A former oil company consultant and an ex-Chevron Corp trader have been arrested for running a kickback scheme that allegedly made them wealthy while defrauding Chevron out of the full value of trades.
On Thursday, the US Attorney's Office of Southern District of Texas said that consultant Robert Stanley Corbitt and former trader Shaw Thomas Potts surrendered to the federal officials in Houston. Both men who were arrested refused to comment when reached by Phone.
Reuters reported that Chevron was aware that the government had charged Potts, whom the company said was a former UK Chevron subsidiary employee. The company said in a statement that it became a victim in this case and has participated with law enforcement agencies probing the alleged violations.
Corbitt was charged with filing a fraudulent tax return while both men face indictment charges with conspiracy to launder money and wire fraud while running a scheme from 2004 to 2012.
According to Fuel Fix, Corbitt has been released after posting a bond. Meanwhile, Potts of Pennsylvania expects to make his first court appearance before US Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson on Thursday.
Potts steered oil trades to other rival parties who were willing to pay him kickbacks. The indictment alleges that the wrongdoing deprived Chevron of the honest services of its employees. The indictment lists alleged kickbacks worth more than $1 million. No counterparties or their staff were charged in the indictment.
The two men, including their conspirators, hid the kickback scheme from Chevron by filing false tax returns and submitting false invoices. If both men were convicted, each of them will be sent to a federal prison for 20 years, says the United States Department of Justice.
Moreover, the indictment says that Potts' mother was placed on the payroll of a business part of the scheme. Several funds were wired directly from accounts in the Swiss bank to US car dealers for vehicles Corbitt and Potts were purchasing.
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