and MIG Records (Global Village Records) on March 20, 2008. Final judgments was obtained against relief defendant Thomas Avery and his company T.M.A. Investment Enterprises and relief defendant R.P.J. Investment Group, Inc. on April 9, 2008, ordering $70,000 in disgorgement plus $4,342 in prejudgment interest jointly and severally between Avery and his company, and ordering $7,364 in disgorgement against R.P.J. The lawsuit "Securities and Exchange Commission v. Tri Energy, Inc., H & J Energy Company, Inc., Marina Investors Group, Inc., Lowell Decker, Robert Jennings, Henry Jones, Arthur Simburg, Mildred Stultz, DJM, LLC, Financial MD, Inc., Financial MD and Associates, Inc., Daniel J. Merriman, Global Village Records, and La Vie D'Argent, as defendants, and R.P.J. Investment Group, Inc., T.M.A. Investment Enterprises, Thomas Avery, and Wing NGA Lau, a/k/a Adrienne Lau, as relief defendants" in Case No. ED CV 05-00351 AG(MANx) (C.D. California) resulted in a judgement of $51 million against Tri Energy, Inc. and defendants Arthur Simburg and Robert Jennings for their role in a massive affinity fraud and Ponzi Scheme. The Final Judgment on April 13, 2009, against defendants Tri Energy, Inc., H & J Energy Company, Inc., Robert Jennings, Arthur Simburg, and La Vie D'Argent (collectively the "Tri Energy Defendants") with a settled action, ruled for payment of $35 million in disgorgement and $2,048,466 in prejudgment interest, and ordered Simburg and Jennings to pay a civil penalty of $7 million each. Imprisonment In the criminal cases, prison sentences were passed: Arthur Simburg was sentenced on November 17, 2008, to 9 years' imprisonment after entering into a plea agreement. He was released from federal prison on November 10, 2016. Robert Jennings was convicted after a jury trial on July 11, 2008, and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on November 17, 2008. Defendant Henry Jones was extradited from Hong Kong and convicted after a jury trial on July 11, 2008, and was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on April 3, 2009. He is currently scheduled for release from federal prison on October 10, 2024. In popular culture American Greed, a CNBC series, covered the history of the Tri Energy scheme in episode 3 of season 5. References Pyramid and Ponzi schemes