New Era (NUAI) sold investors an AI-powered future. Big data center promises. Supposed to permit progress. A cutting-edge Texas project. But in December 2025, the story cracked.
Claim 55% Off TipRanks
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks
Investors who bought shares of New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAI) during a roughly 14-month window may be members of a proposed class in a federal securities lawsuit alleging the company misled the market about both its oil and gas operations and its push into AI infrastructure.
A complaint filed April 1, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas covers purchases of NUAI securities between November 6, 2024, and December 29, 2025. During that span, two separate disclosures triggered sharp stock declines: on December 12, 2025, NUAI fell $0.25, or 6.9%, and on December 29, 2025, it fell a further $1.87, or 41%, as reports and litigation allegations concerning permitting failures and an alleged well-transfer scheme became public.
Affected investors may want to learn more about the case and their potential eligibility to participate.
New Era Energy: Oil Wells, Helium, and an AI Pivot
New Era Energy & Digital, formerly known as New Era Helium, Inc., is an oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas. Its wells are located in Chaves County, New Mexico, and are operated through its subsidiary, Solis Partners. The company became publicly traded in December 2024 through a business combination with Roth CH Acquisition V Co., listing on the NASDAQ under the ticker NEHC before rebranding to NUAI in August 2025.
Alongside its legacy oil and gas operations, the company announced a strategic pivot toward providing power and computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence companies. The centerpiece of that effort was described as the Texas Critical Data Centers project, a proposed large-scale AI and high-performance computing campus in Ector County, outside Odessa, Texas. The company repeatedly told investors that this project represented a major growth opportunity and that it was making tangible regulatory and engineering progress.
Alleged Deception on Two Fronts: The AI Data Center and the Well-Transfer Scheme
The lawsuit centers on two distinct categories of alleged misrepresentation. First, the complaint alleges that the company publicly overstated the progress of its permitting and regulatory filings for the Texas Critical Data Centers project, telling investors it had made meaningful headway while, according to the Fuzzy Panda report cited in the complaint, searches of government databases showed no required permit applications had been submitted. Second, the complaint alleges that New Era Energy participated in a fraudulent scheme involving the transfer of oil and gas wells among related entities, designed to siphon revenue from producing wells while offloading environmental cleanup costs onto companies that were then driven into bankruptcy.
According to the complaint, neither of these material facts was disclosed to investors during the class period, causing the company’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices. The lawsuit claims that defendants made and caused to be made a series of materially false statements about the company’s business, operations, and financial prospects.
Investors who believe they were affected are encouraged to follow this case as it develops.
What Company Executives Said During the Class Period
CEO Everett Willard Gray II, who is prominently identified in the complaint and quoted in the company’s public statements about the data-center project, made numerous public statements during the class period promoting the company’s progress. In a December 2024 press release, Gray stated that the company’s NASDAQ listing marked a significant milestone and enhanced its public profile in the AI datacenter and helium markets.
In an October 2025 press release, Gray said the company was making tangible progress across all fronts, including engineering, permitting, regulatory filings, and land expansion. That same release highlighted what it described as significant progress in obtaining air permits and stated that the company was pursuing a minor source air permit, a process it characterized as streamlined and approvable within 90 days.
How the Alleged Truth Came to Light
On December 12, 2025, market research outlet Fuzzy Panda Research published a report alleging that New Era had not submitted any of the required permits for its Texas data center project, not even an application, according to searches of Texas, New Mexico, and federal government databases. The report also alleged that Gray had a long history of investor value destruction at prior oil-and-gas companies, and that the company’s AI pivot was a fantasy built on deteriorating wells. On the day of that publication, NUAI shares fell $0.25, or 6.9%, to close at $3.35 on unusually heavy trading volume.
On December 29, 2025, media outlet Hunterbrook Media reported that the New Mexico Attorney General had filed a lawsuit against New Era Energy, Solis Partners, and Gray, among others, alleging a fraudulent oil-and-gas scheme. According to the Hunterbrook report cited in the complaint, the New Mexico complaint alleged a pattern of fraudulent transfers, self-dealing, and false statements to regulators, including the use of shell entities and strategic bankruptcies to evade responsibility for plugging and remediating hundreds of inactive wells. On that day, NUAI shares fell by an additional $1.87, or 41%, to close at $2.69.
Why This Case May Matter to NUAI Shareholders
The lawsuit alleges that investors who purchased NUAI shares during the class period paid prices that were artificially inflated because the company concealed two significant risks: the alleged lack of permitting and regulatory progress the company had represented for its data center project, and its alleged participation in a scheme to pocket revenues from oil and gas wells while avoiding plugging and remediation obligations. When those facts allegedly emerged through third-party research and state enforcement action, the stock declined sharply on both occasions.
For investors who purchased NUAI shares between November 6, 2024, and December 29, 2025, the alleged artificial inflation in the stock price may connect directly to the losses they experienced when those disclosures became public.
Legal Claims Filed Against New Era Energy and Its Officers
The complaint brings claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5 against all defendants, alleging they made materially false and misleading statements and omitted material facts about the company’s business, operations, and prospects. It also brings claims under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against Gray and former CFO Michael J. Rugen, alleging they had control over the company’s public statements and are therefore liable as controlling persons.
Investors who purchased NUAI securities during the class period are encouraged to review their rights and learn more about how they may be eligible to participate in this litigation.
About Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is a nationally recognized securities litigation firm representing investors in complex shareholder actions. The firm has extensive expertise and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this article. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes.