The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has affirmed a two-year prison sentence for a man who falsely made oil and gas lease bids at a government auction to protest the environmental impact of drilling.
On September 14, a split panel affirmed the District of Utah’s conviction of Tim DeChristoper for driving up oil and gas lease prices while pretending to be a legitimate bidder at a Bureau of Land Management auction in December 2008. At the auction, DeChristoper won nearly $1.8 million in leases for which he was unable to pay.
