Sponsor Check › Person
Named as an officer, director or promoter on SEC Form D filings · IN · Sep 9, 2011 → Feb 27, 2012
Data last updated Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ET · Courts (RECAP) last checked: Oct 24, 2026, 2:18 AM ET · SEC enforcement last checked: not yet
John Waters is listed as an executive officer and director on 4 SEC Form D filings by 2 issuers between Apr 2009 and Feb 2012: BRIGHT AUTOMOTIVE INC (Anderson, IN — manufacturing — 2009–2012; $16.2M reported sold to 10 investors) and My Best Friend's Hair, LLC (Carmel, IN — other technology — 2012; $374K reported sold to 7 investors).
What this means 2 separate companies raised money with this person listed as executive officer and director, over about 3 years. Across those companies the filings report $16.6M sold in total.
Listed alongside John Fox (3 shared filings), Keith Trent (3 shared filings), Laney Thornton (3 shared filings), Mark Huang (3 shared filings), Reuben Munger (3 shared filings) and 9 others.
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.
Public records searched: federal courts (CourtListener / RECAP), state securities regulators (AZ, CA, DE, TX, WA) — 1 court case matching the name listed in Key records below. Not yet searched: SEC enforcement releases.
What this means 1 record 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.
Nothing found on Reddit, BiggerPockets or community forums for high-net-worth investors (searched Oct 24, 2026) — search queued; this line updates when it has run.
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).
Five things investors ask first. Items still in human review are counted, not shown.
1 case: 1 closed (disposition not in docket feed)
Sources searched: CourtListener bulk data (RECAP dockets as of 2026-09-30; recall-first rule 10-24) — federal district + bankruptcy courts; live RECAP re-check pending. State courts: not yet searched. PACER: not searched. · Last checked Oct 24, 2026, 2:18 AM ET.
Court records show docket facts only; we never restate allegations as facts. Outcome wording comes from the docket feed; where it does not state a disposition we say so.
State courts: not yet searched. 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.
Not yet 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. — not yet searched.
State securities regulators searched: AZ (Corporation Commission Securities Division), CA (DFPI — 16 of 12,159 DFPI respondent pages read so far; sponsor-name matches are read first), DE (DOJ Investor Protection Unit), TX (State Securities Board), WA (DFI) — last crawled Oct 23, 2026, 9:57 PM ET. Other states: not yet searched.
No SEC search has run yet for this person.
None found in sources searched
Sources searched: Federal bankruptcy courts via CourtListener / RECAP archive (federal district courts, federal bankruptcy courts). State courts: not yet searched. PACER: not searched (RECAP only). · Last checked Oct 24, 2026, 2:18 AM ET.
State courts: not yet searched. 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.
Not made for individual people — comparisons cover issuers and sponsor groups
None reported on 4 offerings — no sales commissions, finder's fees or proceeds to insiders
| Offering (latest filing) | Sales commissions | Finder's fees | To insiders | Paid to sell it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2012 D My Best Friend's Hair, LLC File 021-174020 | $0 | $0 | $0 | None listed on this filing | EDGAR ↗ |
| Feb 15, 2012 D BRIGHT AUTOMOTIVE INC File 021-173518 | $0 | $0 | $0 | None listed on this filing | EDGAR ↗ |
| Sep 9, 2011 D BRIGHT AUTOMOTIVE INC File 021-165589 | $0 | $0 | $0 | None listed on this filing | EDGAR ↗ |
| Apr 20, 2009 D/A BRIGHT AUTOMOTIVE INC File 021-126183 | $0 | $0 | $0 (est.) | None listed on this filing | EDGAR ↗ |
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).
Every issuer that named John Waters on a Form D, newest first. A Form D is the notice a company files after it starts selling a private investment.
Raised $374K from 7 investors (75% of the $500K target) as of the latest filing. John is listed as director.
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.
Raised $16.2M from 10 investors (100% of the $850K target) as of the latest filing. John is listed as director, executive officer on 3 filings for this deal.
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.
Separate person records under the same name, not combined with this page. Each line says whether it shares an issuer with this record.
Officers, directors, promoters and management entities named on the same filings, as of Oct 23, 2026, 5:45 PM ET.
Listed on the same filings as John Waters. Their page shows their other deals.
Reuben Munger is on 7 issuers in total — a repeat sponsor. Their page lists every one.
Listed on the same filings as John Waters. Their page shows their other deals.
Listed on the same filings as John Waters. Their page shows their other deals.
Listed on the same filings as John Waters. Their page shows their other deals.
Ryan Pfenninger is on 6 issuers in total — a repeat sponsor. Their page lists every one.
Not yet searched. Sources to be searched: SEC Investment Adviser Information Reports — Form ADV data for SEC-registered advisers and exempt reporting advisers (file dated 2026-10-02); SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) firm search — registered and exempt reporting advisers · Search queued. Results are added automatically; check back later.
None found in sources searched.
Sources 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 · Last checked Oct 23, 2026, 8:41 PM ET.
One-tap searches on sites we do not index ourselves, with the name pre-filled (Anderson, IN). Each opens in a new tab; what you find there is not verified by PartnerFacts.
No corrections have been requested for this page.
Free. Logged with status: received → under review → fixed / confirmed with source.
If this is you or your firm, add a sourced explanation next to any fact. Reviewed before publishing.
Members get an email when John Waters appears on a new Form D, or when a court case or SEC action is matched to them. See plans →