Chapter Closed: 2 Landmen Sentenced to Federal Pen for Fraud

The conclusion of an ignominious episode for landmen. Last year MDN told you about two rotten apples in the barrel--landmen who concocted a scheme to steal ownership rights from unsuspecting landowners and sell those rights to drillers, pocketing the money for themselves. There were caught. One fessed up right away--it took the mastermind behind it a bit longer but he finally confessed too (see 2nd Landman Pleads Guilty to Single Count in $2.4M Fraud Scheme). Last Friday a federal judge in Pittsburgh sentenced Derek Candelore (33, of Jeannette, PA) to three years, four months in federal prison. His sidekick William Ray (29, of Monroeville, PA) got eight months in the federal pen...

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