Chesapeake Energy Faces New Charges on Michigan Land Leasing
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Chesapeake Energy Corp., already facing antitrust claims in Michigan over bids on gas exploration rights, was charged with racketeering and fraud for allegedly lying to landowners about leases it took out on their property.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement today that Chesapeake, the second-biggest U.S. natural gas producer, tied up landowners in 2010 by telling them existing mortgages were no barrier to leasing their properties, then citing those same mortgages as justification for canceling almost all the leases after competition for them ceased.