Ex-Provident Royalties CEO Admits Guilt in $485 Million Scam
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Paul R. Melbye, co-founder and former chief executive officer of Provident Royalties LLC of Dallas, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud investors of $485 million in an oil and gas scheme.
Melbye, 47, is the second Provident Royalties principal to plead guilty to a scheme that duped 7,700 U.S. investors through fraudulent private placements and limited partnership interests from 2006 to 2009, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney John M. Bales of Sherman, Texas.