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March 2nd, 2016 
Awake Goy 
Print FriendlyAbove Photo: Aubrey McClendon, the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was indicted Tuesday for rigging bids to buy oil and gas leases. (Associated Press)
…Of Oil And Gas Industry
Aubrey McClendon, the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was indicted Tuesday for rigging bids to buy oil and gas leases.
The scheme occurred in northwest Oklahoma from December 2007 to March 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Justice Department said McClendon’s indictment is “the first case resulting from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the oil and natural gas industry.”
McClendon, who is also the co-owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is accused of leading the conspiracy between two large energy companies, deciding ahead of time which one would win the bids. The winner would then allocate part of the leases to the other company, according to the indictment.
When landowners signs leases with an oil and gas company, they give permission for drillers to extract oil and gas on their properties for a certain period of time.
In Pennsylvania, the leases are usually good for several years, and many state residents accused Chesapeake of fraud, claiming they were being shortchanged on royalty payments.
State law requires a minimum 12.5 percent royalty payment, but landowners said they were being charged too much for post-production costs and other fees.
Former Gov. Tom Corbett, who received nearly $500,000 in campaign contributions from McClendon, asked Attorney General Kathleen Kane in February 2014 to investigate the allegations.
Her office sued Chesapeake in December.
A spokesman for her office on Tuesday night said he could not immediately comment on the matter but expects to have more information Wednesday.
This story is developing. Check PennLive for more updates.
Source Article from https://www.popularresistance.org/ex-chesapeake-energy-ceo-first-to-be-indicted-in-federal-investigation/
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