Federal prosecutors accuse a New Mexico woman of fraud in oil and gas royalty case

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico businesswoman is accused of defrauding the U.S. government and two Native American tribes of taxes and royalties due to them for oil and gas that her companies extracted from leased federal and tribal lands.

Federal prosecutors announced this week that Teresa McCown recently was indicted by a grand jury on several wire fraud charges and violations of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act. She was released from custody earlier this month. A trial date has yet to be scheduled.

A phone number listed for McCown went unanswered Saturday. It was not immediately clear from court records if she had an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

Federal authorities say McCown consistently underreported oil and gas production from the lands in questions over a period of years beginning in 2017.

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Records indicate her businesses — M&M Production & Operation Inc. and Shoreline Oil & Gas Company — have