-- A US federal grand jury has indicted 14 defendants from Texas and New Mexico in connection with an alleged large-scale crude oil theft and trafficking operation centered in the Permian Basin, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said in a statement on Wednesday.
The indictment charges all defendants with conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce. Several defendants also face additional counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, as well as receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property.
According to the indictment, returned April 8, the defendants allegedly conspired to steal crude oil from producers in the eastern New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin and move it across state lines for resale.
Prosecutors allege that some of the stolen oil was stored on land leased from the federal government by one of the defendants. That individual then allegedly sold the crude to other members of the scheme at prices well below West Texas Intermediate benchmarks, the standard pricing reference for crude oil in the region and across much of the US.
Authorities say the group then transported the stolen oil across the New Mexico-Texas border, where it was resold at a profit, with participants allegedly aware the product had been stolen.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. Additional counts carry penalties of up to 10 years per charge.