Spring man accused of bilking $3M from investor

A former Houston resident who now lives in Portugal is suing four Houston area residents for allegedly taking more than $3 million of his money and keeping it.

David Jenkins filed suit against NelsonReid Inc., David Hayden of Spring and Richard J. Prim Jr., of Spring, and James T. Cook Jr., and Judith Cook of Cypress, in Harris County District Court on Oct. 6. 

 

In the suit, Jenkins claims that the Cooks used Amidee Capital Group Inc. to lure potential investors, including himself, to become limited partners in business interests.

 

Jenkins says he invested more than $3 million with Amidee and NelsonReid from December 2004 and January 2008. The two companies are operated by the same individuals, the suit indicates. 

 

The suit claims that Jenkins was asked to invest an additional $885,000 on top of the original $3,115,000 for another opportunity. Jenkins paid additional amounts, but then Amidee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 17, 2010. The additional investment, Jenkins alleges, was a ruse to give Amidee cash flow.

 

Jenkins is being represented by Houston attorney Jeremy R. Stone. He is seeking exemplary damages plus attorney's fees, interest and court costs.

 

Harris County District Court Case No. 2010-65852

 

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.