Well, the feds have charged him two federal felonies. Check out the NYTs article here. Although I stated that I admired Tim for his act of civil disobedience, I can’t see how his actions were legal. Unless they want to see future lease sales chalked full of impostors, I don’t see any other option the feds have here except to change him. Get a good lawyer and good luck Tim.
There are a few interesting things to think about here. Tim met his obligation to provide a $45,000 down payment on the leases he bought. However, I’m fairly certain he did not come up with the whole $1.7 million. I guess that’s where the fraud charge comes in. I would argue that Tim’s actions were legal all the way up to the point where he didn’t come up with the money.
I argued back in January that anyone, not just oil and gas companies, can bid on leases. Here’s what the BLM web site says about lessee qualifications:
Federal oil and gas leases may be obtained and held by any adult citizen of the United States. No lease may be acquired by a minor, but a lease may be issued to a legal guardian or trustee on behalf of a minor. Associations of citizens and corporations organized under the laws of the United States or of any State also qualify.Tim meets those requirements. Now, someone could say, “yes, but Tim didn’t have the capital at the time of the lease sale; that’s fraud.” Well, oil and gas companies don’t have the capital that early either. That’s why they ask for a small down payment, to allow the companies time to come up with the millions.
Aliens may hold interests in leases only by stock ownership in U.S. corporations holding leases and only if the laws of their country do not deny similar privileges to citizens of the United States. They may not hold a lease interest through units in a publicly traded limited partnership.
So, why don’t conservation groups try to raise money to actually pay for leases? Let’s test the system and see if that’s legal.
No comments:
Post a Comment