IN BRIEF
LV businessman faces securities fraud charges
A Las Vegas businessman is being held in Houston while he fights extradition to Nevada on charges of securities fraud, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Walsh said.
The Secretary of State's office has accused Robert Calvert of two counts of securities fraud and one of theft involving the sale of a $92,000 promissory note, Walsh said the department's securities division has received calls about other alleged violations in Texas, Oregon and possibly two other states.
In late 2005, Calvert, who was doing business as Pacific Payment Xchange or PPX, sold a $92,000, 18-month promissory note to Jim Hanges, a 60-year-old retiree from Incline Village, that yielded 8 percent interest with monthly payments. Interest payments were made, but Hanges did not recover the principal amount, according to court papers.
Hanges was told the money would be used to finance "high-end" real estate projects in Las Vegas, according to the criminal complaint. However, the criminal charges say that Calvert was primarily engaged in vehicle subleasing, real estate subleasing and foreclosure prevention.
Calvert used the money to buy an interest in the Trust Company of the Pacific, according to court papers.
The trust company agreed to the revocation of its license by Nevada Financial Institutions Division in February 2008 because of "unsafe and unsound activity."
Sportsman's Warehouse will close local stores
Sportsman's Warehouse, a Midvale, Utah-based chain of outdoors stores, will shutter 23 locations, including one in Las Vegas and one in Henderson.
According to the company's Web site, the chain plans to liquidate the 23 stores to reduce debt and sell the remaining 15 locations to UFA Co-operative Limited of Alberta.
The company didn't announce when the stores would close. President and CEO Stuart Utgaard did not return a call for comment.
The Las Vegas location is near Centennial Center Boulevard and Ann Road. It employs about 65 workers. The Henderson store is on Lake Mead Parkway near U.S. Highway 95.
CARSON CITY
Regulators call for fine, slot license suspension
Nevada gambling regulators are recommending a $50,000 fine and a 6-month suspension of a slot machine license to resolve a complaint alleging that several patrons in a Las Vegas gay bar engaged in sex acts in public areas of the bar.
The settlement signed by Snick's Place owner Dominick Vitale and state Gaming Control Board members would resolve a 7-count complaint filed in December. Each count is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000. Also, the club's license for up to 15 slot machines could have been revoked.
The proposed settlement with Vitale and Snick's, which advertises itself as the oldest gay bar in Las Vegas, dating to 1976, will be reviewed by the board's parent state Gaming Commission at a March 19 meeting in Las Vegas.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices rise after notes auction
Treasury prices rose Wednesday after the government auctioned $18 billion in 10-year notes to decent demand.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 0.81 points to 98.59. Its yield fell to 2.91 percent from 2.98 percent late Tuesday. Prices move opposite of yields.
