A California investor sued Tellurian Inc. Chairman Charif Souki on Jan. 20, accusing him of fraud in relation to an agreement over Tellurian stock.
Shareholder Chris Parker filed a breach of contract lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Denver seeking unspecified damages from Souki, founder of the U.S. LNG company. Parker, a Los Angeles resident, alleged Souki reneged on a promise promised to cover any investment losses Parker suffered while holding about 11 million shares in Tellurian between 2019 and 2021.
Souki believed there was a short-selling campaign against Tellurian’s stock and convinced Parker not to sell his shares, the lawsuit said. Souki promised a stock price rise when “certain business prospects” were realized, the lawsuit said.
Neither Tellurian nor Souki replied to a request for comment.
Parker said he began acquiring Tellurian shares in 2017, a year that they traded as high as $20.47 per share. By August 2019, the stock had dropped to about $5 per share.
The complaint alleged Souki was forced by his bank to sell tens of millions of his shares to cover loans while he was telling Parker not to sell.
“Charif Souki made a clear promise to Chris Parker—a promise that Souki broke, and that in retrospect it appears he never intended to honor,” Matthew L. Schwartz, a lawyer for Parker, said in a statement.
Recommended Reading
Permian Operators Colgate, Centennial to Combine in $7 Billion Merger
2022-05-19 - The $7 billion “merger of equals transaction” of Centennial Resource Developement and Colgate Energy will create the largest pure-play E&P company in the Delaware Basin of the Permian.
Tellurian Hires Former McDermott COO Samik Mukherjee as Keith Teague Retires
2022-05-16 - Mukherjee will be responsible for all Tellurian’s asset projects including the construction and operations of Driftwood LNG
Midstream Performance Indexes Notch Growth for Third Quarter in a Row
2022-05-20 - More than 80% of companies on VettaFi’s lists raised their payouts on a year-over-year basis.
Tallgrass Energy Looks to International Growth, Hires Sempra’s Sally Sun
2022-03-24 - Tallgrass Energy hired Sally Sun, previously with Sempra LNG, in January as vice president of international business development to oversee its outreach to international customers “on a range of opportunities.”
Chevron CEO Points to ‘Difficult Decisions’ by Competitors to Leave Russia
2022-03-01 - Chevron CEO Michael Wirth also stressed the importance for world oil supply of the Caspian pipeline consortium, operator of an oil line that moves crude from Russia and Kazakhstan and in which Chevron holds a 15% interest.