BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Six men face federal charges for allegedly using a fake billing scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Texas-based energy company.
Four former employees of Basic Energy Services, which has offices in Sidney and Glendive, have pleaded not guilty to mail fraud.
Prosecutors say 57-year-old Douglas Pierce, of Sidney; 49-year-old Ricky Wolla, of Minot, N.D.; 48-year-old Larry Strouf, of Sidney; and 39-year-old Stuart Kringen, of Williston, N.D., made deals with local businesses in Sidney and Williston to create false invoices for goods and services that were never provided to Basic Energy.
Meanwhile, 36-year-old William Myers, of Williston; and 48-year-old David Pope, of Sidney; have pleaded not guilty to knowing it was happening and hiding it.
Prosecutors say the alleged scheme ran from August 2005 until 2008, and the company says it lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
