Texas Man Sentenced To 33 Months In Prison In Oil Investment Fraud

In Tyler, Texas on Thursday Kenneth Elgin of Tyler was sentenced to 33 months in prison by US District Judge Michael Schneider in connection with a fraudulent oil and gas exploration scheme. He was indicted on seven counts of wire fraud in May 2007 and pleaded guilty in November. Elgin was CEO of Trinidad Exploration Inc. and West Coast Resources Inc., purportedly formed to conduct the explorations. He solicited seven Washington State residents who invested a total of $805,000 in projects Elgin represented to them as legitimate oil and gas drilling ventures when in fact he did not own or control the mineral rights and his license to operate had expired. He converted the funds for his personal use, including spending over $200,000 at a hotel and casino in Las Vegas (Tyler Morning Telegraph, AP).