He's pleaded guilty to bilking millions of dollars from investors but he's still walking the streets, despite a being sentenced to more than four years in prison Tuesday afternoon.
We're talking about David Rose, who has been involved with dozens of oil and gas companies for more than 30 years.
Despite evidence presented in court that Rose fraudulently obtained a new passport after his old one was seized by the government, the judge allowed him to turn himself in at a later date.
David Rose quietly snuck past cameras into the federal courthouse Tuesday.
He was to be sentenced after pleading guilty to a 21-count indictment charging him with defrauding dozens of investors in Enterra Energy.
While Rose could have faced more than 400 years in prison, he's agreed to serve a little more than four years and pay restitution of almost $3 million.
“Some of the struggles we had as investors wasn't really considered,” said Kenneth Dicken who was one of more than five dozen investors who lost all or most of his money by investing in Enterra.
Rose admitted defrauding investors by making false claims involving oil and gas investments.
As we've previously reported, we discovered documents showing that Rose continued to be paid tens of thousands of dollars by new companies he was involved with after being indicted for defrauding Enterra investors.
Oil and gas companies with ties to Rose and his sons are still in operation in southern Indiana.
“I think it's just a big scheme starting all over again. They figured out how to do it and they're just gonna cookie cut it and keep doing it over and over again until he's stopped totally,” said Dicken.
“In light of the fact that he's already paid a million dollars in restitution and has every desire to come up with two million more to make everyone whole, i think that it's a fair disposition.”
Many of Rose's assets have been transferred to a company called Future Happiness LLC which he owns with his sons and ex wife, so the government will not likely be able to seize them.
We obtained documents showing that wasn't the case either.
David Rose incorporated a company late last year called Big Bucket Entertainment, which is an internet pornography business.
We also discovered that Rose has formed a new oil and gas exploration company called Ward Exploration.
Rose's attorney says he didn't know Rose had obtained another passport, but he said that wasn't an issue, since his client would report to serve his sentence, once his federal prison facility is assigned.
Rose, his sons and several other people have also been named in an SEC civil suit involving another oil and gas venture operating out of southern Indiana.
