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While looking at my referral log yesterday, I noticed a lot of hits on previous pieces I'd written on T. Boone Pickens' son Michael O. Pickens.

I figured something had hit the news, but didn't have to time to figure out what. Now I know why:

Michael O. Pickens, 52, admitted to three counts of securities fraud related to the scheme in a hearing in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska.

He had also faced five counts of wire fraud, but the government dropped those charges as part of his plea agreement. Both the government and Pickens' attorney agreed to a sentence range of 57 to 71 months in prison.

According to an indictment filed in July 2005, Pickens enticed investors to buy shares of thinly traded companies Infinium Labs Inc., Soleil Film Inc. and Data Evolution Holdings Inc. (DTEV.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) by sending handwritten hoax faxes meant to fool investors into thinking they had mistakenly received a hot stock tip. Infinium has since changed its name to Phantom Entertainment Inc. (PHEI.OB: Quote, Profile, Research).

For the whole story, (from Reuters.com), click here.

It's got to be tough to be a well-known parent (or even bieng the son of one). I and my brothers all got in trouble when we were younger, with violations ranging from the minor to the severe (and one that involved jail time).

But luckily, our father wasn't a nationally known figure. So while we ended up in the local paper, that's as far as the publicity went.

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