Dallas promoter gets 10 years for raising $13.5 million for oil and gas projects, claiming a well produced 450 barrels a day when it made under 15
Tommy Eugene Barber, 33, of Dallas, who pleaded guilty in December 2009 to two counts of securities fraud, was sentenced on October 13, 2010 to 120 months in prison and ordered to pay $13,243,073 in restitution. From May 2006 to November 2007 he and associates sold investments in three oil and gas drilling projects, Arrowhead, Sierra and Sidnee, through T-Bar Resources, LLC, and he received about $13.5 million from more than 300 investors.
- Year
- 2010
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $13.2 million
- Victims
- 300
- Schemes
- Oil and gas investment fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-28
The facts, as recorded
- Judge Jane J. Boyle sentenced Barber to 120 months, and ordered $13,243,073 in restitution. He had been in custody since mid-January 2010, when his pretrial release was revoked.
- Barber operated through T-Bar Resources, LLC out of Dallas and told investors the oil and gas interests would likely earn profits through purchases of oil and gas leases and drilling.
- On the Arrowhead project he deceived investors about the percentage of the project they were receiving and misapplied a substantial part of the funds raised. He claimed it was producing more than 450 barrels a day when it was producing less than 15 per day.
- For the Sidnee and Sierra projects, his associates cold-called potential investors and claimed the oil and gas investments were conservative, although he knew they were speculative at best.
- Investors in those two projects were told that drilling was imminent or had begun, when it had not begun and was not imminent because Barber had not employed or paid a driller or operator.
- Sales literature said proceeds would be held in escrow until 80% of the total offering was raised, but Barber withdrew investor money from escrow long before that and misappropriated the funds almost immediately after they were deposited.
- The SEC filed a civil suit in November 2007 against T-Bar and Barber, outlining T-Bar's boiler room operations. An agreed order of permanent injunction was entered on November 23, 2009.
Why this case matters
The U.S. Attorney’s release goes through the claims one at a time, and each can be checked against a fact: a well that produced fewer than 15 barrels a day described as producing more than 450; drilling said to be imminent when no driller had been hired; and proceeds said to be held in escrow until 80% of the offering was raised, when the money was withdrawn almost immediately.
The caveat
Barber pleaded guilty and was sentenced, so the conduct above is what the plea documents and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The release says he received about $13.5 million, and $13,243,073 is the restitution the court ordered. The release does not say how the money was spent after it was withdrawn, so this page does not either. The “more than 300 investors” is the release’s figure.
Sources
- Dallas man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for running oil and gas scheme. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas. Accessed 2026-10-28. Supports: Every fact above: the plea, sentence and restitution, the three projects, the $13.5 million from more than 300 investors, the cold calls, the 450 versus 15 barrels a day, the missing driller, the escrow withdrawals and the SEC action.