United States of America v. William Logsdon

Midland, Texas criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud.



William Logsdon, 54, used the trust he had built with community members during his time as a lacrosse coach and teacher in the Midland area, and even the trust he had established with members of his own family, to convince them to "invest” in a Ponzi scheme. Logsdon conducted the scheme in concert with his mother-in-law, Jamie Thompson, a former geologist in the oil and gas industry who had previously pleaded guilty.



Together, Thompson and Logsdon told their victims that the money they were "investing” was being used to purchase royalty interests for various oil, gas and mineral projects located in Texas and New Mexico. The royalty interests were allegedly being purchased through an entity called the National Royalty Group, or NRG. In actuality, the National Royalty Group did not exist, and rather than purchasing royalty interests, Thompson and Logsdon used the money to primarily pay for personal expenses, as well as to advance the Ponzi scheme by providing some "distributions” back to earlier "investors.”



In total, Logsdon and Thompson are believed to have defrauded their victims out of more than $1,500,000.



U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.



The Midland Police Department investigated the case.



Assistant U.S. Attorney John Fedock prosecuted the case.



18 USC 1343 & 1349: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

(1s)

18 USC 1343: Aiding and Abetting Wire Fraud

(2s-5s)

18:371.F and 1343 - CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES; CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT WIRE FRAUD

(4-8)

Certificate of Conference ATTACHMENT to 111 Unopposed MOTION to Seal by William Logsdon (Colton, Anthony) Modified description on 6/14/2023 (slt). (Entered: 06/14/2023)



A jury found defendant guilty.