MIDLAND, Texas — A man from California has pled guilty to two counts of oil royalty wire fraud in Midland, according to U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza.
The release stated that Mitchell Vaughn Lee acquired personal information from a mineral rights owner to access the victim's royalty account with Diamondback Energy.
According to Attorney Esparza, Lee's scheme resulted in diverted royalty payments from bank accounts owned by the victim to a bank account controlled by Lee.
In February 2022, on at least two occasions, Lee worked on diverting approximately $1.5 million from the victim's oil royalty account to a bank account Lee was in control of.
On one of the occasions, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Lee's home in Los Angeles. During the search, agents recovered a firearm and a direct deposit change form for Diamondback Energy. The form had the victim's name on it and a unique non-public owner identification number for the victim's Diamondback Energy oil royalty account.
The release stated that Lee was initially prosecuted in the Central District of California court for felon in possession of a firearm. While awaiting trial, Lee left the state secretly.
In late 2023 in Miami, Florida, Lee was found and sentenced to 60 years in the Central District of California court for felon in possession of a firearm.
In Midland, Lee faces up to 20 years for each count in the wire fraud case. The sentencing date is unknown at this time.
