Google it yourself. That was without cause, which got him $90 million.

Interesting take. Threw in a poison pill, TPG Axon, etc said 'f' it, and he got one last giant bag of money for himself on the way out while the shareholders (myself included) got hosed. And yes... I do know how it ended. They went bankrupt. How those involved with the takeover didn't see that coming is beyond me.

Here's a glimpse into what was going on (wrapped in an opinion piece, I know). Or you can dig up the TPG-Axon presentation from the time, or any of the other articles (There were a few).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardfinger/2013/02/11/tom-ward-of-sandridge-energy-another-ceo-thats-got-to-go/#75a5d85b314f

The information is out there - Ludicrous compensation, family-dealing, wasteful spending, lack of fiduciary duty and a subservient board more than willing to let it all happen. Sure, oil & gas took a hit and the Mississippian had some unfortunate setbacks, but this went way beyond that.

And I know, Rover. These guys are always getting "smeared" in the name of one "agenda" or another. It is awful.

Here's a glimpse into what was going on (wrapped in an opinion piece, I know). Or you can dig up the TPG-Axon presentation from the time, or any of the other articles (There were a few).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardfinger/2013/02/11/tom-ward-of-sandridge-energy-another-ceo-thats-got-to-go/#75a5d85b314f

The information is out there - Ludicrous compensation, family-dealing, wasteful spending, lack of fiduciary duty and a subservient board more than willing to let it all happen. Sure, oil & gas took a hit and the Mississippian had some unfortunate setbacks, but this went way beyond that.

And I know, Rover. These guys are always getting "smeared" in the name of one "agenda" or another. It is awful.
I get it... you lost money...must have been criminal.

About 8-9 years ago, I took a huge gamble and lost about half of my life savings on a single stock. It was my first significant loss in the market and it happened to be with an oil and gas company. At the time, I was looking for someone to blame and be angry at. Over the next few years, I got over it and understood that it was no ones fault but mine. I wanted to gamble and knew the risks involved when it comes to the market.

The money I lost was like 2 grand and it was a long time ago - small price for the lesson learned. I only mentioned it in full disclosure and consider myself fully responsible for not performing the proper due dilligence.

On the other hand, you're basically making my point for me. More people in Oklahoma should be aware of what went on at Sandridge back then. I'll leave it at that.

The money I lost was like 2 grand and it was a long time ago - small price for the lesson learned. I only mentioned it in full disclosure and consider myself fully responsible for not performing the proper due dilligence.

On the other hand, you're basically making my point for me. More people in Oklahoma should be aware of what went on at Sandridge back then. I'll leave it at that.

Regardless what your allegations are and whether they're true or not, this isn't really the thread for it unless this somehow relates specifically to Teemco in a way I'm not seeing.

As you suggested, I did Google it, and I'm not sure to what, exactly, you might be referring. Run out of his own company, do you mean Chesapeake, SandRidge, or Tapstone? I would guess you probably mean SandRIdge, in which case, Google it yourself. That was without cause, which got him $90 million. And if you do indeed mean SandRidge, while you're Googling see if you can tell us how it worked out for them. You can start the search here (www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=32736).

You've put me in the awkward position of having to agree with Rover...if you have something to say, then say it.


It’s just that it is very easy to smear people and I think it is reckless unless one has specific and verifiable information the public should know. Often it is just rumors or gossip from others with differing agendas. There are usually more than one perspective with every controversy, so the most public story isn’t always the true story. It is easy to publicly demean someone but harder to take it back when you discover it is wrong.

I had a small amount of SR stock and got to see all the accusations made from bigger shareholders. Ward was self dealing, grifting, and conflicting of interest as soon as they went public. SR was one of the biggest advertisers with the Thunder (which Ward also owned part of), sold his free owner tickets back to SR, and thats on top of the numerous season tickets SR bought that he and family used. Super generous and over use of corporate jet, he might have even had SR buy one, cant remember. Lots of other crazy allegations that I cant remember.

This was on top of a SR employee telling me that they worked on SR land work and Ward and sons personal land work, all while as SR employee. Ward and sons were also working and dealing in same oil plays as SR, and sometimes flipping deals to SR.

^

All that regarding Ward is strikingly similar to what Reuters uncovered in their investigation of Aubrey McClendon which in turn led to a shareholder revolt and ultimately his ouster.

I'm not involved with any of this at all, in any way. The literal definition of third party with no skin in the game. I'm curious though if this is true how his termination was found (twice, as far as I can tell) to be without cause, because to me this is pretty damn clear evidence of embezzlement at the very least.

I'm not involved with any of this at all, in any way. The literal definition of third party with no skin in the game. I'm curious though if this is true how his termination was found (twice, as far as I can tell) to be without cause, because to me this is pretty damn clear evidence of embezzlement at the very least.

Because he stacked the board with his buddies? I really dont remember but this is a pretty good guess.

And it wasnt clear cut embezzlement, just self dealing and highly questionable ethics, all which he can claim some plausible deniability.

Super generous and over use of corporate jet, he might have even had SR buy one, cant remember.

-SandRidge provides him with unlimited personal use of the companyÂ’s four corporate jets
-Mr. Ward has used the planes for frequent trips to his vacation home in Scottsdale and weekend
trips to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Bahamas
- The planes include a Falcon 900EX, one of the most expensive private business jets made
-SandRidge employs over 15 full time employees to maintain and fly the jets



Lots of other crazy allegations that I cant remember.

Given the importance of corporate governance, we thought we would highlight a few of the
compensation and self-dealing issues that we find most disturbing:

• The Board has sanctioned compensation levels for Tom Ward that are unconscionable in light of
company performance. For example, total compensation for 2011 was over $25 million -
representing a full 1/2 of the companyÂ’s earnings. In fact, CEO compensation has been
between $15 and $26 million in every year since the companyÂ’s IPO. This is simply astonishing,
considering 1) the stock has declined 76% over this period, 2) the relative stock performance has
been in the bottom 1% of all major US listed stocks, and dead last among energy companies,
and 3) Book Value per Share has declined by over 60% over this period. In fact, when
compensation is adjusted for market capitalization of the company, the figures become even
more appalling – relative to market capitalization, Tom Ward has been the single highest
compensated CEO among all energy companies, and among the highest compensated CEOs in
AmericaÂ…despite destroying more shareholder value than 99% of other companies and CEOs.

• The company has been rife with self-dealing, at the expense of shareholders and for the benefit
of Mr. Ward. The most disturbing example has been the Executive Well Participation Plan,
(similar to the founder well participation policy at Chesapeake Energy that caused enormous
outrage earlier this year). When concerns regarding Mr. WardÂ’s ties to Chesapeake Energy
arose this spring, Mr. Ward repeatedly asserted to us, other shareholders, and the media that
SandRidge was different, and that over time he and the company recognized the
inappropriateness of this practice, and eliminated it to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
We investigated his claims, and were appalled by what we found.
It is true that SandRidge has eliminated their Executive Well Participation Plan. However, they
did so immediately after the market collapse in October 2008, by then paying over $67 million
to Mr. Ward, even as 1) markets were collapsing, and 2) the company had less than $1 million in
cash and was facing real risk of bankruptcy. Adding insult to injury, the wells that the company
re-purchased from Ward were natural gas wells, even as Mr. Ward and the company were
publicly proclaiming the need to abandon their natural gas focus and shift towards oil
exploration and development. When the company disclosed the purchase, it cited a desire "to
retain a greater working interest in future wells, thus increasing proved undeveloped reserves".
This declaration was preposterous, considering their publicly stated desire to abandon the initial
natural gas focus of the company and switch to oil. And, again, it was even more shocking when

one considers the environment of that time – with markets collapsing, the company facing
collapse, and natural gas facing collapse. When the Executive Well Participation Plan was
initially established, the claimed purpose was to “align executives’ interests with that of
shareholders”. It is quite obvious that the only purpose was to enrich management at the
expense of shareholders.
What has Mr. Ward done with his wealth, including the $150 million in payments from
SandRidge? He has bought massive holdings of ranchland, and then turned around and leased
the land to SandRidge for future exploration. Therefore, some payments to Mr. Ward continue
– they have simply changed form. Cashing out of natural gas wells in October 2008 was a
spectacular trade, as was swapping into ranchland in the Midwest Â… unfortunately at the
expense of SandRidge shareholders who suffered massive write-downs on the well interests
purchased from Mr. Ward. There are also numerous smaller, but equally disturbing, other
examples. Mr. Ward purchased a sizable interest in the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball
teamÂ…only to yet again turn around and have SandRidge pay him and other owners millions per
year in sponsorship and luxury suite payments. Despite its small size, SandRidge is one of the
largest corporate supporters of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the company that owns it.

** This is all from the TPG-Axon filings

I guess this is now a Tom Ward thread.

Let's see.... a hedge fund CEO calling out another company's risk and spending habits is rich. The reason hedge funds can make (or lose) so much is they generally play pretty fast and loose with their investors' funds in higher risk and lower regulated investments.

TPG got the changes at Sandridge that their chairman said was good.... How has that gone? Like so many other Goldman Sachs exes, they think they know industries because they are... well... they are Wall Street Guys. Problem is, so many of the financial guys who think they know so much actually know very little about the industries they put money in. They want control without having knowledge. They look at the books and think they know the industry. Usually, they are just looking at how to get cash out and make a profit before the company is split up, sold, or goes down.

TPG-Axon itself has been losing money for some time... the latest in a line of hedge fund operations in trouble. I believe TPG Axon is involved in a money laundering investigation in Italy with a key Trump contributor... Barrak. Also, at the end of 2016 TPG Axon investors had a big exit with their money out of their fund as they were taking big losses. Their investment assets were way more volatile and risky than their investors were led to believe.

Be careful of buying into all of the stuff you read. I'm sure not holding Ward up to be any kind of saint. I have problems with quite a bit, but let's not make him out to be the devil and the other side to be exactly purveyors of the truth.

This seems to be personal, so again I ask... What do you KNOW?

I really don't care about TPG-Axon - they are idiots for taking over a failing business and probably got what they deserved. The evidence -- primarily in the form of cold, hard numbers -- speaks for itself.

And Pete -- I have no problem if you want to clean this thread up. We are way off topic... My bad.

I'd call it "topic adjunct", in that apparently what may or may not have happened seems to echo what happened at Teemco. Looking forward to that story. Turning it back to what I think the original point was, it seems to happen a bit much in Oklahoma. Does it happen more (or less) than it does in other areas? I just don't know. What I do know about local corruption is years back Mustang had some water issues that resulted in a city official at the time saying in response to people asking what happened to the missing money that "the money isn't missing, we know what we spent it on" when the point was it wasn't supposed to be spent at all. Forward a couple decades, and Yukon had some money woes regarding water (and other things) just a couple years ago. It seems we never learn, and another Teemco WILL be along presently. It doesn't help that the Oklahoman tends to be their biggest cheerleader when it happens.

Former TEEMCO CEO enters guilty plea to felony tax charges (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=508-Former-TEEMCO-CEO-enters-guilty-plea-to-felony-tax-charges)

Today in federal court former TEEMCO CEO Greg Lorson signed an agreement to to plead guilty to tax embezzlement charges.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lorson061518b.jpg


The agreement outlines over $3 million owed to the IRS and over $.5 million owed to the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) and was signed by Lorson, his attorney and the Assistant U.S. Attorney. The amounts span the period of 2010 to 2015 – the entire existence of TEEMCO – where Lorson orchestrated the embezzlement of taxes owed to various government agencies.

By executing court documents which also waived Lorson's right to formal indictment and a jury trial, a process has commenced whereby the U.S. Probation Office will conduct a pre-sentence investigation over the next several weeks which will be ultimately submitted in the form of a report to the presiding judge to assist in deciding an appropriate sentence.

The maximum sentence is this case was stated as five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and supervised release of 3 years, plus the costs of prosecution.

The parties also agreed that the court will enter an order of restitution in favor of the IRS and the OTC for the more than $3.5 million owed and that Lorson will be obligated to make payments as decided by the judge. Additionally, the agreement does not necessarily resolve Lorson's civil tax liabilities such as interest and penalties sought by the IRS.

Tax debts cannot be discharged or reduced by filing banruptcy or any other legal means.

Typically, a pre-sentencing report requires about a month to compile, after which Lorson will appear in court again to hear his sentence.

If there is jail time, this would be the third turn in prison for Lorson, the first two for financial fraud including a 1998 conviction that resulted in a 70-month sentence in a federal penitentiary.

In the Background Questions section of the the Petition to Enter Plea of Guilty filed with the court today, in answer to “What are your reasons for making this agreeement?”, Lorson wrote in his own handwriting, “Beause I'm guility of the information and do not want to create a greater burden to those involved by going to trial.” And under the Conclusion / Factual Basis section Lorson writes “I failed to pay over taxes as required by law.”


OKCTalk was the first to report on TEEMCO and Lorson's many problems at a time when they were still claiming in other local media outlets that they intended to finish the renovation of the historic Gold Dome and make it their headquarters and while they ran promotional advertisments at Oklahoma City Thunder games as well as University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State sporting events.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lorson061518c.jpg


Read our bombsell report “Troubled times at TEEMCO (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=55-Exclusive-Report-Troubling-times-at-TEEMCO)” from October 2, 2014 for extensive details on Lorson's background and a variety of dubious business dealings.

On October 13, 2014, OKCTalk published the second arctilce on TEEMCO and Lorson: “TEEMCO implicated in massive tax evasion scheme (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=58-TEEMCO-implicated-in-massive-tax-evasion-scheme)”. In that article we exposed the exact activity that resulted in today's guilty plea, including accurately stating the IRS was owed at that time almost $3 million.

OKCTalk continued to report on the tribulations of TEEMCO and Lorson with four more articles, including the ultimate eviction and closure of the company and Lorson's mounting legal problems.

In addition to the millions owed for taxes, Lorson also has 9 pending judgments in Oklahoma courts totalling almost $800,000. By working with former employees and dozens of creditors, OKCTalk estimates that under Lorson TEEMCO had unpaid debts in addition to the taxes owed of more than $5 million, including money owed the Oklahoma City Thunder, Learfield Sports (representing OU and OSU) and the Oklahoma Publishing Company.

At the same time, Lorson orchestrated the purchase of a large yacht, a stretch limosine, international travel and other extravagances.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lorson061518d.jpg


After the collapse of TEEMCO's plans to renovate and occupy Uptown's historic Gold Dome, Lorson's legacy is in evidence in the form of a matte-finish paint job on the structure's iconic roof and a TEEMCO sign that is now draped with a For Lease banner.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lorson061518a.jpg

Fantastic reporting, Pete. You are to be commended for reporting on this and digging in when other news outlets provided Lorson with platforms for press releases and PR. What an egregious and embarrassing example of the unwillingness of some local news organizations to print anything negative about an advertiser or a member of the local business community. Thank you for doing this excellent work!

Former TEEMCO CEO sentenced to five years in prison (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=573-Former-TEEMCO-CEO-sentenced-to-five-years-in-prison)

A federal judge handed down a 5-year prison sentence Thursday to Greg Lorson, the former CEO of Edmond-based TEEMCO, as punishment for a $3.5 million tax embezzlement scheme.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lorson020819b.jpg
Prosecutors claim Lorson lived lavishly on money owed the government

The sentence exceeded guidelines for similar crimes. The judge and U.S. Attorney cited Lorson's long criminal history and other exacerbating factors such as the harm caused to TEEMCO employees, the lack of filing of a personal tax return since 1990 and an unpaid Internal Revenue Service (IRS) judgment regarding a similar issue in his immediately preceding job.

Last June, Lorson pleaded guilty to taking $3,003,220 that was owed to IRS and another $542,162 due to the state of Oklahoma, sums deducted from employee paychecks which law dictates must be held in trust for the government. Much of that money was spent on items such as a limousine, yacht, a resort condominium and international travel. Bank records show Lorson frequently made large cash withdrawals from company accounts.

Lorson also spent large sums on a failed plan to purchase, renovate and occupy the historic Gold Dome building at NW 23rd and Classen. After the company covered the iconic structure in flat paint and installed their sign, OKCTalk was first to report that all work had stopped and the property had never actually transferred hands. Ultimately, TEEMCO sold off expensive items acquired for the ostensible new headquarters at a clearance sale from a storge unit, including what was proclaimed as the world's largest salt crystal lamp.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/teemco5a.jpg

From TEEMCO's inception in 2010 until the state tax commission forcibly closed its doors in 2015, Lorson admitted to directly instructing TEEMCO staff to not file quarterly returns, a period spanning 20 consecutive quarters. Under Section 7202 of the Internal Revenue Code, a willful failure to pay over withholding tax is a felony.

In a 14-page document filed with the court, the prosecuting U.S. attorney argued for a long period of incarceration.

“Undeterred by five prior convictions and an earlier 70-month stint in federal prison, Mr. Lorson is now caught in his largest financial fraud case yet—a $3.5 million tax scheme where he used as his personal piggybank a failed environmental services company,” the U.S. attorney wrote.

The document also cites “the particularly egregious harms to TEEMCO employees and clients” and that “Mr. Lorson's fraudulent conduct here can only plausibly be explained by greed, an exorbitant personal lifestyle, and a deliberate decision to play by a different set of rules.”

It goes on to note “concerns about Mr. Lorson's current business practices, possible discrepancies in his responses to the Probation Office, and the persistent challenges in getting basic financial records about his current business.”

Lorson previously reported to the court that he was running a construction company in Florida and research reveals several complaints to the Better Business Bureau regarding shoddy and unfinished work.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lorsonlondon2.jpg
Court records show Lorson spent thousands one evening at Boujis, a London nightclub

Before sentencing, Lorson was given the opportunity to address the judge and asserted that the tax obligations “came out of nowhere” and that he was spending in an attempt to expand TEEMCO with the specific goal of repaying an ever-growing mountain of taxes. He further claimed a high personal price, describing a near-homeless situation in the immediate aftermath of TEEMCO's collapse.

Judge Joe Heaton was not persuaded, declaring that the full body of evidence clearly demonstrated Lorson knew exactly what was expected by law, that he had never made any attempt to repay previous tax obligations and that he knowingly conducted a deliberate plan to defraud the government.

The judge noted that the embezzlement started from the very inception of TEEMCO and continued unabated throughout its entire corporate existence. Particularly damning was evidence that TEEMCO employees had tried to submit at least some of the taxes owed – having drawn cashier's checks for that purpose – before Lorson stepped in and ordered the funds be redeposited into the company account.

Before announcing the final sentence, Judge Heaton explained that it was rare to exceed the sentencing guidelines but the evidence and circumstances in Lorson's warranted an upward variance.

At a time when TEEMCO and local media outlets where portraying the company as a healthy, successful business, OKCTalk was first to report on serious issues, starting in 2014. A second article quickly followed (this is the eighth story in a series) and outlined the tax embezzlement in detail, as well as accurately reporting the dollar figures several years before charges were formally filed.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/teemcolimo.jpg

Lorson continued his tax theft for another year before the company was shuttered and ultimately dissolved amid a flurry of evictions and judgments totaling over $800,000, not including the millions in tax obligations. In reviewing court documents and interviewing former employees and numerous creditors, OKCTalk identified at least an additional $5 million in unpaid bills, including extravagant sponsorship deals with Oklahoma City Thunder, University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

In total, Lorson used TEEMCO to defraud the government, employees, clients and businesses of in excess of $10 million.

Lorson was ordered by the court to report to federal prison by 1 PM on March 1st. The Federal Bureau of Prisons will determine the specific facility.

At the end of his incarceration, Lorson will be under supervised release for three additional years. Due to his long history of committing various forms of business fraud, the judge also stipulated that before Lorson could form a new business entity or revive an existing one, prior court approval would be required.

Although the judge acknowledged significant restitution was unlikely, Lorson is required to reimburse the millions owed the government, an obligation that cannot be discharged through bankruptcy or any other means.


Previous stories

10-2-14
Exclusive Report: Troubled times at TEEMCO (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=55-Exclusive-Report-Troubling-times-at-TEEMCO)

10-13-14
TEEMCO implicated in massive tax evasion scheme (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=58-TEEMCO-implicated-in-massive-tax-evasion-scheme)

2-9-15
TEEMCO being sued for Channel 9 debt, facing evictions (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=109-TEEMCO-being-sued-for-Channel-9-debt-facing-evictions)

5-21-15
TEEMCO closed by the State Tax Commission (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=163-TEEMCO-closed)

6-30-15
TEEMCO evicted from headquarters (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=183-TEEMCO-evicted-from-headquarters)

6-2-16
TEEMCO CEO under criminal investigation, files for bankruptcy (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=291-TEEMCO-CEO-under-criminal-investigation-files-for-bankruptcy)

6-15-18
Former TEEMCO CEO enters guilty plea to felony tax charges (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=508-Former-TEEMCO-CEO-enters-guilty-plea-to-felony-tax-charges)

Fyreco

Teemco Festival

It's astoundingly unjust that corporate CEOs who scam and harm hundreds of people with vast amounts of money get the same sentence as someone who commits petty theft or drug possession that does little harm to others. How is this guy going to be back out of jail within 5 years?

Pete when you gonna write that book about this case?

It's astoundingly unjust that corporate CEOs who scam and harm hundreds of people with vast amounts of money get the same sentence as someone who commits petty theft or drug possession that does little harm to others. How is this guy going to be back out of jail within 5 years?

to me... the time in jail isn't the issue. i'm okay with that... but there should be a massively large fine that goes to help people

It's astoundingly unjust that corporate CEOs who scam and harm hundreds of people with vast amounts of money get the same sentence as someone who commits petty theft or drug possession that does little harm to others. How is this guy going to be back out of jail within 5 years?

Because he's a white guy that committed a white-collar crime, which aren't being enforced nearly as much as they should be and if the criminals are prosecuted, they usually have good lawyers and get a light sentence/fine. Just SEC alone during the Trump admin (but this kind of thing has been happening for decades):

• A 62 percent drop in penalties imposed and illicit profits ordered returned by the S.E.C., to $1.9 billion under the Trump administration from $5 billion under the Obama administration;

• A 72 percent decline in corporate penalties from the Justice Department’s criminal prosecutions, to $3.93 billion from $14.15 billion, and a similar percent drop in civil penalties against financial institutions, to $7.4 billion;

• A lighter touch toward the banking industry, with the S.E.C. ordering banks to pay $1.7 billion during the Obama period, nearly four times as much as in the Trump era, and Mr. Trump’s Justice Department bringing 17 such cases, compared with 71.

Go USA!

Maybe we'll see this guy on American Greed.

Because he's a white guy that committed a white-collar crime, which aren't being enforced nearly as much as they should be and if the criminals are prosecuted, they usually have good lawyers and get a light sentence/fine. Just SEC alone during the Trump admin (but this kind of thing has been happening for decades):

• A 62 percent drop in penalties imposed and illicit profits ordered returned by the S.E.C., to $1.9 billion under the Trump administration from $5 billion under the Obama administration;

• A 72 percent decline in corporate penalties from the Justice Department’s criminal prosecutions, to $3.93 billion from $14.15 billion, and a similar percent drop in civil penalties against financial institutions, to $7.4 billion;

• A lighter touch toward the banking industry, with the S.E.C. ordering banks to pay $1.7 billion during the Obama period, nearly four times as much as in the Trump era, and Mr. Trump’s Justice Department bringing 17 such cases, compared with 71.

Go USA!

So a black guy would have received a longer sentence?

So a black guy would have received a longer sentence?

Based on statistics, yes black males serve longer sentences than white males who have commited the same crime.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black-men-sentenced-to-more-time-for-committing-the-exact-same-crime-as-a-white-person-study-finds/

It's astoundingly unjust that corporate CEOs who scam and harm hundreds of people with vast amounts of money get the same sentence as someone who commits petty theft or drug possession that does little harm to others. How is this guy going to be back out of jail within 5 years?

There are specific sentencing guidelines and laws the judge must follow.

Suffice it to say I followed this case pretty closely. There was an entire grading process based on the crime to which Lorson pleaded guilty.

They actually did the math to come up with a grade. This was a level 22 crime and then they added points (again, by formula) based on Lorgon's previous record and prison sentences. I believe it ended up being a grade 26.

Then, they apply guidelines based on that grade. Attorneys on both sides agreed with the finding of the probation department as to the grade and the resulting guideline, which was 41 to 51 months.

But due to other things -- mainly Lorson's felonious past -- the prosecutors sought and the judge agreed to an upward variance to the guideline, which was 60 months. My understanding was that was the absolute maximum allow by law.

Now, all of this is framed in larger laws that govern such matters. For those who feel this sentence was unjust (and I happen to be one of them), blame the over-arching laws, not the judge and prosecutor.


There were a bunch of other things that Lorson could have been charged with, such as embezzling charitable contributions and defrauding clients. But in the end, they had him dead-to-rights on the tax charges, knew he would have no choice but to plead guilty, and everyone could be spared the time and expense of a long trial.


I have to say, this has been fascinating to follow all these years. I have hundreds of pages of notes from research and interviews. I believe there is still much to be told about this entire situation, including how this went on for so long, the complicity of local media and several important local businesses and how someone like this can keep repeating all types of blatant fraud without anyone even paying attention until its far too late.


One of the more interesting aspects of all of this is that Lorson is far from some criminal genius. The judge almost laughed at his attempted explainations and plea for a light sentence; he's not even a good liar. He's not smart or slick and if he had been either this could have been much, much worse. What does that say about OKC? I will explore that further in future stories. More to come!

That’s a great question as to how this went on for as long as it did unchecked. The fact that “he is not smart or slick” may have something to do with it. Hiding in plain sight so to speak. I’m sure there are others who were complicit that haven’t had their turn yet.

As part of his punishment, upon release, he should be forced to work for a living like the rest of us. Another 10 years working minimum wage retail behind the counter of a Goodwill store, or Family Dollar, or something along those lines.

That’s a great question as to how this went on for as long as it did unchecked. The fact that “he is not smart or slick” may have something to do with it. Hiding in plain sight so to speak. I’m sure there are others who were complicit that haven’t had their turn yet.

As part of his punishment, upon release, he should be forced to work for a living like the rest of us. Another 10 years working minimum wage retail behind the counter of a Goodwill store, or Family Dollar, or something along those lines.

Totally agree with the last part. Although I doubt someone like Lorson will ever learn.

It's really hard for me to believe TEEMCO and Lorson were able to get away with this without at least some complicity from the prominent local institutions. The Jokelahoman may have been the worst offender. Maybe the Thunder just didn't know, got their money, so didn't care, but I'll never forget Brianna Bailey's puff pieces.

It's really hard for me to believe TEEMCO and Lorson were able to get away with this without at least some complicity from the prominent local institutions. The Jokelahoman may have been the worst offender. Maybe the Thunder just didn't know, got their money, so didn't care, but I'll never forget Brianna Bailey's puff pieces.

TEEMCO was way, way behind on their payments to the Thunder, OU and OSU yet they all kept honoring their suite tickets, running ads on the scoreboards... OU even let him go on the field and present the Bedlam trophy one year even though TEEMCO had completely broken their contract months prior. None of them ever filed against TEEMCO even though all were owned hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What will also come out is that TEEMCO PAID the Oklahoman for editorial content; not just advertising, but at least one story Brianna Bailey wrote for them. Or I should say, they contracted to pay them and never did. The Oklahoman was nowhere to be found on this story other than promotional articles and in fact giving Lorson a large platform to cotinue his lies without any fact-checking whatsoever. And all the while, TEEMCO had defaulted on payment to them, too. I have documents and interviews with Oklahoman personnel to back all this up.

Journal Record actually gave them a Beacon Award for chrarity work even though TEEMCO never even formed a nonprofit. It's easy to verify a charitable organization, which they never did. And Lorson went on to embezzle tens of thousands in the name of the 'TEEMCO Foundation' that never existed.

All of this helped Lorson and TEEMCO continue to defraud people even though all you have to do is meet him to know he's a very odd and dubious character. Or do a Google search which would show his felonious past or even check to see if the Gold Dome ever transferred to them. As I said, he was no criminal genius and not even smart enough to hide tons of obvious crimes.

And it says a lot about our community that a guy with 5 previous convictions (now 6) would get out of federal prison and set up shop for his next scam exactly where he swindled others and committed many crimes. Why not? Just pay the local media to distribute a bunch of lies and know that no one is taking a hard look at anything done here... Unless it's Chesapeake or a big oil company that eventually gets into a big enough mess Reuters and Bloomberg come calling.

Only recently did Lorson move to Florida (with former TEEMCO employees he met in jail) and started up a construction company that is in all kinds of trouble.


There is much more to all this and it will all come out in a future series of articles.

The mind boggles. Pete, can't say enough about the work you've done following this story. The entire thing is Netflix worthy IMO. I'd binge a docuseries about TEEMCO in a heartbeat.

A true head scratcher - if I had Thunder season tickets and fell behind on payments, I'm guessing they'd be cancelled in 2 seconds. Yet Lorson continued to get away with fleecing everyone. Just wondering if you've ever been able to get an answer from either OU or the Thunder on how they could let this continue? I'm guessing they want no part of discussing it.

I will give them the opportunity to comment before I present details in a future article.


It's simply fascinating how this can go on in broad daylight and for years and years. That is the part that is the most interesting to me and I'll attempt to provide some answers to the many questions that people have over this entire situation.

The mind boggles. Pete, can't say enough about the work you've done following this story. The entire thing is Netflix worthy IMO. I'd binge a docuseries about TEEMCO in a heartbeat.
I'd watch it!

The mind boggles. Pete, can't say enough about the work you've done following this story. The entire thing is Netflix worthy IMO. I'd binge a docuseries about TEEMCO in a heartbeat.

A true head scratcher - if I had Thunder season tickets and fell behind on payments, I'm guessing they'd be cancelled in 2 seconds. Yet Lorson continued to get away with fleecing everyone. Just wondering if you've ever been able to get an answer from either OU or the Thunder on how they could let this continue? I'm guessing they want no part of discussing it.

I have club level season tickets and am required to pay almost a year in advance for the next season. Been that way for 8 seasons.

I have all the details of what was paid and when.

Prepare to be shocked.

I have all the details of what was paid and when.

Prepare to be shocked.

I wouldn't even be shocked if you said he tricked the Thunder into paying HIM.

I have club level season tickets and am required to pay almost a year in advance for the next season. Been that way for 8 seasons.

I am not sure if the thunder sells there sponsorships directly. But OU and osu. Do not sell there directly. A 3rd party (learfirld IMG) does

Does the “friendly” nature of Oklahomans make them more vulnerable to a guy with a fancy car with nice promises? I don’t mean that in a rude or offensive way, I just can’t fathom how so many were sold on his ideas only to have him robbing them blind?

Gullible is almost a too strong of a word, but it kind of fits.

Keep in mind many of us on the board were “wowed” also, with his grand plans with the Gold dome. Although I think we caught on quicker than others....

Keep in mind many of us on the board were “wowed” also, with his grand plans with the Gold dome. Although I think we caught on quicker than others....

A big part of this is a press that is nothing but cheerleaders.

They all gladly re-write press releases, go running to press conferences, basically trumpet anything that is new and shiny.

Yet, there has been no follow-up; nobody even bothered to drive by and check on the Gold Dome. Nobody asked a fundamental question: "Exactly what do you do?" In fact, there are never any questions at all, they just print/broadcast what someone wants to tell them.


Even though I didn't even live here, I asked people to go by and check on the status. I monitored building permits, design committee filings and the county assessor site. It became very obvious to me that nothing was happening there and that TEEMCO never did buy the building. These were FACTS not just something someone was saying. Actions vs. words.

Then, I started asking around and actually researched Lorson and their business. Tons of red flags were waving, so it went on from there.


How many times does someone print up some renderings and/or a press release and the local press gladly splashes it all over... Yet never does any homework, asks any real questions and certainly never follows up.

It's one of the reasons I take so many photos. I have a huge database of things; many have already been announced. I also do not put much stock in what one person tells me, even if they are the owner/developer. They have huge incentives to at least fudge the truth or just out-right lie. And why not? Whatever they tell the media goes unchallenged.


And the other huge thing is: I don't care if someone get pissed about something I post or report. If I'm wrong, please correct me and I'll happily share the information.

I don't need a 'relationship' with people who are making the news; and in fact, that not only complicates things it more often than not leads to downright unethical behavior. Why would a developer go out of their way to give something to the Oklahoman when they know if they just file their documents (permits, design review applications) it will get picked up? They do it because they want to control the story, which is another way of saying the Oklahoman is just running PR for them.

It also creates this massive favor-trading mess, where when someone gives you something then want something in return. It's called Access Journalism is it's wildly unethical.

There is much more to all this and it will all come out in a future series of articles.
Will you be exploring the general history of the oil patch, and its development of a culture that lionizes successful rogues? Not to mention the history of our state, which named a county for the leader of a group that defied federal law repeatedly, and to this day seems proud of the way the group bent the rules to be early for the famous run...

Or, for that matter, why prior to 1959 rural politicians would spend many thousands of dollars running for an elective office that paid nowhere near that much -- but had ample opportunity for sub-table dealings that would be all profit? And the days when we had the best Supreme Court that money could buy...

There's plenty there for you, sir -- but keep in mind what happened to so many Osage chiefs when they became inconvenient to have around.

Will you be exploring the general history of the oil patch, and its development of a culture that lionizes successful rogues? Not to mention the history of our state, which named a county for the leader of a group that defied federal law repeatedly, and to this day seems proud of the way the group bent the rules to be early for the famous run...

Or, for that matter, why prior to 1959 rural politicians would spend many thousands of dollars running for an elective office that paid nowhere near that much -- but had ample opportunity for sub-table dealings that would be all profit? And the days when we had the best Supreme Court that money could buy...

There's plenty there for you, sir -- but keep in mind what happened to so many Osage chiefs when they became inconvenient to have around.

I read that book. Crazy little corner of OK history that not many these days even know about. I had no clue and I grew up in the Bartlesville/Dewey area.

I read that book. Crazy little corner of OK history that not many these days even know about. I had no clue and I grew up in the Bartlesville/Dewey area.

What happened?

What happened?

Not the thread for this discussion, and it's already been had on this forum. Let's not rehash the Ree Drummond is Satan thing again please.

What happened?

Here's the book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killers-of-the-flower-moon-david-grann/1123721799#/

Not the thread for this discussion, and it's already been had on this forum. Let's not rehash the Ree Drummond is Satan thing again please.

You can't pull that crap. Can't bring something up all mysterious and then be like "oh this isn't the thread for it".

You can't pull that crap. Can't bring something up all mysterious and then be like "oh this isn't the thread for it".

If there's a book about it, AND it has already been discussed here, how mysterious is it, really?

If there's a book about it, AND it has already been discussed here, how mysterious is it, really?

And to be a movie from Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio.

https://deadline.com/2018/10/martin-scorsese-leonardo-dicaprio-killers-of-the-flower-moon-1202488730/

I read that book. Crazy little corner of OK history that not many these days even know about. I had no clue and I grew up in the Bartlesville/Dewey area.Actually, my intent in mentioning them was to point out a pattern of corruption. That was only one huge instance of it. Another was the small-time crime figure over in Tulsa, during the 50s, who committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a .45. Twice. But it was ruled suicide, and nobody investigated.

Not the thread for this discussion, and it's already been had on this forum. Let's not rehash the Ree Drummond is Satan thing again please.


If there's a book about it, AND it has already been discussed here, how mysterious is it, really?

Just a simple question. Not all of us read every single post on this board. But thank you for being condescending about it.

Here's the book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killers-of-the-flower-moon-david-grann/1123721799#/


And to be a movie from Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio.

https://deadline.com/2018/10/martin-scorsese-leonardo-dicaprio-killers-of-the-flower-moon-1202488730/

Thank you. Had no idea about any of that.