US regulator accuses El Paso energy firm of fraud

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it had charged Texas-based El Paso Corporation, a major energy firm, with fraud for improperly overstating its oil and gas reserves to investors.

The SEC claimed El Paso had issued “misleading” financial statements relating from 1999 to 2003 because it had inflated the company’s proved oil and gas reserves.

A spokesman for Houston-based El Paso, Richard Wheatley, said the case was “a legacy issue, and in that sense we’re very glad to put this legacy issue behind us.”

Wheatley said El Paso had discovered that its reserves had been overstated and reported the matter itself to the SEC. He said the company has been cooperating fully with the regulator to resolve the issue.

AFP