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Data last updated: Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ETLatest filing: Oct 22, 2026Now: Oct 24, 2026, 7:33 AM ET

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JC
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John Cook

Named as an officer, director or promoter on SEC Form D filings · ND · Dec 31, 2014 → Nov 15, 2021

2deals (issuers)
$281Kreported sold
31investors
4Form D filings
2014–2021years on file

Data last updated Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ET · Courts (RECAP) last checked: Oct 24, 2026, 2:32 AM ET · SEC enforcement last checked: covered by the index scan as of Oct 24, 2026, 2:50 AM ET

The short version

John Cook is listed as an executive officer, director, and promoter on 4 SEC Form D filings by 2 issuers between Dec 2014 and Nov 2021: Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC (Fargo, ND — industry reported as "Other" — 2014–2021; $190K reported sold to 20 investors) and Proof Investment Group, LLC (Fargo, ND — investing — 2015; $91K reported sold to 11 investors).

What this means 2 separate companies raised money with this person listed as executive officer, director, and promoter, over about 7 years. Across those companies the filings report $281K sold in total.

Listed alongside Joel Kath (2 shared filings) and Francis Leier (1 shared filing).

What this means These are the other officers, directors or promoters the companies named on the same forms — the team around John. Each name links to their own page.

All 2 issuers belong to the sponsor group Proof (2 issuers, $91K reported sold, 2014–2021).

What this means A sponsor group is one team that sets up a new company for each deal. Proof has 2 companies on file and $91K reported sold in total — the group page shows the whole track record in one place.

Public records searched: federal courts (CourtListener / RECAP), SEC enforcement releases, state securities regulators (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DE, FINRA, GA, HI, ID, IL, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, NASAA, NC, ND, NH, NM, NV, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY) — 4 SEC releases listed in Key records below.

What this means 4 records came back. Each one is listed below with a link to the original document and a line saying why it matched. A name match is not proof it is the same person or company — read the why line and the document. Being sued or named in a release is an accusation, not a finding.

We compared 4 public filings for John Cook and found 13 differences, 1 worth asking the sponsor about: 110% of the money raised went to insiders; and more below.

What this means These are differences between the sponsor's own SEC filings — both values, dates and sources are listed in Key records, section 4. Most have ordinary explanations; ask the sponsor.

What the community is saying

Community search for John Cook has not run yet — it is joining a line of 24,004 names; searches run around the clock at the hosts' allowed rate. Searched so far: 638 names.

Community comments are quoted as written by their authors. Sources searched: BiggerPockets forums (via DuckDuckGo, Brave, Bing and BiggerPockets search) and Reddit (search feed + public archive).

Key records

Five things investors ask first. Items still in human review are counted, not shown.

1. Lawsuits

None found in sources searched — federal courts (CourtListener / RECAP), checked Oct 24, 2026

What was searched

Sources searched: CourtListener bulk data (RECAP dockets as of 2026-09-30; recall-first rule 10-24) — federal district + bankruptcy courts State courts: not covered (one-tap state court links under Look further). PACER: not searched. · Last checked Oct 24, 2026, 2:32 AM ET.

State courts: not covered (one-tap state court links under Look further). No state offers a lawful automated statewide source PartnerFacts can use today. Texas (re:SearchTX) terms prohibit storing results in a database open to third parties; New York (WebCivil) and Massachusetts (MassCourts) require a browser check that blocks scripted queries; California has no statewide index (58 county portals; Rule of Court 2.503 grants name-based access case by case); Florida, Utah and Illinois offer paid or partial access whose terms for automated use are unverified. Washington (dw.courts.wa.gov; bulk index reports under a JISC data-dissemination agreement), Delaware (CourtConnect; Court of Chancery not included) and Arizona (apps.azcourts.gov/publicaccess, which has an official channel to request high-volume access) are the candidates; PartnerFacts will request written permission before any automated search. Federal courts are searched through CourtListener / RECAP.

2. Regulatory actions

4 SEC releases

Princeton Alternative Funding LLC, Microbilt Corporation, Philip N. Burgess, Jr., Walter Wojciechowski, and John Cook, Defendants Litigation release
SEC · Jun 25, 2021 · Parties as named in the release: Princeton Alternative Funding LLC, Microbilt Corporation, Philip N. Burgess, Jr., Walter Wojciechowski, and John Cook, Defendants Read the release ↗
same full name in the release title; 13 people with this name in Form D filings; the person's filing state is not named
Paul R. Johnson and John Cook Litigation release
SEC · Oct 31, 2003 · Parties as named in the release: Paul R. Johnson and John Cook Read the release ↗
same full name in the release title; 13 people with this name in Form D filings; the person's filing state is not named
John Cook Administrative proceeding
SEC · Sep 3, 2002 · Parties as named in the release: John Cook Read the release ↗
same full name in the release title; 13 people with this name in Form D filings; the person's filing state is not named
Paul R. Johnson and John Cook Litigation release
SEC · Feb 22, 2002 · Parties as named in the release: Paul R. Johnson and John Cook Read the release ↗
same full name in the release title; 13 people with this name in Form D filings; the person's filing state is not named
What was searched

SEC enforcement searched: SEC litigation releases and administrative proceedings — respondent names in the sec.gov index titles (30,205 releases, 1995-09-19 to 2026-10-23); release text is read only to confirm a candidate. Names that appear only in the body of a release are not found. — Searched SEC litigation releases and administrative proceedings (1995→ / 2007→) (30,205 records as of Oct 24, 2026, 2:50 AM ET) — nothing matched John Cook..

State securities regulators: Securities regulators searched (3,318 actions): AZ Corporation Commission Securities Division (411 actions, 2017–2026), CA DFPI (25 actions, 2007–2024; listing starts 2002 — 16 of 12,159 DFPI respondent pages read so far; sponsor-name matches are read first), DE DOJ Investor Protection Unit (257 actions, 1987–2026), TX State Securities Board (586 actions, 2006–2026), WA DFI (2,039 actions, 2001–2026) — last crawled Oct 23, 2026, 9:57 PM ET. No machine-readable public listing today for CO, FL, IA, IN, MN, NE, NJ, NY, OH, UT, VA (see docs/state-regulators.md).

3. Bankruptcies

None found in sources searched — federal bankruptcy courts (CourtListener / RECAP), checked Oct 24, 2026

What was searched

Sources searched: Federal bankruptcy courts via CourtListener / RECAP archive (federal district courts, federal bankruptcy courts). State courts: not covered (one-tap state court links under Look further). PACER: not searched (RECAP only). · Last checked Oct 24, 2026, 2:32 AM ET.

State courts: not covered (one-tap state court links under Look further). No state offers a lawful automated statewide source PartnerFacts can use today. Texas (re:SearchTX) terms prohibit storing results in a database open to third parties; New York (WebCivil) and Massachusetts (MassCourts) require a browser check that blocks scripted queries; California has no statewide index (58 county portals; Rule of Court 2.503 grants name-based access case by case); Florida, Utah and Illinois offer paid or partial access whose terms for automated use are unverified. Washington (dw.courts.wa.gov; bulk index reports under a JISC data-dissemination agreement), Delaware (CourtConnect; Court of Chancery not included) and Arizona (apps.azcourts.gov/publicaccess, which has an official channel to request high-volume access) are the candidates; PartnerFacts will request written permission before any automated search. Federal courts are searched through CourtListener / RECAP.

4. Differences between public sources

Comparisons cover issuers and sponsor groups — see the issuer pages under Deals

13 differences found between the filings for John Cook — 1 worth asking about (compared 4 filings on Oct 24, 2026)

Worth asking · Dec 31, 2014

110% of the money raised went to insiders — Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC

The Dec 31, 2014 Form D reports $190,000 sold and $208,600 of the proceeds used for payments to officers, directors or promoters (marked as an estimate).

What this means The filing reports how much of the money raised was paid to insiders. Over 10% is high for most deals. Ask what it paid for.

Sources
Note · Jan 2, 2015 – Nov 15, 2021

John Cook appears on 2 deals that stopped filing before reaching their target

Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC (last filing Nov 15, 2021; $190,000 sold of $2,000,000); Proof Investment Group, LLC (last filing Jan 2, 2015; $90,950 sold of $256,800). Each has no filing in more than two years and reported under half its target sold.

What this means An issuer whose last filing is more than two years old and reported under half its target sold. The raise may have closed early or quietly stopped. Ask what happened to each.

Sources
Note · Dec 17, 2014 – Jan 2, 2015

Form D filed 16 days after the first sale — Proof Investment Group, LLC

The filing says the first sale was Dec 17, 2014. The Form D was filed Jan 2, 2015 — 16 days later. The rule: a Form D is generally due within 15 days after the first sale, so this one is 1 days past that.

What this means A late notice is common and carries no penalty by itself. It is worth asking the sponsor why the paperwork lagged.

Sources
Note · Dec 17, 2014 – Jan 2, 2015

No amendment in the last 12 months on an offering that may still be open — Proof Investment Group, LLC (latest filing Jan 2, 2015)

The latest filing for this offering is dated Jan 2, 2015 (first sale Dec 17, 2014). It reports $90,950 sold of $256,800 offered. No later amendment is in our index as of Oct 24, 2026.

What this means SEC rules expect a yearly amendment while an offering is still going. The raise may simply have ended — a Form D does not say when it closed. Ask the sponsor whether the offering closed, when, and at what amount.

Sources
Note · Dec 16, 2014 – Dec 31, 2014

No amendment in the last 12 months on an offering that may still be open — Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC (latest filing Dec 31, 2014)

The latest filing for this offering is dated Dec 31, 2014 (first sale Dec 16, 2014). It reports $190,000 sold of $1,300,000 offered. No later amendment is in our index as of Oct 24, 2026.

What this means SEC rules expect a yearly amendment while an offering is still going. The raise may simply have ended — a Form D does not say when it closed. Ask the sponsor whether the offering closed, when, and at what amount.

Sources
Note · Jan 22, 2016 – Nov 15, 2021

John Cook's role changed at Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC: executive officer, director → executive officer

The Jan 22, 2016 filing lists John Cook as executive officer, director; the Nov 15, 2021 Form D lists executive officer.

What this means Roles on Form D are self-reported by the issuer. A change can mean a real change in who runs the company, or just a different box ticked. Ask who makes decisions today.

Sources
Note · Dec 31, 2014 – Jan 22, 2016

John Cook's role changed at Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC: executive officer, director, promoter → executive officer, director

The Dec 31, 2014 filing lists John Cook as executive officer, director, promoter; the Jan 22, 2016 Form D lists executive officer, director.

What this means Roles on Form D are self-reported by the issuer. A change can mean a real change in who runs the company, or just a different box ticked. Ask who makes decisions today.

Sources
Note · Dec 31, 2014 – Jan 22, 2016

Reported revenue range changed between filings — Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC

"No Revenues" (Dec 31, 2014); then "Decline to Disclose" (Jan 22, 2016).

What this means This is the size band the issuer picks for itself on the form. A change can mean the business grew or shrank — or that it chose not to say. Ask for current numbers.

Sources
Note · Feb 23, 2022 – May 29, 2026

Same name, different state: "John A. Cook" (A6) is a separate record

This page covers filings where the address state is ND. A separate record, "John A. Cook" with address state A6, is listed on 10 filings — most recently by Mackenzie Global Environmental Equity Master Fund (Cayman) LP (May 29, 2026). The two records do not overlap in time: this page runs Dec 31, 2014 to Nov 15, 2021; the other runs Feb 23, 2022 to May 29, 2026.

What this means Could be the same person who moved, or two people with the same name. We keep them apart until a filing ties them together. Check both pages before you decide.

Sources
Note · Apr 9, 2009 – Jun 26, 2018

Same name, different state: "John Cook" (A1 or A6) is a separate record

This page covers filings where the address state is ND. A separate record, "John Cook" with address state A1 or A6, is listed on 4 filings — most recently by Caracara Silver Inc. (Jun 26, 2018). Both records have filings in the same period (Dec 31, 2014 to Jun 26, 2018).

What this means Two records with one name were active at the same time. That can be one person listing different company addresses, or two different people. We keep them apart until a filing ties them together. Check both pages before you decide.

Sources
Note · Apr 17, 2009 – Mar 10, 2014

Same name, different state: "JOHN F COOK" (AZ) is a separate record

This page covers filings where the address state is ND. A separate record, "JOHN F COOK" with address state AZ, is listed on 15 filings — most recently by NORD RESOURCES CORP (Mar 10, 2014). The two records do not overlap in time: this page runs Dec 31, 2014 to Nov 15, 2021; the other runs Apr 17, 2009 to Mar 10, 2014.

What this means Could be the same person who moved, or two people with the same name. We keep them apart until a filing ties them together. Check both pages before you decide.

Sources
Note · Nov 16, 2011

Same name, different state: "JOHN R. COOK, JR." (AL) is a separate record

This page covers filings where the address state is ND. A separate record, "JOHN R. COOK, JR." with address state AL, is listed on 1 filing — most recently by CLUB PROPERTIES, LLC (Nov 16, 2011). The two records do not overlap in time: this page runs Dec 31, 2014 to Nov 15, 2021; the other has one filing dated Nov 16, 2011.

What this means Could be the same person who moved, or two people with the same name. We keep them apart until a filing ties them together. Check both pages before you decide.

Sources
Note · Jul 22, 2010 – May 27, 2011

Same name, different state: "John Cook" (TN) is a separate record

This page covers filings where the address state is ND. A separate record, "John Cook" with address state TN, is listed on 3 filings — most recently by CO3 Ventures, LLC (May 27, 2011). The two records do not overlap in time: this page runs Dec 31, 2014 to Nov 15, 2021; the other runs Jul 22, 2010 to May 27, 2011.

What this means Could be the same person who moved, or two people with the same name. We keep them apart until a filing ties them together. Check both pages before you decide.

Sources
What is compared

What is compared: every Form D and D/A we hold for this subject, side by side — filing dates vs. first-sale dates (the 15-day rule), amendment timing on open offerings (the yearly-amendment expectation), amounts sold, investor counts, offering amounts and minimums across amendments, industry and size bands, addresses, how each person's name and role is written, paid sellers' CRD numbers, and (for groups) where the member companies were formed and sit. Everything is as filed by the issuer; the SEC does not check it. Differences are common and usually have ordinary explanations — we show both values, the dates, and the source so you can ask. As of Oct 24, 2026.

5. Money to insiders

0 of 4 offerings report sales commissions; 0 report finder's fees; 1 reports proceeds to related persons totalling $208,600. (includes amounts the issuer reported as estimates)

Offering (latest filing)Sales commissionsFinder's feesTo insidersPaid to sell itSource
Nov 15, 2021 D
Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC
File 021-421183
$0$0$0None no CRD number reportedEDGAR ↗
Jan 22, 2016 D
Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC
File 021-255762
$0$0$0N/A no CRD number reportedEDGAR ↗
Jan 2, 2015 D
Proof Investment Group, LLC
File 021-231313
$0$0$0 (est.)None listed on this filingEDGAR ↗
Dec 31, 2014 D
Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC
File 021-231193
$0$0$208,600 (est.)None listed on this filingEDGAR ↗
How this is counted

Counts come from Form D Items 12–15 on the filings in our index (latest filing per offering; one offering = one SEC file number; an amendment updates its offering rather than adding one). "To insiders" = gross proceeds used for payments to executive officers, directors or promoters. "—" = not reported on that filing. Amounts marked (est.) were reported as estimates. "Paid to sell it" = sales compensation recipients named on that filing (Item 12), each linked to FINRA BrokerCheck when a CRD number is reported.

Counted across every filing this person is listed on (latest filing per offering, per issuer).

Deals 2

Every issuer that named John Cook on a Form D, newest first. A Form D is the notice a company files after it starts selling a private investment.

Other · group: Proof

Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC

Fargo, ND · Dec 31, 2014 → Nov 15, 2021 · 3 filings
  • Nov 15, 2021 · D · $0 sold of $2,000,000 · 0 investors · min. $5,000 · role: Executive Officer EDGAR ↗
  • Jan 22, 2016 · D · $0 sold of $500,000 · 0 investors · min. $5,000 · role: Executive Officer, Director EDGAR ↗
  • Dec 31, 2014 · D · $190,000 sold of $1,300,000 · 20 investors · min. $5,000 · role: Executive Officer, Director, Promoter EDGAR ↗

Raised $190K from 20 investors (10% of the $2M target) as of the latest filing. John is listed as executive officer, director, promoter on 3 filings for this deal.

Sources

Every row is a Form D or D/A on which the issuer listed this name as a related person. Amount sold and investors are the maximum reported on any filing for this issuer. "Similar" = offerings in the same industry claiming the same exemption, filed in the last 5 years: Other / 506(b) (18,678 filings); ranges are the middle half (25th–75th percentile). Computed by PartnerFacts from SEC EDGAR Form D data as of Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ET. Rows without a range: fewer than 30 comparable filings, or not a Rule 506 offering. No ranking or score.

Investing · group: Proof

Proof Investment Group, LLC

Fargo, ND · Jan 2, 2015
  • Jan 2, 2015 · D · $90,950 sold of $256,800 · 11 investors · min. $5,350 · role: Executive Officer, Director, Promoter EDGAR ↗

Raised $91K from 11 investors (35% of the $257K target) as of the latest filing. John is listed as executive officer, director, promoter.

Sources

Every row is a Form D or D/A on which the issuer listed this name as a related person. Amount sold and investors are the maximum reported on any filing for this issuer. "Similar" = offerings in the same industry claiming the same exemption, filed in the last 5 years: Investing / 506(b) (2,521 filings); ranges are the middle half (25th–75th percentile). Computed by PartnerFacts from SEC EDGAR Form D data as of Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ET. Rows without a range: fewer than 30 comparable filings, or not a Rule 506 offering. No ranking or score.

Other pages with the same name (12)

Separate person records under the same name, not combined with this page. Each line says whether it shares an issuer with this record.

  • John Cook — British Columbia, Canada (as filed: A1), Ontario, Canada (as filed: A6), 3 issuers, Apr 9, 2009 → Jun 26, 2018 · no shared issuer
  • John A. Cook — Ontario, Canada (as filed: A6), 2 issuers, Feb 23, 2022 → May 29, 2026 · no shared issuer
  • JOHN F COOK — AZ, 1 issuer, Apr 17, 2009 → Mar 10, 2014 · no shared issuer
  • John Cook — TN, 1 issuer, Jul 22, 2010 → May 27, 2011 · no shared issuer
  • JOHN R. COOK, JR. — AL, 1 issuer, Nov 16, 2011 → Nov 16, 2011 · no shared issuer
  • John Terry Cook — OK, 1 issuer, Feb 19, 2014 → Feb 19, 2014 · no shared issuer
  • John Cook — Switzerland (as filed: V8), 1 issuer, Dec 27, 2016 → Dec 27, 2016 · no shared issuer
  • John Cook — CA, 1 issuer, Jun 2, 2026 → Jun 2, 2026 · no shared issuer
  • John F. Cook — Ontario, Canada (as filed: A6), 1 issuer, Feb 10, 2010 → Feb 10, 2010 · no shared issuer
  • John Robert Cook — ND, 1 issuer, Dec 15, 2014 → Dec 15, 2014 · no shared issuer
  • John, Dr. Cook — ND, 1 issuer, Apr 30, 2018 → Apr 30, 2018 · no shared issuer
  • John M. Cook — TN, 1 issuer, Aug 10, 2026 → Aug 10, 2026 · no shared issuer

People around John 2

Officers, directors, promoters and management entities named on the same filings, as of Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ET.

JK
No photo found yet (own website and image search run after this page is viewed)
Person

Joel Kath

Executive Officer, Director, Promoter · 2 shared filings (2 issuers)

Listed on the same filings as John Cook. Their page shows their other deals.

FL
No photo found yet (own website and image search run after this page is viewed)
Person

Francis Leier

Executive Officer, Director, Promoter · 1 shared filing (1 issuer)

Listed on the same filings as John Cook. Their page shows their other deals.

The team behind the deals

Sponsor group

Proof

2 issuers · 4 filings · $91K reported sold · 2014–2021

One team, 2 deal companies. John Cook is listed on 2 of them.

Sources

Issuers are grouped when their Form D filings share related persons, a management entity or a business address (automatic match from the filings). "Listed" marks the issuers that name John Cook.

Registrations and other filings

Adviser registration (Form ADV)

None of the 2 issuers this person is listed on appears in Form ADV (searched 24,962 advisers as of Oct 2, 2026). A person is never an adviser firm; Form ADV is checked for the issuers and the management companies they are listed with.

Other offering types (Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding)

Searched SEC Regulation A Data Sets (Forms 1-A, 1-K, 1-Z; 2015 Q2 → 2026 Q3); SEC Crowdfunding Offerings Data Sets (Form C family; 2016 Q2 → 2026 Q3); EDGAR form index for 2026 Q3 → 2026 Q4 (51,358 records as of Oct 23, 2026, 8:41 PM ET) — nothing matched this name.

Property records none — individuals are not matched

Property records are matched to companies only, never to individuals, so none are matched to John Cook by design. Searched property records in Hillsborough County FL (Clerk recorded-document index Oct 14, 2026 to Oct 15, 2026 + FL DOR 2026 ownership roll), Miami-Dade County FL (FL DOR 2026 ownership roll), Harris County TX (HCAD 2026 ownership roll), Dallas County TX (DCAD 2026 ownership roll), New York City ACRIS documents and PLUTO ownership rows already retrieved for other issuers, Cook County IL sale and ownership rows already retrieved for other issuers (814,874 records as of Oct 23, 2026, 8:59 PM ET) for the 2 issuers this person is listed on — nothing matched.

Public profiles and social

Websites and social links of the issuers John Cook is listed on: none on file. No website or social profile named in Proof Artisan Distillers, LLC's SEC filings (Form C, Reg A, Form ADV; checked Oct 24, 2026). Web search for this name: #174,802 of 374,652 in line (1,201 issuers searched so far). One-tap searches: Look further ↓

Look further

One-tap searches on sites we do not index ourselves, with the name pre-filled (Fargo, ND). Each opens in a new tab; what you find there is not verified by PartnerFacts.

Change history

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