Follow the Reuters coverage.

They did all the original reporting on Chesapeake that led to McClendon getting ousted and that started this whole DOJ investigation in the first place.

They had reporters based here for quite some time investigating all this as recent as late last year.

I know there's an OPUBCO thread elsewhere, but I'm going to take this opportunity to point out The Oklahoman is worthless when it comes to investigative reporting of major Oklahoma corporations. But God help you if you're a state employee with a DUI or a small-town politician (especially if you're a Democrat).

Big loss for OKC. Wonder who will be indicted next.

despite all the hate and bad things that are being said for the guy, this whole deal makes me very sad. I never met the Aubrey, knew him or anything else but I know he busted his @$$ to make OKC a better place more than anyone that is hating on him right now. My work involves dealing with a bunch of different business across OKC and the surrounding areas and I could easily name 50+ people I've met in the last year that turned small businesses into & figure + businesses because of his help/business association. This guy will be truly missed in all of Oklahoma way more than most people understand right now and the people spewing hate based on yesterdays news have no idea how broad of an impact he had on our local community in the business and charity spectrum

I never knew Aubrey McClendon except via the news and other media.
In general, I'm not fond of nor familiar with Billionaires.

Yet, I can say this: This exceptional product of Heritage Hall and Duke University brought a lot of Honest Joy to the local community (me included).

Although I can't fully express my feelings, I trust that a quote, borrowed from "The Bard," will suffice: "The evil that men do lives after them;. The good is oft interrèd with their bones. So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus. Hath told you . . . (et cetera . . . and so forth]"

Personally, I prefer to remember all of the good that Mr. McClendon shared with all of us.

Pretty sloppy of the OCPD to make those statements early on just assuming suicide. Pretty shockingly sloppy actually.

A bunch of my Houston pals back home in the industry are already going with the Ken Lay faked death theories.

Sad day, as what's already been said, AKM did a ton for this city and imagining this city without his touch is hard.

Pretty sloppy of the OCPD to make those statements early on just assuming suicide. Pretty shockingly sloppy actually.

A bunch of my Houston pals back home in the industry are already going with the Ken Lay faked death theories.

Sad day, as what's already been said, AKM did a ton for this city and imagining this city without his touch is hard.

Yup.

i don't think that's conclusive of anything... a distracted driver wouldn't have time to brake either.

I think there are some questions that could be asked. If I'm going to kill myself by driving into a concrete wall, I'd go straight when I do it and stay in my lane, hitting the bridge on the right. Why suddenly veer to the left? And looking at the marks on the wall, he hit the corner. Why not drive straight into the wall? I realize the timing makes it look suspicious but it doesn't look totally cut and dried to me. Cell phone, deer, blow out, seizure, stroke, heart attack, driving impaired. Some of those make more sense to me looking at the trajectory of the car. My grandfather had a heart attack while driving and drove right into another car head-on. We may never know, given the lack of witnesses and the condition of the car and him, most likely. If there's any doubt, I'm willing to leave it open unless there's hard evidence to the contrary.

Haven't read all the comments - and its probably far less than polite to speculate on someone's death - but, since he's such a public figure I'm gonna do it anyway.

What he was about to go through IMO was far more strenuous and humiliating than anything he had gone through before. The stress of that can be overwhelming and blinding.

There may have been other things going on that were likely to be uncovered by a federal investigation that added even more stress.

If I had to totally guess I'd say the pressure of turning himself in and the long road ahead of him (no pun intended) caused him to crack - either influenced by anything in his system or not I think we will find it was suicide. I do wonder though if it was done in this manner so as to be considered possibly an 'accident' for insurance purposes. While he was wealthy, he could stand to loose a large portion of that (again) and it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to have a large life insurance policy that would not be effected by the federal charges.

Regardless, big loss.

I haven't seen that "was due to turn himself in at 11AM" news reported anywhere other than the Daily Mail, so I regard that bit of info as dubious. If this was true, why hasn't anyone else picked up on it? Pretty significant to this story.

In any event, he was a billionaire and would have immediately posted bail and gone back to work.


Also, just watched a CNBC panel discussion about the indictment. One commentator said that in order to gain immunity, Chesapeake would have had to have been the first to turn McClendon in for the wrong doing; not just be willing to share info.

If I understand the chain of events, when Reuters started their reporting on CHK, one of the things unearthed was the alleged collusion with Encana in Michigan.

That case was ultimately settled but I believe as part of the CHK's internal probe they identified similar issues in Oklahoma and likely took them directly to the DOJ in order to fully disclose and hopefully get themselves off the hook. By this time, McClendon had been forced out and they were in the process of suing him for allegedly pilfering trade secrets he then used to start AEP.

I'm beginning to think that SandRidge and Tom Ward also cooperated because neither were indicted. That could still happen but you would expect the charges to all be filed at once since it was exactly the same issue on both sides. Both CHK and SD would have had to have been equally responsible for the alleged collusion to have been successful.

If you add all this up, it implies that there may have been a very strong case against Aubrey and that he knew it. It seems everyone was pointing the finger at him and cooperating to save their own hides, which would have made it very difficult to defend himself in court.

And his comments seemed to indicate this. He basically said he was outraged because this was common practice in the industry. Not that he didn't do it or that it wasn't illegal, just "everyone else does it". That seems to indicate he knew he had been caught and was focusing on the unfairness of being singled out.


Full disclosure: I spoke to Reuters reporters last year when they were in town researching SandRidge's role in this collusion mess. I didn't know the outcome of their investigation but knew they were specifically digging into this, which is why I mentioned SD early on in the discussion of McClendon's indictment.

I haven't seen that "was due to turn himself in at 11AM" news reported anywhere other than the Daily Mail, so I regard that bit of info as dubious. If this was true, why hasn't anyone else picked up on it? Pretty significant to this story. ....

I hadn't read that anywhere else either - which is why my reference to it was not as specific as their reference. However, being that he was indicted and charges filed, he would have had to have turned himself in pretty quickly - by arrangement with his lawyer. Like many federal defendants though, he probably would have been quickly released to prepare and work on his defense.

Federal cases move VERY quickly when compared to state cases and IMO that makes the pressure even worse.

^

I'm sure you meant that federal cases can move quickly once an indictment has been filed.

This particular case likely started in 2012 or 2013.

^

I'm sure you meant that federal cases can move quickly once an indictment has been filed.

This particular case likely started in 2012 or 2013.


Obviously. How could one even try and compare or come up with an average timeline for an 'investigation' - state, federal or otherwise?

State cases can drag on for years before going to trial VS. federal cases can go to trial within months.

I haven't seen that "was due to turn himself in at 11AM" news reported anywhere other than the Daily Mail, so I regard that bit of info as dubious. If this was true, why hasn't anyone else picked up on it? Pretty significant to this story.

The only other reference I've seen:


But late Tuesday, he was indicted on federal bid-rigging charges accusing him of conspiring to suppress prices for oil and natural gas leases. And on Wednesday morning, he died in a crash in Oklahoma City after his car hit a bridge at high speed. Mr. McClendon, 56, was to have appeared in court later in the day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/business/energy-environment/aubrey-mcclendon-56-shale-gas-baron-dies-in-crash-a-day-after-indictment.html?_r=0

My take is similar though, he would bond right back out, fight it and probably get a few million smack on the wrist. However, I suppose he might also have gone to a speedy trial, gotten one or several 10 year sentences and spent the rest of his life is prison.

^

That one article said "turn himself in to Jail" which is very different than appearing in court.

The jail reference only added to suicide speculation

Obviously. How could one even try and compare or come up with an average timeline for an 'investigation' - state, federal or otherwise?

State cases can drag on for years before going to trial VS. federal cases can go to trial within months.

I don't think it is obvious to the average reader here which is why I pointed out the distinction.

Wasn't trying to call you out, just clarify.

^

That one article said "turn himself in to Jail" which is very different than appearing in court.

The jail reference only added to suicide speculation

Agreed. The truth on that will probably come out eventually as well. He had to have some expectation of being arraigned and such at some time. I also wonder if he found out the same time it was announced in the press, or a day or week in advance? Was the word out in his circle of close business partners?

^

That one article said "turn himself in to Jail" which is very different than appearing in court.

The jail reference only added to suicide speculation

Actually, IMO not that different at all. Following an indictment is an arrest warrant that will be executed by federal marshals or other law enforcement.

Often times that is merely a paperwork process and the court is in touch with the defendant's lawyer. Regardless, there would still be a warrant for his arrest, he would have to turn himself in and he COULD be taken into custody for longer than simply processing. Same goes for state cases.... a warrant is issued and you may make a brief appearance and a booking process or you may be detained longer.

Probably not in this case, but I'd bet its still considered an execution of the warrant.

Regardless, it meant he would be taken into custody and that means headlines and TV crews.

At least in the federal process its a bit more private and expedited.

I'm guessing an OR type bond, surrender your passport, some monitoring etc. or something smiliar

^

Do you think it was likely he would have spent any time in prison?

Couldn't they have arranged for bail which would allowed him to walk straight out of the courtroom?

^

Do you think it was likely he would have spent any time in prison?

Couldn't they have arranged for bail which would allowed him to walk straight out of the courtroom?

How would I know if he was likely to spend "any time in prison"? I have no idea what all is contained in their discovery.

What I do know is that the charges allow for prison time - that's all most defendants need to hear to totally freak out.

Most of the federal cases I work the 'bail' is simply something that is written on the court documents and is only secured with a signature. No idea what they were going to do in this case.

Regardless, the point was - he was going to have to turn himself in very soon, as in "without reasonable delay." When he did that he could be released relatively quickly or he could have been detained --- not unlike "turning yourself in to jail."

I was indicted in state court and technically had to 'turn myself in to jail.' But, it was literally about a 2 hour process. But, I was still processed like any other defendant - I just got to leave right after.

You were opining about the proceedings surrounding his court appearance and that was what I as asking about, not his sentence upon conviction.

And his comments seemed to indicate this. He basically said he was outraged because this was common practice in the industry. Not that he didn't do it or that it wasn't illegal, just "everyone else does it". That seems to indicate he knew he had been caught and was focusing on the unfairness of being singled out.


Full disclosure: I spoke to Reuters reporters last year when they were in town researching SandRidge's role in this collusion mess. I didn't know the outcome of their investigation but knew they were specifically digging into this, which is why I mentioned SD early on in the discussion of McClendon's indictment.

I noticed that about his statement as well. It was more 'I'm being unfairly targeted' than it was 'I'm not guilty of this crime.'

You were opining about the proceedings surrounding his court appearance and that was what I as asking about, not his sentence upon conviction.

I think I was pretty clear with this statement....


...Often times that is merely a paperwork process and the court is in touch with the defendant's lawyer. Regardless, there would still be a warrant for his arrest, he would have to turn himself in and he COULD be taken into custody for longer than simply processing. Same goes for state cases.... a warrant is issued and you may make a brief appearance and a booking process or you may be detained longer....

Prosecution could easily argue he is very wealthy and has the means to be a flight risk. That said, I rarely see people denied reasonable bond in the federal system.

I'm working a case right now that goes to trial next Tues in federal court. Guy is accused of being in a conspiracy and a child sex trafficker. He simply appeared, signed some papers, was processed and then put on home confinement. He's a much bigger risk to the public than McClendon.

I think he would have appeared, been arraigned, been processed and went home.

Sounds simple - unless you're the person its being done to.

He was getting ready to see his name and reputation muddied greatly. He was getting ready to spend a fortune on lawyers. Federal prosecutors - like state prosecutors - very well may have dug up other unrelated but sensitive information. It was going to be a nightmare for the next 9 -18 months and everyone reacts differently to these types of activities.

I have zero problem seeing this as suicide, suicide made to look like an accident, a medical emergency, a DUI related incident or even an oddly timed 100% accident (with contributing factors - like reckless driving). At this point I lean towards suicide related.

I think he would have appeared, been arraigned, been processed and went home.

That's what I was getting at.



He was getting ready to see his name and reputation muddied greatly. He was getting to spend a fortune on lawyers. Federal prosecutors - like state prosecutors - very well may have dug up other unrelated but sensitive information. It was going to be a nightmare for the next 9 -18 months and everyone reacts differently to these types of activities.

They were just allegations at that point.

He had already lost almost his entire fortune overnight under the most embarrassing of circumstances, had been run out of the company he founded and built with his own two hands, been absolutely eviscerated by the media...

And he just came back bigger than ever.

I'm not saying it wasn't a suicide but I would be surprised if that turned out to be the case. Hope they are able to make that determination one way or another.

After going home last night and looking at more news you can really see the impact McClendon left on Oklahoma.

I think my wife said it best, "I don't know why I am upset about Aubrey passing but I am." He was a big presence here.

CNBC report had McClendon reporting to jail at 11AM. Also reported speculation that his financing had run dry due to the indictments so he may not have been able to avoid jail.

...They were just allegations at that point...

JUST allegations with potentially devastating consequences. Its one thing to face losing a lot of money and some criticism with the opportunity to get much of it back.

Its quite another to be accused of serious criminal wrongdoing and have to explain it to your family and spend what money you did make back on lawyer fees - with the rest being in real jeopardy due to civil and criminal proceedings, that may prove your current wealth was obtained illegally - thus subject to be forfeited. Then throw in the possibility of going to prison. I don't think anything he had faced to this point is an equal comparison.

In the court of public opinion - once charged, basically guilty.

I personally don't give any extra weight to what some OCPD PIO says. They are lap dogs for the chief's office and often have no special insight and lots of bias. They regurgitate what others tell them to say.

Minus any revelation at autopsy, we may never know for certain what happened.

JUST allegations with potentially devastating consequences. Its one thing to face losing a lot of money and some criticism with the opportunity to get much of it back.

Its quite another to be accused of serious criminal wrongdoing and have to explain it to your family and spend what money you did make back on lawyer fees - with the rest being in real jeopardy due to civil and criminal proceedings, that may prove your current wealth was obtained illegally - thus subject to be forfeited. Then throw in the possibility of going to prison. I don't think anything he had faced to this point is an equal comparison.

In the court of public opinion - once charged, basically guilty.

I personally don't give any extra weight to what some OCPD PIO says. They are lap dogs for the chief's office and often have no special insight and lots of bias. They regurgitate what others tell them to say.

Minus any revelation at autopsy, we may never know for certain what happened.

I could be wrong and please correct me but doesn't a federal indictment have something like a 98% conviction rate that will involve prison time?

Pretty sloppy of the OCPD to make those statements early on just assuming suicide. Pretty shockingly sloppy actually.

A bunch of my Houston pals back home in the industry are already going with the Ken Lay faked death theories.

As much as I loathe conspiracy theories, I have to admit this crossed my mind. All within 24 hours, there's a mysterious car wreck, turns out it was Aubrey McClendon (who was reported missing around the time of the crash) but it wasn't his car, the car burst into flames (which while it DOES happen under certain circumstances, Mythbusters has shown is really difficult to do), the damage was so bad that at first they didn't know if the person in the car was wearing a seat belt, but a couple hours later were able to determine that yeah, the seat belt was not in use. ALL this within less than 24 hours of the initial news report saying he had been indicted.

What we don't have any of? Evidence. What we have plenty of? Speculation. But I'm going to just guess that there's a certain amount of money missing from some accounts, and that amount of money is enough to set up a comfortable life on a small island somewhere, and for privacy reasons, there will be no DNA test/autopsy on whatever remains are found in the vehicle.

I could be wrong and please correct me but doesn't a federal indictment have something like a 98% conviction rate that will involve prison time?

No idea what the percentages are. That said, our own Okla. County DA's office probably has a 98% conviction rate - but most never go to prison.

All federal cases come about by way of indictment or information and can be resolved many different ways - many of which do not involve going to prison (or going for very long).

Again, no idea how strong of a case the feds have/had.

Just watched a guy a couple of months ago go to trial in OKC on a federal indictment for child sex trafficking.... pretty much had him dead-to-rights as far as paying to have sex with a girl under 16. However, a loophole in the law allowed him to be acquitted. Interestingly enough this trial got zero press locally and the defendant was a guy mentioned a few times in Jordan Belfort's book - the Wolf of Wall Street. So, anything is possible. The only sure thing for McClendon was the negative public attention, the overwhelming financial cost, the mental strain, and the impact the federal indictment would have on his ongoing civil proceedings.

...for privacy reasons, there will be no DNA test/autopsy on whatever remains are found in the vehicle.

No idea why you think there will be no autopsy or positive identification.

To me, nothing about the timing of his death gives credit to a conspiracy. To me it simply means there are several reasonable scenarios and a full investigation will be done to try and point to the most likely cause of death (minus the sudden stop when vehicle met bridge).

People get indicted all the time, people commit suicide all the time, people die in unfortunate accidents all the time -- what doesn't happen all the time is the stuff of conspiracy theories.

If I wanted to argue on the side of possible suicide this is how I would shape it:

Above all, Aubrey was incredibly ego driven. Sure he was generous but always in a very high profile way. His name or Chesapeake's name on everything; him always highly visible. He had an insatiable appetite for consumption of seemingly everything under the sun and was very open about all of it. He seemed to love the attention and spotlight and even allowed the Forbes "Most Reckless Billionaire" article to be published on the CHK website.

So, if he knew the gov had him dead to rights -- and by now he probably would have known that -- the idea of having himself photographed in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs was likely beyond anything he could bear. And any sort of conviction -- even without jail time -- would have severely compromised his ability to work in the O&G biz and raise money. That was his whole life.

Therefore this was a way to go out on his own terms and also allow his family to believe it was an accident (as most families would choose to believe in such a situation) and thus spare them in more ways than one.


The fact he wasn't wearing a seat belt is perhaps the most compelling bit of evidence because it's hard to explain it in any other way. I simply don't know anyone who doesn't wear a seat belt these days and modern cars almost make it impossible to not use them.

^ I usually don't wear seatbelts because I hate them. I know many people who don't. I could see someone like him not wearing a seatbelt.

As far as the crash and fire are concerned, he was driving a CNG-powered vehicle. And I wonder if that had anything to do with the immediacy of the fire. (apparently this isn't uncommon (http://wivb.com/2015/06/23/natural-gas-powered-truck-explodes-on-impact-with-train/)) If AKM intended to commit suicide, surely he knew that crashing a CNG-powered vehicle at high speed had a high likelihood of resulting in an explosion and/or fire, making the possibility of him somehow surviving the initial impact far less likely. He also hit the embankment at an angle that would cause as much damage as possible to the driver's side. Though both of these factors still presumably aren't enough for anyone to prove that the crash was intentional. Thereby preserving whatever life insurance benefits his family stands to collect after his death.

As far as what the indictment would have revealed, my guess is that Aubrey knew that they had enough evidence to put him in jail for an extended period of time and ruin his businesses and his family. After everything he had been through in the last several years I can't imagine that anything less would have driven him to kill himself. What we may never know is what he knew, when he knew it and whether any of those facts will ever come to light.

^ I usually don't wear seatbelts because I hate them. I know many people who don't. I could see someone like him not wearing a seatbelt.

Interesting. I honestly had never come across that.

Maybe because in California they are super strict about ticketing people for this.

^ I usually don't wear seatbelts because I hate them. I know many people who don't. I could see someone like him not wearing a seatbelt.

Yeah, drives my wife crazy. Not so much my refusal to wear a seat belt - but the 45 seconds of "ding ding ding" our cars make trying to coerce you into putting on your seat belt.

I've been pulled over a few times for a lack of seat belt. No ticket yet, but I still don't wear mine most days - and I honestly have no reasonable answer for why I don't.

As far as the crash and fire are concerned, he was driving a CNG-powered vehicle. And I wonder if that had anything to do with the immediacy of the fire. (apparently this isn't uncommon (http://wivb.com/2015/06/23/natural-gas-powered-truck-explodes-on-impact-with-train/)) If AKM intended to commit suicide, surely he knew that crashing a CNG-powered vehicle at high speed had a high likelihood of resulting in an explosion and/or fire, making the possibility of him somehow surviving the initial impact far less likely. He also hit the embankment at an angle that would cause as much damage as possible to the driver's side. Though both of these factors still presumably aren't enough for anyone to prove that the crash was intentional. Thereby preserving whatever life insurance benefits his family stands to collect after his death. As far as what the indictment would have revealed, my guess is that Aubrey knew that they had enough evidence to put him in jail for an extended period of time and ruin his businesses and his family. After everything he had been through in the last several years I can't imagine that anything less would have driven him to kill himself. What we may never know is what he knew, when he knew it and whether any of those facts will ever come to light.

I have read of life insurance companies balking at paying claims under questionable circumstances. It is not an automatic payout if there are questions surrounding the circumstances of the death, if there was a no pay for suicide rider.

Interesting. I honestly had never come across that.

Maybe because in California they are super strict about ticketing people for this.

Is this a generational thing? I am in a younger generation and I would never drive without it on. It is second nature.

Is this a generational thing? I am in a younger generation and I would never drive without it on. It is second nature.

I don't think so. I'm 55 and all my friends who are contemporaries wear seat belts.

Is this a generational thing? I am in a younger generation and I would never drive without it on. It is second nature.

I'm going on 63 and I'm uncomfortable without it on. Drives me crazy when my wife won't just put it on automatically.

Is this a generational thing? I am in a younger generation and I would never drive without it on. It is second nature.

I'm 26...

Having driven the roads out in that part of the county for many years, I might suggest that "the accident" was caused by a fatal combination of human regard for wildlife and a rogue deer that didn't pay attention to the Deer Crossing signs that dot the area. With the possible inclusion, in the scenario, of a cellphone and/or someone on a bicycle.

Yes, the other day I was driving around taking photos and was going just a couple of blocks to the next location and thought I'd just leave it off and I couldn't do it! Felt very very weird.

Yeah, drives my wife crazy. Not so much my refusal to wear a seat belt - but the 45 seconds of "ding ding ding" our cars make trying to coerce you into putting on your seat belt.

I've been pulled over a few times for a lack of seat belt. No ticket yet, but I still don't wear mine most days - and I honestly have no reasonable answer for why I don't.

Ditto. Almost never, I put the passenger seat belt into the drivers seat buckle to defeat the ding. I have been ticketed twice in Bethany. Drive too fast and I'm frequently distracted. If I run into a bridge, it wasn't suicide. I blame thousands and thousands of short trips over the years as part of my job starting well before it was the law.

Someone brought this up and I thought it was an interesting perspective...

If the gov had Aubrey nailed to the wall and he knew it, there wold have been catastrophic financial consequences.

He always operated on the edge and you have to believe with the current price of oil and gas he was struggling with AEP.

Who knows about prison but you can be sure there would have been huge fines involved if convicted and that all his current investors would be running for cover and to distance themselves from him.

Dying may have been the only way to save his family from financial ruin.

His wife is a 'Whirlpool' aire, so the family will still be okay, I'd think.

I think the unasked question should be: What was he doing on Midwest Blvd. in the first place? Now it is no longer unasked.

^ I usually don't wear seatbelts because I hate them. I know many people who don't. I could see someone like him not wearing a seatbelt.

You might hate them, but they love you nonetheless. I'm going to keep wearing mine.

I think the unasked question should be: What was he doing on Midwest Blvd. in the first place? Now it is no longer unasked.

I was told he has a home out near Lake Arcadia.

I think the unasked question should be: What was he doing on Midwest Blvd. in the first place? Now it is no longer unasked.

He owns a tree farm and several hundred acres of land around Arcadia.

His wife is a 'Whirlpool' aire, so the family will still be okay, I'd think.

That's true.

But the humiliation of not being able to provide for them -- especially in the style they were accustomed -- would have been devastating.

I think the unasked question should be: What was he doing on Midwest Blvd. in the first place? Now it is no longer unasked.

Agreed -- it is strange for a man of his circumstances to ever find himself East of Broadway Extension.

But a buddy of mine (with decent knowledge about AKM) claims that he had some sort of orchard on that side of town, which he often frequented.

I have read of life insurance companies balking at paying claims under questionable circumstances. It is not an automatic payout if there are questions surrounding the circumstances of the death, if there was a no pay for suicide rider.
Suicide clauses only last for 2 years typically, I guarantee you he had life policies over 2 years old.

Sounds like as of the end of February he had also lost control of AEP.



McClendon Backer Said to Cut Ties Before Grand Jury Indictment

One of Aubrey McClendon’s biggest financial backers was cutting ties with him in the days before he was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on conspiracy charges, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Energy & Minerals Group, a private-equity firm led by John Raymond, was working on a plan to be completely independent of McClendon by the end of the month, and as of Feb. 26 the shale pioneer no longer had a leadership role at any of the companies created by the firm and McClendon’s American Energy Partners LP, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private investments. McClendon, 56, died in a car accident Wednesday, a day after the indictment was announced.
McClendon had raised more than $10 billion for American Energy Partners from Energy & Minerals and others after being fired from Chesapeake Energy Corp. in 2013. His new company, for which he served as chairman and CEO, created numerous limited liability corporations to crack oil and natural gas from shale rocks, a production method that had helped Chesapeake’s market value soar to more than $35 billion.
Renzi Stone, an outside spokesman for American Energy, didn’t return two phone messages left Wednesday. McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 1, accused of working with another company to depress the price of drilling rights in Oklahoma. Prior to his death, he said he would fight the charges.
Chesapeake Magic
McClendon sought to recreate his Chesapeake magic through American Energy Partners, a closely held entity based near the seat of his former empire in northeast Oklahoma City. Chesapeake had once held 15 million acres of drilling rights and was the second-largest U.S. gas producer. The company’s market value has plunged as the industry’s success in producing shale gas resulted in a glut of the fuel.
McClendon’s new venture amassed drilling rights on hundreds of thousands of acres, including taking positions as far flung as Australia and Argentina.
The collapse in commodity prices darkened the outlook for McClendon’s ability to pay returns to his investors. Bonds sold by some American Energy entities have plunged to 15 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Junk Bonds
One of the many units formed as part of the venture, American Energy – Permian Basin LLC, lured junk-bond investors in November with one of the highest yields in the U.S. market last year. The unit sold $530 million of notes at par to yield 13 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s $30 million less than the bond sale it attempted in October as investors demanded yields exceeding 10 percent from the struggling oil and gas producer.
McClendon’s role at American Energy Partners had begun to change in January 2015, when a lieutenant became CEO of one of the units, American Energy Appalachia Holdings LLC. Before his death, McClendon had agreed not to seek a board seat on any of the ventures he’d formed with Energy & Minerals, including Ascent Resources LLC, Traverse Midstream Partners LLC and four other companies, one of the people familiar said. The timing of those moves was not based on the indictment, the person said.
McClendon had no management roles in companies that First Reserve Corp., another private-equity backer, invested in, according to another person familiar with the matter.


McClendon Backer Said to Cut Ties Before Grand Jury Indictment - Bloomberg Business (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-03/mcclendon-backer-said-to-cut-ties-before-grand-jury-indictment)

He could have also been heading towards Pops right? And re: not wearing seatbelt. My 26 year old friend died in a car accident. His corpse was mangled so badly his family could not recognize him. The other 3 passengers survived with fairly minor injuries. Now, I don't care if people choose not to wear them, doesn't hurt me. For the sake of your loved ones though, they arent too shabby of an investment.

Agreed -- it is strange for a man of his circumstances to ever find himself East of Broadway Extension.

But a buddy of mine (with decent knowledge about AKM) claims that he had some sort of orchard on that side of town, which he often frequented.

Still does not explain why he ducked his security detail or was driving a vehicle that was not the vehicle he customarily drove. If he was supposed to surrender that morning one would reasonably believe he was not where one would have anticipated(at his lawyers office).

Someone brought this up and I thought it was an interesting perspective...

If the gov had Aubrey nailed to the wall and he knew it, there wold have been catastrophic financial consequences.

He always operated on the edge and you have to believe with the current price of oil and gas he was struggling with AEP.

Who knows about prison but you can be sure there would have been huge fines involved if convicted and that all his current investors would be running for cover and to distance themselves from him.

Dying may have been the only way to save his family from financial ruin.

I'll try to find the article I read but it speculated that he would plead out pay some fines but have a felony on his record. AEP would invoke all the morality clauses fire him and he'd be locked out of any new funding in the future. It'd be a scarlet letter and he would be untouchable the rest of his life. He'd have to go all the way to trial and fight to get a not guilty verdict. IF the crash was suicide it would point to him knowing he was toast

Sounds like as of the end of February he had also lost control of AEP.


McClendon Backer Said to Cut Ties Before Grand Jury Indictment

One of Aubrey McClendon’s biggest financial backers was cutting ties with him in the days before he was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on conspiracy charges, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Energy & Minerals Group, a private-equity firm led by John Raymond, was working on a plan to be completely independent of McClendon by the end of the month, and as of Feb. 26 the shale pioneer no longer had a leadership role at any of the companies created by the firm and McClendon’s American Energy Partners LP, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private investments. McClendon, 56, died in a car accident Wednesday, a day after the indictment was announced.
McClendon had raised more than $10 billion for American Energy Partners from Energy & Minerals and others after being fired from Chesapeake Energy Corp. in 2013. His new company, for which he served as chairman and CEO, created numerous limited liability corporations to crack oil and natural gas from shale rocks, a production method that had helped Chesapeake’s market value soar to more than $35 billion.
Renzi Stone, an outside spokesman for American Energy, didn’t return two phone messages left Wednesday. McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 1, accused of working with another company to depress the price of drilling rights in Oklahoma. Prior to his death, he said he would fight the charges.
Chesapeake Magic
McClendon sought to recreate his Chesapeake magic through American Energy Partners, a closely held entity based near the seat of his former empire in northeast Oklahoma City. Chesapeake had once held 15 million acres of drilling rights and was the second-largest U.S. gas producer. The company’s market value has plunged as the industry’s success in producing shale gas resulted in a glut of the fuel.
McClendon’s new venture amassed drilling rights on hundreds of thousands of acres, including taking positions as far flung as Australia and Argentina.
The collapse in commodity prices darkened the outlook for McClendon’s ability to pay returns to his investors. Bonds sold by some American Energy entities have plunged to 15 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Junk Bonds
One of the many units formed as part of the venture, American Energy – Permian Basin LLC, lured junk-bond investors in November with one of the highest yields in the U.S. market last year. The unit sold $530 million of notes at par to yield 13 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s $30 million less than the bond sale it attempted in October as investors demanded yields exceeding 10 percent from the struggling oil and gas producer.
McClendon’s role at American Energy Partners had begun to change in January 2015, when a lieutenant became CEO of one of the units, American Energy Appalachia Holdings LLC. Before his death, McClendon had agreed not to seek a board seat on any of the ventures he’d formed with Energy & Minerals, including Ascent Resources LLC, Traverse Midstream Partners LLC and four other companies, one of the people familiar said. The timing of those moves was not based on the indictment, the person said.
McClendon had no management roles in companies that First Reserve Corp., another private-equity backer, invested in, according to another person familiar with the matter.

McClendon Backer Said to Cut Ties Before Grand Jury Indictment - Bloomberg Business (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-03/mcclendon-backer-said-to-cut-ties-before-grand-jury-indictment)

It looks like a lot of people owe someone an apology.


Word "on the street" is AEP will effectively cease to exist within a matter of weeks. Aubrey's private equity partners are pulling out, resulting in the various parts of the company being spun off on their own, according to a source who works there.

Agreed -- it is strange for a man of his circumstances to ever find himself East of Broadway Extension.

But a buddy of mine (with decent knowledge about AKM) claims that he had some sort of orchard on that side of town, which he often frequented.

Huge tree farm. . .see # 169

I'll try to find the article I read but it speculated that he would plead out pay some fines but have a felony on his record. AEP would invoke all the morality clauses fire him and he'd be locked out of any new funding in the future. It'd be a scarlet letter and he would be untouchable the rest of his life. He'd have to go all the way to trial and fight to get a not guilty verdict. IF the crash was suicide it would point to him knowing he was toast

Speculation on pleading out to avoid prison time is just that. Judges also have to accept the deal. Martha Stewart was sent to prison not for financial impropriety but for the offense of lying to federal agents. The current AG came into office with the DoJ having been accused of being soft on executive crimes by allowing defendants to pay fines and not serve anytime. I think with this new interest by the DoJ to go after this sort of crime it would have negated a sweetheart deal.

We don't know what his schedule was like so we can't really speculate. I'm sure his security team and family knows whether or not going to his tree farm that time of day was normal or not. They of course would keep quiet out of respect.