Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing on the American Radio News Afternoon Drive Show with Ernie & Rachel tonight at 5:15pm est to discuss the current SEC investigation of Aubrey McClendon, Cheseapeake Energy‘s CEO.
Central to the investigation is a controversial program within the company that grants McClendon a share in every well drilled by Chesapeake, so long as he pays his share of the cost. Since the program began, Mr. McClendon has taken out hundreds of millions of dollars in personal loans from companies that invest in Chesapeake. This move did not sit well with shareholders.
Ms. Malecki will discuss how given McClendon’s position at the publicly-traded company, the question of what was disclosed to investors, when it was disclosed, and whether there were actual conflicts of interest that disadvantaged investors, especially, whether these deals were priced to the company’s advantage or disadvantage is at the heart of the current situation. If the allegations are correct, and all required information was not disclosed to investors and conflicts of interest were present, this is a fraud, plain and simple.
Ms. Malecki will also discuss McClendon’s role as Chief Executive, and that by virtue of his position, he did not have the right to seize opportunities to benefit himself at the expense of investors. Situations such as this one, assuming the allegations to be true and accurate, is what tarnishes our market and kills our economy globally, a lack of honor and an inability for investors to trust corporate governance. When companies act in such fashion, as alleged, it is bad for America.