Source: Office of United States Attorneys
OKLAHOMA CITY – BLAINE DYER (Blaine), 42, of Oklahoma City, and JAMES DYER (Jimmy), 39, of Edmond, have been sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison collectively for conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On December 19, 2022, a federal grand jury returned an eleven-count Superseding Indictment against Blaine and Jimmy, charging them with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and six counts of honest services wire fraud, and charging Blaine with three counts of making a false statement on a promissory note. The Superseding Indictment alleged that Blaine, an attorney who specialized in oil and gas title opinions, and his cousin, Jimmy, who worked as a landman, conspired together to commit wire fraud against Continental Resources (CLR), an oil and gas exploration company based in Oklahoma City. In November 2013, Blaine and Jimmy received CLR’s confidential drilling and leasing plans from an employee of the company. Public record reflects that with knowledge reaped through the illegally obtained CLR plans, Jimmy sought out and negotiated with landowners across Oklahoma, and purchased leases that CLR intended to acquire. To avoid detection, Blaine, Jimmy, and others, formed several shell companies to facilitate these transactions.
The Superseding Indictment further alleged that in 2014, Blaine, Jimmy, and others, sold some of the leases purchased using CLR’s information back to CLR. As part of the agreement, CLR continued to make royalty payments on the leases to the defendants and others through the conspirators’ shell companies.
On February 17, 2023, Blaine pleaded guilty to a one-count Superseding Information, charging him with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. As part of his plea, Blaine admitted to participating in the conspiracy to purchase leases using CLR’s stolen information, then selling those leases back to CLR, and accepting royalties on the leases through 2020. Jimmy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud on February 16, 2023.
At the sentencing hearings on May 30, 2024, U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman sentenced Blaine to serve 60 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and Jimmy to serve 18 months in federal prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. The Court also ordered the defendants to pay $2,316,185.43 in restitution to CLR, and ordered Blaine and Jimmy to forfeit $1,661,263.42 and $230,761.74, respectively, to the United States. The defendants were ordered to self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving their sentences, Blaine within 30 days, and Jimmy within 60 days.
“The defendants’ greed resulted in an elaborate scheme to exploit insider information and defraud Continental simply to enrich themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Troester. “The significant sentences imposed by the Court should serve as a strong deterrent to those who seek personal gain and profit by defrauding Oklahoma businesses. I commend the investigation by the FBI and the prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Barry and Brandon Hale in unraveling this scheme and holding these defendants accountable.”
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia E. Barry and Brandon Hale prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.