails (redacted, typically excessively) were obtained by a state representative. This information, until now held in strict confidence was found in a January 2010 email an Oklahoma Tax Commission auditor, Charles Robertson to Dawn Cash, director of tax policy, who ignored the auditor. The auditor questioned two suspicious related claims, filed by a BOK subsidiary, Cottonwood Valley Ventures’. 1) an amended 2008 tax credit claim(c), claiming an additional $800 million investment, reportedly received more than one year earlier, from CVV Partnership, another of BOK’s subsidiaries. 2) 2009 tax credit claiming $20 million in “Venture Capital”(e) tax credits, for $99 million invested in 2009, even though the program ended December 31, 2008. Cottonwood claimed the forgotten, $800 million invested, in 2008, was still eligible. Note: The auditor only addressed the matters within the tax commission’s scope, and not issues Robert Heard had responsibility, such as valid investment claims, as previously explained. See “How this occurred – difficult to imagine, but documented!” Page 5 Evidence - examination and results As a part of the ongoing investigating into tax credit abuses (see “Ongoing tax credit investigation and achievements” below), interest includes determining, if the investments’ met eligibility requirements, as claimed. A private citizen dealing with excessive secrecy can only go so far. In this case the information available, is far more than adequate to justify, and demands an investigation. Tax credit eligibility: Oklahoma’s “Venture Capital”(e) tax credit program returns 20% of qualified investments, to incentivized risks inherent in investing as opposes to secured loans. Note: Various forms of "debt and equity funds" such as “unsecured loans” may qualify with proper “evidence of ownership” in the business. BOK’s list of investments includes: • non-profits • private individuals • foundations • Roman Catholic Diocese • Indian Tribal Nations • YMCAs • Oklahoma State Fair In addition, to entities in industries prohibited from qualifying for tax credits, e.g., real estate. The examination suggests the following likely occurred: • Misrepresented non qualifying investments as qualified investments. • Tax credit filings reveal BOK claimed investing a total of $456 million (2006-2009) • SEC filings for the same year show venture capital investments totaling $125 million. • Failed to fully disclose ownership interest and associated risks exposure, as required if these were investments as represented. • 2009 claimed tax credits for investing $16.4 million(1) in the Tulsa Community Foundation (1) Tulsa Community Foundation. 2008 and 2009 SEC filings disclosing ”related parties” activities, BOK reported a $25 million loan commitment with the Tulsa Community Foundation ("TCF") to be secured by tax-exempt bonds purchased from an Oklahoma public trust, of which the City of Tulsa is the sole beneficiary. Then claimed investing $16.4 million in the Tulsa Community Foundation, to received tax credits. Page 6 Ongoing tax credit investigation and achievements A variety of financial shell games is used to misrepresent investments; most typically, as with BOK, secured interest bearing loans are claimed to be at risk investments. State authorities are more than willing to turn their backs, accept claims at face value, and holding all information in strictest confidence. This investigation has already led to exposing similar cases, including former First State Bank Altus Oklahoma, whose then president. Paul Doughty and others, are currently under investigation, for a variety of financial activities. These efforts were instrumental in convincing the FDIC and Federal Reserve Board to examine Doughty’s doings. A full scope audit of the bank ensured; later the, FDIC seized the bank; and rolled over into an investigation, which based on my understanding is still ongoing. More telling was discover of $643 million in fraudulent loans. Doughty made. As disconcerting as it was for state and federal banking regulators to have not caught Doughty’s illegal activities; the bank forensic auditors missed the $643 million in fraudulent loans. Doughty had made the loans to six LLCs he managed. Doughty claimed these loans as investments to obtain tax credits under another Oklahoma tax credit program. Fundamentally the same as BOK. The loans showed up as “unused loan commitments” often more than 2,000 percent more than typical “unused loan commitments” for similar sized banks. As a matter of practice all information gathered, including information including that reported to authorities, is made publicly available and posted online at http://prowlingowl.com. A practice has proven very fruitful, in obtaining evidence. Part 3 of 3 Page 8 Summary An examination of evidence produced results that clearly warrant an investigation into BOKs activities, and failure to fully and properly disclose those activities, and who profited. BOK did not fully disclose multiple aspects related to BOKs activities in claiming to qualify for Oklahoma state income tax credits: including amounts received; and values of tax credits sold to insiders for as little as 20% of face value or tax savings. BOK misrepresented financial transactions to obtain unearned tax credits, for the benefit of insiders. All evidence suggests this is another of several schemes passing loans off as investments, to gain 20% in unearned tax credits. There is a slightly different twist, with BOK. That comes because BOK has its own private tax credit program, operated by a private individual who, under the protection of state authorities, is helping himself to tax credits. The end results. It costs the company nothing and adds no risk. The obvious wrongs, of SEC interest: includes insiders misusing the company for personal gain; misrepresenting financial transactions; and failing to disclose the activities. BOK is only one of several involved in tax credit abuses. Some are publicly traded companies, but serving in passive roles, and those playing the active role are non public. Currently, there isn’t sufficient evidence to report SEC violations. That option will remain open. I trust you will find this information worthy of investigating. Page 7 Footnotes: (a) http://prowlingowl.com/VentureCap/BOK_CottonwoodValleyVenture.cfm (b) http://www.sec.gov/search/search.htm (c) http://prowlingowl.com/DataFiles/OTCLetters/CVV_2008_518_Amended.pdf (d) http://prowlingowl.com/TaxAbuse/Data/OcibIEAAgreement.pdf (e) http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=436511 June 7, 2010 4 Evidence - examination and results As a part of the ongoing investigating into tax credit abuses (see “Ongoing tax credit investigation and achievements” below), interest includes determining, if the investments’ met eligibility requirements, as claimed. A private citizen dealing with excessive secrecy can only go so far. In this case the information available, is far more than adequate to justify, and demands an investigation. Tax credit eligibility: Oklahoma’s “Venture Capital”(e) tax credit program returns 20% of qualified investments, to incentivized risks inherent in investing as opposes to secured loans. Note: Various forms of "debt and equity funds" such as “unsecured loans” may qualify with proper “evidence of ownership” in the business. BOK’s list of investments includes: • non-profits • private individuals • foundations • Roman Catholic Diocese • Indian Tribal Nations • YMCAs • Oklahoma State Fair In addition, to entities in industries prohibited from qualifying for tax credits, e.g., real estate. The examination suggests the following likely occurred: • Misrepresented non qualifying investments as qualified investments. • Tax credit filings reveal BOK claimed investing a total of $456 million (2006-2009) • SEC filings for the same year show venture capital investments totaling $125 million. • Failed to fully disclose ownership interest and associated risks exposure, as required if these were investments as represented. • 2009 claimed tax credits for investing $16.4 million(1) in the Tulsa Community Foundation (1) Tulsa Community Foundation. 2008 and 2009 SEC filings disclosing ”related parties” activities, BOK reported a $25 million loan commitment with the Tulsa Community Foundation ("TCF") to be secured by tax-exempt bonds purchased from an Oklahoma public trust, of which the City of Tulsa is the sole beneficiary. Then claimed investing $16.4 million in the Tulsa Community Foundation, to received tax credits. Ongoing tax credit investigation and achievements A variety of financial shell games is used to misrepresent investments; most typically, as with BOK, secured interest bearing loans are claimed to be at risk investments. State authorities are more than willing to turn their backs, accept claims at face value, and holding all information in strictest confidence. This investigation has already led to exposing similar cases, including former First State Bank Altus Oklahoma, whose then president. Paul Doughty and others, are currently under investigation, for a variety of financial activities. These efforts were instrumental in convincing the FDIC and Federal Reserve Board to examine Doughty’s doings. A full scope audit of the bank ensured; later the, FDIC seized the bank; and rolled over into an investigation, which based on my understanding is still ongoing. More telling was discover of $643 million in fraudulent loans. Doughty made. As disconcerting as it was for state and federal banking regulators to have not caught Doughty’s illegal activities; the bank forensic auditors missed the $643 million in fraudulent loans. Doughty had made the loans to six LLCs he managed. Doughty claimed these loans as investments to obtain tax credits under another Oklahoma tax credit program. Fundamentally the same as BOK. The loans showed up as “unused loan commitments” often more than 2,000 percent more than typical “unused loan commitments” for similar sized banks. As a matter of practice all information gathered, including information including that reported to authorities, is made publicly available and posted online at http://prowlingowl.com. A practice has proven very fruitful, in obtaining evidence.