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Federal prosecutors: Jeannette man fraudulently sold mineral rights
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Federal prosecutors today filed a civil action seeking to seize assets valued at about $1 million that they said were derived from the fraudulent sales of mineral rights.
According to the complaint, Derek Candelore, of Jeannette, created firms called Clark Lumber Co., McComb Hines & Beggs Trust and Davis Minerals LLC, as well as opening bank accounts in the names of those entities and of Marcellus Land Services and Stallion Oil and Gas.
Then he "fraudulently conveyed mineral rights from multiple properties, without the knowledge or consent of the true owners" to his companies, according to the complaint.
Those companies leased the mineral rights to third parties, according to the complant. From February 2011 on, according to the complaint, Mr. Candelore made around $1.86 million in proceeds.
According to the complaint, Mr. Candelore, through an unidentified attorney, has already given the U.S. government $679,263 "which Candelore acknowledge[d] were proceeds of fraud."
The complaint seeks the forfeiture of that money plus a building on Woodhaven Drive in Jeannette which Mr. Candelore bought for $385,000 in April.
There is as yet no criminal charge against Mr. Candelore.
No phone number for Mr. Candelore could be found and an attorney who represented him in past years could not be immediately reached.
First Published November 19, 2012 4:13 pm
