A musician who claimed he could use sound waves to improve oil and gas exploration and transportation was actually running "sham enterprises" that defrauded investors out of at least $3.3 million, federal regulators said in a lawsuit filed Monday.

Court records said self-described musical visionary Paul Gilman used the money raised from 40 investors for stays at luxury Las Vegas hotels, large cash withdrawals from casino ATMs and other personal expenses. Also, the government claimed that $100,000 was used as a "Ponzi payment" to a Tennessee minister who was disillusioned with Gilman and demanded repayment.

"When investor funds ran low, Gilman raised money from new investors or additional money from previous investors, and then quickly used those funds for his personal benefit as well," according to the lawsuit.

Gilman could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Gilman claimed he could use sound waves to lower the viscosity of oil and make it flow more efficiently through pipelines. And he also claimed sound could "enhance water separation and purification" in oil and gas exploration and production.

The SEC also accused Gilman's sound engineering firm of defrauding investors. Gilman upgraded the sound system at the Texas Rangers' stadium, worked with the Houston Astros and supplied sound equipment to the 2014 Super Bowl in New Jersey.

The SEC is suing Gilman, his oil and gas companies Oil Migration Group and WaveTech, and his sound company GilmanSound. The lawsuit, filed in Dallas federal court, said Gilman's actions from 2013 to 2016 violated anti fraud provision of federal securities laws.

In his oil and gas work, SEC investigators founded that investor money was often wired to Gilman's personal or other business accounts. The Oil Migration Group bank account was open for less than six months and never had a balance exceeding $1,200, even though investors sank more than $595,000 into that venture, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint also said bank records did not show any "meaningful expenditures on business operations." The court documents alleged that there was no evidence of any testing, technology licenses or other spending that Gilman promised prospective investors.

Meanwhile, investors were told they would "reap incredible returns" or double their money "no matter what," according to the lawsuit.

Although Gilman has been based in Southern California and Las Vegas, he's frequently conducted business in Texas. One of his oil and gas companies was registered in Texas. And some investors were Texans, including a Dallas nurse ($540,000), a Parker psychology professor ($60,000) and a Houston businessman ($195,000).

Rob Matwick, the Rangers' executive vice president of business operations, said the team is still using Gilman's equipment at Globe Life Park. Gilman has also consulted with the Rangers about the sound system for the team's new $1.1 billion retractable-roof stadium scheduled to open in 2020. Matwick said he was unaware of the SEC lawsuit and wasn't sure how it would affect the team's business dealings with Gilman.

The government lawsuit said the sound engineer and musician has no apparent expertise in the oil and gas industry.

Gilman's biographical information said he is a classically-training musician with an extensive background in sound engineering and a composer for film and television. Most of his movie work was for small-budget, little-seen films.

On a podcast website, he was also described as having worked with the U.S. Navy SEALs on classified projects and worked with Paul McCartney and members of the Rolling Stones on music projects.

The lawsuit said Gilman "engaged in a pattern of forming supposedly cutting-edge technology companies for the sound and music industry that failed to achieve commercial quality, generated little or no revenues, and disappeared."