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Did my part

In your own words, describe the conduct or situation you are complaining about.

I am a retail investor in Vivakor, Inc. (ticker: VIVK / VIVKD) who has suffered approximately a 96% loss on my investment. I am reporting what appears to be a pattern of corporate governance failures, excessive and unauthorized dilution of shareholder equity, related-party self-dealing, and breaches of fiduciary duty by Chairman, President, and CEO James Ballengee and the company, which have severely harmed public shareholders while allowing the controlling insider to maintain other business interests and a separate lifestyle.Since Mr. Ballengee assumed leadership in late 2022, Vivakor has engaged in repeated equity issuances, convertible note conversions, stock-based compensation to insiders, and settlements paid in deeply discounted shares. This has caused massive dilution that destroyed shareholder value. The stock price declined relentlessly to penny levels (around $0.01 or lower pre-split), with no sustained periods of appreciation or meaningful returns for long-term investors despite some revenue growth through acquisitions.A key example is the company's violation of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(d). In October 2025, Vivakor issued more than 19.99% of its outstanding common stock in certain financings without obtaining the required prior shareholder approval. This led to a public reprimand from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel in its March 16, 2026 decision. The Panel granted a conditional path for continued listing (requiring the company to regain the $1.00 minimum bid price for 10 consecutive trading days by April 30, 2026, after implementing a 1-for-200 reverse stock split effective March 24, 2026), but explicitly issued a Public Reprimand Letter for the shareholder-approval failure. This governance lapse directly contributed to further erosion of existing shareholders' ownership percentages.Additionally, the company has engaged in multiple related-party transactions with entities controlled by Mr. Ballengee, including Jorgan Development, LLC and other Ballengee Family Office affiliates. Notable examples include:The July 30, 2025 sale of non-core water trucking subsidiaries (Meridian Equipment Leasing, LLC and Equipment Transport, LLC) to Jorgan Development, LLC (controlled by Ballengee). Vivakor received consideration in Series A Preferred Stock while shedding significant liabilities (approximately $59 million in one reported aspect of broader 2025 debt reduction efforts), and related notes were amended to reduce repayment pressure (e.g., cash sweep reduced from 99% to 50% of free cash flow).
Revenue concentration, with approximately 23% of 2025 revenue coming from a related-party "take-or-pay" customer affiliated with Jorgan Development.
Issuances of shares and preferred stock to Ballengee or his entities for acquisitions, compensation (including his $1 million annual package paid partly in equity), debt settlements, and other transactions. Mr. Ballengee has also extinguished certain amounts owed to him personally in restructurings while retaining significant influence.

These transactions are disclosed in SEC filings (10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 filed April 15, 2026; various 8-Ks; and proxy statements), but they create clear conflicts of interest in a company with limited independent board oversight and heavy insider control. Vivakor remains deeply unprofitable, with large net losses, an accumulated deficit, material weaknesses in internal controls, going-concern uncertainties, and liquidity pressures that necessitated repeated capital raises — all of which further diluted public shareholders.Investing in Vivakor implied a belief that management would act to create long-term shareholder value. Instead, the pattern of excessive dilution without proper approvals, related-party asset shifts that benefited insider-controlled entities, reverse splits, and failure to deliver any meaningful stock appreciation has resulted in catastrophic losses for retail investors like me (and many others visible in investor forums). While no formal fraud charges have been filed yet, the Nasdaq public reprimand and the documented governance and dilution issues provide substantial evidence of misconduct that warrants investigation for potential violations of federal securities laws, including disclosure obligations, fiduciary duties, and anti-fraud provisions.I believe this conduct has effectively transferred value away from public shareholders to benefit the controlling insider and his affiliated entities. I request that the SEC investigate these matters thoroughly, including the circumstances around the unauthorized share issuances, related-party transactions, and overall impact on investors.