Mantria officials deny SEC charges of Ponzi scheme

Mantria Executive Troy Wragg was unavailable for comment by phone at press time, but online reports indicate he, and partner Amanda Knorr, deny allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission of a Ponzi scheme.

The SEC charged the pair on November 16, 2009 with perpetrating a $30 million scheme in which more than 300 investors nationwide were encouraged to participate in environmentally friendly investment opportunities.

An online blog, confirmed as authentic by the Phildelphia Business Journal, stated, “We are aware of the SEC action in Denver. We deny all the allegations raised by the SEC against Mantria and its principals and we are preparing our defense. We hope to obtain a favorable resolution of this matter. In the interim, we will continue to market our waste-to-energy systems, bio-char and related bio-products and our residential real estate communities.

“We also encourage people to come and see our properties, take a tour of our waste conversion system and see for yourself how we are able to convert biomass waste into valuable bio-products.”

Hohenwald Eco-Industrial Park property owner Joe Danielle said Tuesday he had spoken by phone with Wragg who told Danielle the charges were civil, not criminal.  Wragg reportedly expressed to Danielle a desire to work through the SEC allegations.

Wragg remains in a lease contract with Danielle but Mantria’s assets have been frozen by a federal judge in Denver.