A horizontal drilling rig and a pump jack sit on federal land in Lea County, New Mexico, U.S. Photographer: Callaghan O'Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images
LUBBOCK, Texas - A federal grand jury has indicted 14 people from Texas and New Mexico for their alleged roles in a massive conspiracy to steal crude oil from the Permian Basin and sell it across state lines for profit, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
How did they steal oil?
What we know:
The indictment, returned April 8 and announced by U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould, alleges the group systematically siphoned crude oil from producers in eastern New Mexico. The stolen oil was then allegedly stored on land leased from the U.S. government before being sold to co-conspirators at prices far below the West Texas Intermediate benchmark.
According to prosecutors, the defendants knew the oil was stolen when they transported it across the New Mexico-Texas border to be resold for a profit.
The Permian Basin, which covers 86,000 square miles across West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, is the highest-producing oil region in the United States.
What they're saying:
"All 14 defendants allegedly conspired to transport stolen crude oil across the New Mexico-Texas border for the purpose of enriching themselves," the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas said in a statement.
Among those charged are Randell Wayne Reid, 41, and James Darrell Reid, 65, both of Electra, Texas, and owners of Reidco Enterprises. Electra is near Wichita Falls. A third Texan, Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole, was also indicted. The remaining 11 defendants are all residents of Lovington, New Mexico.
The defendants from New Mexico have been identified as Louis George Edgett, Brenden Floyd Strickland, Sixto Herrera-Estebane, Gyardo Gonzalez, Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, Diana Marquez Rojo, Jose Luis Rojo, Jose Mario Rivas-Mendoza, Miguel A. Soto, Tavares Montrail Cole, and Danny Dale Brown Jr.
The charges include conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. Several defendants also face charges of interstate transportation and sale of stolen property, which carry penalties of up to 10 years per count.
The Source: Information in this article is from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas.