Texas natural gas firm settles charges over scheme to defraud US Government – Justice Dept

WASHINGTON, May 2: A Texas-based natural gas marketer agreed to pay more than $3.5 million to resolve allegations of royalty fraud, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
“Gas marketer B. Charles Rogers Gas Ltd (BCR), which operated in the San Juan Basin area of New Mexico and southern Colorado and its owners Billy Charles Rogers Jr. and Wynon Rogers? have agreed to pay $3.575 million to resolve False Claims Act (FCA) allegations,” the release said on Wednesday.
The scheme enabled the company and its owners to make reduced mineral royalty payments to the US government, the release explained, by issuing false transaction statements for natural gas purchases.
The Justice Department, the release said, is committed to ensuring corporations par a fair price for valuable assets removed from public or Indian lands.
(AGENCIES)