US Lawmaker Urges SEC Action Against Arkansas Firm Accused of Selling Fake Tax Credits

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon (Senate.gov photo)

White River Energy Corp. of Fayetteville faces fresh federal scrutiny in relation to its allegedly fraudulent sale of tribal tax credits that the IRS doesn’t recognize.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has asked SEC Chair Paul Atkins to consider taking steps to delist the publicly traded company.

Wyden said in a letter dated Jan. 29 that the company’s tax-credit sales are the subject of a federal criminal investigation, which White River has failed to disclose in required financial reports. In fact, the letter said, the oil and gas company has not filed a 10-K annual report since 2023 and has not filed a quarterly report in nearly two years. The company’s website shows its last quarterly filing was in March 2023.

Wyden said the company’s lapse in financial reporting suggests an effort to “keep investors in the dark” on material issues affecting the company, including the investigation. He said the SEC should take measures to ensure reporting compliance or revoke White River’s securities registration.

White River trades on the decentralized, less-regulated over-the-counter market (OTCPK: WTRV).

Minimal Impact

Any regulatory action against the company could be viewed as largely symbolic, as White River’s market capitalization Monday was just $6,100.

The company’s stock price has been pinned at a fraction of a cent with virtually no trading since December 2024, when Bloomberg Tax reported that the tax credits were fake. A few months later, Wyden and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, requested an IRS investigation into the company.

White River has disputed claims that the tax credits are phony. In a June 2025 news release, the company accused Wyden of conspiring with Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Schilling to damage the company’s business, shareholder value, and CFO Jay Puchir’s reputation. The release said White River was evaluating legal responses to the report.

In a statement Monday to Arkansas Business, White River said it believes Wyden’s call for SEC action against the company is “political retaliation.”

The company did not answer a question about why it has not been filing financial reports.

Lawsuit Dropped

A Florida couple in September dropped their lawsuit against White River and agreed to arbitration, as mandated in a purchase agreement, the company said in a separate news release.

The lawsuit said Justin and Robin Daniels paid $1.62 million for credits supposedly worth $2.7 million, but the IRS rejected them and imposed a $149,000 penalty.

In the release, White River maintained that the tax credits are valid and vowed to “vigorously defend” itself against “unsubstantiated allegations.”