On the Beat in the Bluegrass

By Greg Kocher
gkocher1@herald-leader.com

A Fayette County grand jury indicted a Jessamine County woman Monday on charges that she illegally sold securities related to the 1901 Spindletop oil strike.

Jewell Robbins

Jewell Robbins, 75, also known as Alvina Jewell Burgin, was indicted on four felony counts. The Nicholasville woman, already in jail on a contempt of court charge related to the selling of securities, was indicted in Fayette County because she maintained an office in Lexington.

The detailed indictment was a direct indictment of a coalition of state, local and federal law enforcement officials known as the Financial Crimes Task Force that meets monthly to discuss pending cases in his office.

“Financial crimes are historically very complicated,” Larson said. “This group is not intimidated by the complexity of financial crimes. This is what they like to do, and they do it.”

In this particular instance, Roberta Bottoms, a U.S. postal inspector, was listed as the witness who testified before the grand jury. The state Department of Financial Institutions, which regulates securities in the state, was also involved, but it cannot bring criminal charges, said Andrea Williams, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney who chairs the task force.

If the task force suspects there is criminal activity, it contacts a law enforcement agency, she said.

Robbins remains in the Franklin County jail, where she had been incarcerated since July 22. She was ordered to serve a 120-day sentence after a Franklin Circuit Court judge found her to be in contempt because she continued to sell securities. She is not scheduled to be released from jail until mid-November

The state Department of Financial Institutions says Robbins has sold securities or partial interests in litigation related to Spindletop since the mid-1980s.

There are thought to be hundreds or even thousands of people all over the country who invested money with Robbins. Spindletop was one of the richest oil deposits on earth and has yielded billions of dollars worth of crude oil since production began in 1901.

Ron Bowling, Robbins’ attorney, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. An arraignment date for Robbins has not been scheduled.