BP And Goldman Sachs Sued For Oil Fraud

[Robbien]

Source: Forbes

Dozens of small oil and gas producers across Oklahoma and the Midwest are suing Goldman Sachs, BP and ConocoPhillips, claiming the defendants conspired to defraud them out of proceeds for crude oil they delivered just before the collapse of Oklahoma-based pipeline giant Semgroup in the summer of 2008.

With this lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma district court, we're one step closer to finding out if Goldman Sachs was responsible for helping to goose oil prices to record highs in the summer of 2008 by conspiring against Semgroup in massive crude oil trades. As first detailed by Forbes Magazine a year ago in this article, Semgroup collapsed into bankruptcy under $3 billion in short sale losses on oil futures trades. Goldman, through its J. Aron commodities division, was Semgroup's largest counterparty, and appears to have been responsible for giving Semgroup its final push off the cliff by unleashing a massive margin call on Semgroup as oil prices spiked. In the process, assert plaintiffs like billionaire John Catsimatidis, Goldman's actions may have helped push up the price of oil to its record of $147 a barrel.

J. Aron and other big oil traders like BP regularly bought thousands of barrels of physical crude oil from Semgroup, which in turn bought the oil from the plaintiffs. Those plaintiffs still haven't received more than $400 million they're owed for their oil, because J. Aron and other counterparties still owed money from Semgroup refuse to pay.

Attorneys for the small oil companies believe that Goldman, which was one of Semgroup's bankers, had improperly shared information on Semgroup's trading positions with J. Aron. The allegation is similar to those leveled at Goldman in relation to the ongoing probe of its sale of complex collateralized debt obligations: that the bank was selling clients a particular trade, then taking the other side of that trade, and profiting from its clients' losses.

Read more: http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/05/18/bp-goldman-sued-oil-fraud/

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In another suit Semgroup is also suing BP and Goldman for fraud which pushed Semgroup over the edge of bankruptcy.

[paparush]

1. May a plague of locust descend upon GS, BP, and CP.

[Francisco]

15. lol

agreed

[Enthusiast]

22. Locusts or something worse.

Better some biblical plague because there is little hope they will be held accountable in a court of law.

[Hekate]

26. Boils. Lice. Bedbugs. Fleas.

Works for me.

Hekate

[Angry Dragon]

2. These corporations need to be broken up or destroyed

Everyday it is one thing after another. One suit here or there against a company, but goldman is being sued over many and various things. Fingers in everything. The time to stop this now and not tomorrow.

[Robbien]

3. Usually BP and Goldman get a judge to brush off any suits against them

and the ones that cannot be brushed off go into mediation with a mediator who is on BP/Goldman's payroll.

Now that BP and Goldman are damaged it will be interesting to watch if they are able to brush these new suits off so easily.

[dipsydoodle]

5. I think BP are involved here more by implication than anything else

given that they are in the supply chain. I'd say main fault here most probably lies with GS.

That is not a defence of BP. Personally I could've give a fuck if all the world's oil disappeared overnight. If nothing else it would soon strap the US military, who cannot really function without oil, firmly to the ground where they belong - in the USA. Well - as soon as they'd used up your entire strategic reserve anyway.

[greiner3]

10. What would that do?

Oh wait, that's religious or something. Never mind.

[flyarm]

4. ahhh yes..and who surrounds this White house..oh yeah..Goldman..

and who dumped on those he promised while campaigning no more drilling of our coastlines and then shit all over his promises,

and now you know the rest of the story.............

and who got their pockets greased big time........both parties!

[Gman]

6. Did they think it was a fraud too big to be credible

and never thought anyone would be the wiser?

[sulphurdunn]

7. Goldman, Bank Americ, City Group,

JP Morgan and the rest of the usual suspects are involved in a scandal to defraud municipalities on the interest they pay for holding municipal bond funds by bid rigging. Wasn't it a great idea to "unleash capitalism" and let it self-regulate? :rofl:

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. Let's see, Goldman brings down Greece and BP gets biggest slice of Iraq's oil deals. World

domination is just too easy when you own the "regulators," rating agencies AND the government. Hardly even very sporting of them.

Good thing they don't own the main stream media...



<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4272495&mesg_id=4272495>

[Enthusiast]

23. Right.

[glitch]

28. Far right. nt

[AlbertCat]

9. Thus reminding everyone that these disasters are not isolated but connected to one thing:

Deregulation.

Which is a manifestation of greed.

But remember... Greed is good. Just ask Ronnie Raygun and the GOP!

[Enthusiast]

24. Yes, Ronnie Raygun and the GOP,

Champions of Deregulation. But let us not forget Larry Summers and Tim Geithner. And that king asshole of deregulation--Phil Gramm.

[Trillo]

11. Big fish eat the little fish.

even if you're a billionaire, you're probably a littler fish.

[still_one]

12. Cannot say I have too much sympathy for any of them

When California was going through its man made manipulated energy crisis at the hands of Enron and other oil companies, the received very little compensation for the fraud perpetrated against the state

[glitch]

29. Thanks to that asshole Arnold.Schwarzenegger who settled Gray Davis' lawsuit for pennies on the $ nt

[onethatcares]

13. and we're to believe in the capitalistic system?

when it's rigged. When it boils down to the big money holders playing poker with the rest of our money, money that we hope to retire on someday, money we want to send our kids to college on.

The entire thing is a fraud. No one gives a crap about how good a company can make anything, no one cares about how a company can keep its' employees and turn a profit.

The only thing happening is, "Can we drive up the price of something, and while we're doing it, screw the small investor out of their money"

[laughingliberal]

14. 'onethatcares' but not about these poor corporations? :sarcasm:

[defendandprotect]

16. "No honesty among thieves" . . . !!

[fascisthunter]

17. when is it enough??? Like Crack Heads they'll do Anything to Get What They Crave

this is a sickness... go ahead and claim it's a free market because we all pay for it one way or the other.

[Canuckistanian]

18. Goldman Sachs. Again.

In the world of corporate personhood, Goldman Sachs should have been CONVICTED of fraud, mail fraud, embezzlement, price fixing, tax evasion, illegal stock trades, extortion and perjury.

Why is Lloyd Blankfein walking free again?

[tjwash]

19. Hold on...didn't the shrub personally investigate the oil prices being gamed in 2006?

IIRC, that was also the shortest investigation in the history of the white house.

Just shocked...SHOCKED I tells ya!

[Enthusiast]

25. Yeah, that was big shock.

This is how fucking stupid the electorate is. They elected two oil men. Well, they didn't actually elect them. But still.

[EJSTES2005]

20. The Money Shot.......OK Sen Tom Coburn

"As a better, and quicker way to get to the bottom of this case, the plaintiffs have been encouraging Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to push for hearings on the case in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. The committee could order the immediate release of those thousands of documents and subpoena Goldman and BP execs. One wholly unanswered question is whether Goldman had a position in credit default swaps on Semgroup's debt. If so, it would have been a big incentive to push the company into bankruptcy.

The Senate committee has regularly looked at energy issues, and given that Goldman Sachs and BP have both become bipartisan whipping boys, there could be political hay to be made in hauling them before a hearing on oil price manipulation. "It's only fitting that here we have the two great vampire squids working in concert" to defraud the little guy, says the attorney. A spokesperson for Goldman was not immediately available for comment. A spokesperson for BP said the company would not discuss ongoing legal matters."

"great vampire squids" Love It !!! Is Matt Taibbi the lead counsel ?

We should start a lobby Coburn drive. I made my call already....

please call Dr. Coburn's office (Washington: 202-224-5754; Tulsa: 918-581-7651; Oklahoma City: 405-231-4941) and the staff will be happy to guide you through the correspondence process and a load of bullshit along the way, but still worth the call!!!!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

21. Prediction:

GS, BP and a lot of other "players" in the oil bidness will be found to be behind a lot of the "prophets" of doom and gloom about oil.

Now, before anyone starts slinging snot and spit all over this place, let me say this: we gotta get off this Dinosaur Wine jag. We have to. It is a matter of national security and national treasure. But that said, the things that were being said and prophesized back then were out of control.

We need to get with every form of alternative energy we can. Now. Let's create a renaissance in this nation. Now.

One more thing: Is it time for live flayings, drawing and quartering and well-tarred heads on Pike Poles YET?

[formercia]

27. Save those Tar Balls from the beaches.

All we need then, is some chicken feathers and a few split rails.

[glitch]

30. Plenty of feathers from dead birds, pre-tarred for our convenience.nt

[formercia]

31. Good point.

It will make a good base coat.

[Hekate]

32. EXCELLENT point, that. And lots of volunteers are already arriving to try to save the birds which...

... will very likely die despite their efforts.

Tarring and feathering the bad guys will give them a new outlet for their frustration and anger, a win-win situation if I ever saw one.

:argh:

Hekate

[glitch]

33. Ready-made mob. A riot is an ugly thing...

...and I think it is time we had one.

:fucking livid: