IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 

TYLER DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

V. 

JARED LEWIS CLARKE 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

§ 

FACTUAL BASIS 

CRIMINAL NO. 6:23-CRInvestigation by the Federal Bureau oflnvestigation disclosed the following facts 

that establish that I, the defendant, Jared Lewis Clarke, committed the conduct 

described in Count 1 of the Information, which charges a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 

( conspiracy to commit wire fraud). I agree that the following factual basis is true and 

correct: 

1. At all times relevant to this Information:

a. Tanos Exploration II LLC (Tanos) was an independent oil and natural gas

company, primarily providing exploration and drilling services in East Texas.

Tanos's primary offices were located in Smith County, Texas.

b. I was a co-owner of Walton Mosher Royalty Company (WMRC). WMRC was

a Delaware company created by my Co-Conspirators and me to purchase

mineral and royalty interests and lease them for oil and gas production.

c. "Thomas Fowler" was a fictitious individual created by WMRC to deal with

third parties. WMRC used Thomas Fowler to deal with Tanos so that

employees at Tanos would not know that my Co-Conspirators and I were the

owners of WMRC.

Case 6:23-cr-00049-JDK-KNM Document 12 Filed 04/24/23 Page 1 of 4 PageID #: 30
2. The Co-Conspirators and I created a scheme to obtain proprietary and confidential

information from Tanos through Co-Conspirator 1, who was employed at Tanos as a

senior landman. I admit that the information we obtained, and attempted to obtain,

included trade secrets as that term is defined at Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code

§ 134A.002. Our purpose in obtaining this information was to use it to procure mineral

interests in areas where Tanos had oil and gas production operations and then obtain

royalty interests from Tanos. The information included identities of individuals who

owned mineral interests that Tanos was interested in procuring, and information about

moneys held in suspense related to those interests.

3. In support of the conspiracy, and to effect its objectives, the Co-Conspirators or I

committed the following acts:

a. On or about October 17, 2019, Co-Conspirator 1, using a cellular telephone,

texted one of the co-conspirators about information Co-Conspirator 1 received

from an employee at Tanos, specifically, that Bank of Oklahoma Financial

(BOK), located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was managing a trust and that the trust

properties include mineral interests in an area where Tanos had active oil and

gas drilling operations. BOK had inquired whether Tanos was interested in

acquiring the mineral interests. The information was provided to Co¬

Conspirator 1 for the purpose of determining whether Tanos should consider

acquiring the proffered mineral interests.

b. On or about October 21, 2019, one of the Co-Conspirators, representing

himself as “Thomas Fowler, on behalf of WMRC, contacted BOK using

2

Case 6:23-cr-00049-JDK-KNM Document 12 Filed 04/24/23 Page 2 of 4 PageID #: 31
email in interstate commerce about purchasing the interests. Thomas Fowler 

was a fictitious alias created by Co-Conspir tors 2, 3, and 4, and me. BOK

provided information about the interests that Co-Conspirator 1 had learned

about from a Tanos employee.

c. On or about October 25, 2019, one of the Co-Conspirators, representing

himself as “Thomas Fowler, using a cellular telephone, contacted one of the

parties identified by BOK s having overriding royalty interests for sale.

d. Between on or about October 29, 2019, and December 12, 2019, one or more

of the Co-Conspirators acquired the interests on behalf of WMRC.

e. On or about December 9, 2019, and January 21, 2020, one or more of the Co¬

Conspirators, acting as “Thomas Fowler, in an email, forwarded to Tanos

copies of deeds reflecting WMRC s acquisition of the overriding royalty

interests.

4. I admit that as a result of these acts, WMRC was able to prevent Tanos from

acquiring the interests referenced in paragraph 3, and WMRC was able to acquire those

interests. WMRC then received payments held in suspense by, and continuing royalty

p yments from, Tanos related to the interests.

5. I admit th t the conspiracy was effected through the use of transmission by means

of wire communication in interstate commerce, including the use of cellular telephones

and other digital devices for texting, voice calls, and email.

3

Case 6:23-cr-00049-JDK-KNM Document 12 Filed 04/24/23 Page 3 of 4 PageID #: 32
6. I admit that the loss to Tanos was $110,000, and that restitution should be ordered

in that amount. I also agree to a forfeiture order in the amount of $22,000, representing

proceeds I received from the scheme.

7. lam pleading guilty to Count 1 in this case because I am guilty of the viol tion

alleged. I have had an opportunity to consult with an attorney and I am satisfied with the

advice and counsel provided to me. I acknowledge that these acts violated 18 U.S.C. §

371. I hereby stipulate that the facts described above are true and correct, and I accept

them as the uncontested facts of this case.

Dated

JARED LEWIS CLARKE

Defendant

I have reviewed this Factual Basis with the defendant. Based on these discussions, I am

satisfied that he understands the terms and effect of the Factual Basis and that he has

signed it voluntarily.

Dated

AARON L.

Attorney for ant

4

Case 6:23-cr-00049-JDK-KNM Document 12 Filed 04/24/23 Page 4 of 4 PageID #: 33