Agency sues firms, pair, alleges fraud
The Arkansas Securities Department filed a complaint against Dennis and Jan Richey Robinson and two businesses they own for the sale of unregistered securities.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Pulaski County Circuit Court.
The Robinsons own Interactive Digital Systems LLC and RMI Group LLC, both of Bentonville.
The couple made fraudulent representations to entice investors to give at least $181,000 to buy interest in Interactive Digital and RMI, the lawsuit said. They told investors that the companies had patents to kiosk software and hardware that were on the verge of being placed in retail stores such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Kroger, Walgreens and Dick’s Sporting Goods, according to the lawsuit.
But the couple didn’t disclose that a prior investor had obtained a judgment against them for fraud in Benton County Circuit Court, the lawsuit said.
“I’m in shock,” Jan Robinson, who now lives in St.
Petersburg, Fla., said after hearing about the lawsuit.
“We have all intentions of fighting this. Those are incorrect statements.”
- David Smith
Metropolitan reports earnings of $662,000
Metropolitan National Bank earned $662,000 in the first quarter, up from a loss of $1.04 million in the same period last year, the Little Rock bank said Friday.
The reason for the earnings was lowering of nonperforming assets by more than $46 million in the past six months, Lunsford Bridges, chief executive officer of Metropolitan, said in a prepared statement.
“We anticipate Metropolitan’s trend of lowering problem assets and increasing core earnings to continue throughout 2013 and beyond,” Bridges said.
The bank’s loan demand is increasing and mortgage lending has been strong, Bridges said.
Metropolitan has $1 billion in assets, unchanged from the first quarter of 2012.
Metropolitan has 44 branches in central and northwest Arkansas.
- David Smith
12 state stocks fall as index loses 1.09
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.09 to 268.38 Friday.
Twelve stocks fell and four advanced.
USA Truck gained 3 percent on half its average volume.
Windstream lost 3.3 percent on average volume.
For the week, 11 stocks rose and five fell.
P.A.M. Transportation Services dropped 9.6 percent for the week.
Deltic Timber was up 6.9 percent for the week.
P.A.M. Transportation Services fell 5.7 percent on more than four times its average volume.
Volume for the index was 19.1 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 21.7 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 27 on 04/27/2013