Federal prosecutors accuse a New Mexico woman of fraud in oil and gas royalty case

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico businesswoman is accused of defrauding the U.S. government and two Native American tribes of taxes and royalties due to them for oil and gas that her companies extracted from federal and tribal lands. Federal prosecutors say Teresa McCown was recently indicted by a grand jury on several wire fraud charges and violations of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act. She was released from custody earlier this month. A trial date is pending. Federal authorities say McCown consistently under-reported oil and gas production from leases on land belonging to the federal government, the Navajo Nation and the Jicarilla Apache Nation.