Next Energy LLC Jack Overstreet Deceptive business practices fraud denver, Colorado

Next Energy LLC's Manager/Owner Jack Overstreet has continually claimed he did not have any money and therefore could not pay me for my work, but once legal proceddings have required him to respond, Jack O has suddenly found the money needed to hire a prominent attorney.  And because I have the utmost confidence in our legal system including the highest level of respect for ALL Justices, All Judges, and ALL attorneys within the Great State of Illinois and elsewhere I am absolutely certain that justice will soon be served on Jack O and Next Energy LLC.  Although some times the wheels of justice are slow to move, I know that once they are headed in Jack O's direction and because of the fact that Mr. Jack O possesses a lethal character combination of dishonesty and greed, that these wheels will soon run over him in a blazing, life altering fashion that will forevermore teach him one of life's most valuable lessons, you pay the people that work for you (and lease to you) even if it means selling your $3,000,000.00 home at Martin Lane, Englewood, CO.

Many years ago, I remember when my Dad took some of his personal belongings to the pawn shop, just to make payroll and pay the people that worked for him.  You do what you have to do.  Mr. Jack O is simply NOT that kind of person, but he will be.  It is just like my friend said who has spent more than 35 years in the oil business, Jack OverU is one of those people who has at one time made a little money in the oil business and he let it go to his head, and now he thinks he can just do whatever he wants, stepping on whoever he needs to step on in the process.  Sorry Jack O, it just doesn't work quite like that.  You just don't get it, but you will. 

When you lie, cheat, and rip people off, then get caught, I suppose it is quite a natural instinct to continue the lying in an attempt to cover up the truth and that is exactly what Next Energy/Jack Over you has done here.  I therefore generally deny all of his misrepresentations as stated and chose to simply restate only the hard facts.

Keep in mind that under Illinois Criminal Statutes (720 ILCS 5/Art. 17) DECEPTION AND FRAUD, you will find the following definition: "with intent to defraud" means to act knowingly, and with the specific intent to deceive or cheat, for the purpose of causing financial loss to another or bringing some financial gain to oneself, regardless of whether any person was actually defrauded or deceived.  This includes an intent to cause another to assume, create, transfer, alter, or terminate any right, obligation, or power with reference to any person or property."

Next Energy/Jack O hired me and leased land in Edwards County with "the specific intent to deceive" for the purpose of "bringing some financial gain to" himself.

The facts:

74 leases were acquired in Edwards County under the direct, exact instructions of Next Energy's Crew Chief. More than 50 farmers leased approximately 10,000 acres of farm land to Next Energy (farmers signed leases from May 2012 to August 2012).  Next Energy has NOT paid any of those farmers (only one farmer was paid for 20 acres of his 200 mineral acres).  More than 30 of these farmers have filed Complaints about this matter with the Illinois Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.  The farmers are waiting for the AG's office to resolve this matter and Next Energy/Jack O is fully aware of this.  The farmers may now have completely lost the oppurtunity to lease their farms/minerals because the other paying oil company has now left Edwards County. 

Eight landmen and one Crew Chief worked on the Edwards County project under the direct instructions of Next Energy.  None of those landmen have been fully paid for their work, including the Crew Chief.  Five landmen filed Oil and Gas liens in an attempt to collect the money the are owed by Next Energy for their work.  An Illinois Attorney filed most of these liens for the landmen pursuant to the Illinois Oil and Gas lien Act where the Act specifically defines "abstacting and title services" as part of the Act.  The Act can be found by searching google for "770 ILCS 70 Oil and Gas Lien Act". 

This land crew completed title on the Edwards County project prior to September 15, 2012 (eight months ago) and that completed title was all turned into Next Energy's Crew Chief (per her instructions) in both hard copies and electronically.  If Next Energy does not have this complated title, it is likley because Next Energy has also NOT paid this Crew Chief.  The Crew Chief has recently contacted all the landmen who worked the Edwards County project requesting that we all hire an attorney together and sue Next Energy for NOT paying us for our work. 

Next Energy/Jack O has received multiple requests to be paid including by certifed mail.  NO attempts have EVER been made to pay the land crew for their work.  The last day the land crew worked for Next Energy was over 8 months ago.

As far as recording statutes (race, notice, or race-notice) are concerned, according to an Illinois Attorney, less than 5 states are Race states, and Illinois is NOT one of those states.  See generally http://www.iicle.com/Docs/WardonTitle2009Supp.pdf (last page); and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording (real estate)#Effect of the recording act; and see 765 ILCS 5/30. 

Next Energy/Jack O recorded the unpaid farmer's leases so that he could mortgage those leases and that is exactly what he did.  See Edwards County instrument # 000005200028 filed at Mortgage book 408 page 137.

In short, if you lease to Next Energy/Jack O, you may NEVER get paid as you are told. 

 Next Energy, LLC, and the previous oil and gas projects put together by its team have invested more than $50 million in lease payments to mineral owners and contract work by petroleum landmen and related costs over the past 14 years, in Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Over 1,000 producing wells have been drilled on these leases operated by industry leaders. Other than the matters responded to in this report, all landowner drafts or payments due have been made, all subcontractors paid legitimate billings, etc. Next Energy and its team of oil and gas professionals have a good reputation and have created and shared a lot of wealth.

In Southern Illinois, Next Energy has been a leader and early mover in trying to establish the basin as a new oil resource play for current technology - the company had a significant effort there in 2004-2006, and again beginning in 2009. Next Energy in this project has leased more than 150,000 net acres. As of 2012, we had invested - paid for - more than $8 million in lease bonus payments to mineral owners, plus over $5 million to contracting landmen to check title, with more than $18 million in total project costs at that time.

Here are the FACTS about the complaint shown as coming from the "Harrisons", a father and son duo of contract landmen:

1. In spring of 2012, the H****s contacted another landman working in the field on behalf of Next, offering to re-check title they had previously done for another company and buy leases in Edwards County, Illinois - a county Next was not working in. In retrospect, we erred in okaying that effort and a dayrate compensation for the two as evidenced by a) no title work was ever completed and entered into our useable software system as required - so we could timely review ownership and pay drafts; b) the two misrepresented Next's deal and payment terms and "winged it" on inducements to mineral owners to sign leases; and c) the two slandered title in a way which was instrumental in killing a multimillion dollar transaction in September, 2012, which would have paid any remaining lease acquisition costs whether to mineral owners or landmen. By the way, I have never met either Harrison nor even spoken to the one on this campaign.

2. To the best of my knowledge, the only landmen who dealt with mineral owners on lease negotiations in Edwards County were the H****s - other than answering any phone inquiries, unlike the other counties, Next Energy in-house personnel did not meet with nor negotiate leases with the Edwards owners - all of this was done by the local H****s. Next Energy instructed them to use 90-day drafts, i.e. the company would have 90 days to collect and analyze title information before paying the drafts, since this was a new area for us and we had no information. Rarely do oil companies pay for leases by check; we have done it many times when we had title alredy done, and people prefer that method, but normally the "draft" with wide latitude is the way the payment understanding is memorialized, and owners have the option to send the lease in with the draft through their bank if they like. These drafts were customary, not unusual, and certainly not "phony." Consequently, the only people who could have told any Edwards County owners that, despite the 90 day period clearly shown on the draft, they would instead "be paid within a week or two" or "no need to deposit the draft because the business would be mailing them a check" - were the H****s themselves, without any permission from Next Energy to mislead or misreport the effect of the 90 day drafts. With no title, there was no way to pay drafts "in a week or two." The knowledgeable mineral owner re-reading this complaint will get it - the H****s WERE making the only statements to the mineral owners, and they were not following instructions.

3. Whether or not title was actually checked in the courthouse, it was not entered into our online software system so it would be useful for the Denver office to verify ownership, cure any title problems, and pay drafts - either the H****s or others did not complete title or did not get it into the system. Meanwhile, Next Energy in July, 2012 negotiated a sale of part of its massive lease position, including the Edwards contracts; some of the leases we had title on had already been paid. However, after investing millions of dollars in S. Illinois, the budget for the project was exhausted and vendors were informed they would have to wait just a bit. In Illinois, if someone works on your house and you don't pay, they can file a "mechanics lien" against your house; likewise, if a drilling contractor drills an oil well on your lease, and you don't pay, they can file an "oil and gas lien." However, that right of lien does not by statute extend to title researchers or lease negotiators - nevertheless, the H****s incorrectly and illegally filed liens against all leases in the county. The cloud on title (slander of title) initiated by the H****s was instrumental in killing a large sale, and preventing or delaying many people being paid.

4. H****'s very recent complaint in "Ripoff" states that "the farmers have not been paid in more than six months but the leases they signed have been filed in the Edwards County land records and mortgaged..." In actuality, after the sale was cancelled and financing was constrained by that fact and a defect in the bank use of proceeds, Next Energy contacted all mineral owners who had signed leases but who had not been paid yet - remember, we had already PAID more than $8 million in lease drafts - reported the financial problem, and offered to immediately release those leases. Everyone who wanted a release had one filed of record, Next personnel have cooperated with any competing companies on buying new leases, and indeed there are to the best of my knowledge no unpaid leases which have not been released or alternative arrangements made acceptable to the lessor. These Edwards unpaid leases were largely released in 2012. The odds are good that mineral owners who have not yet leased will make as much as double the bonus now versus the market price in 2012. Mr. H**** really throws around words like "fraud", "usury", "mail fraud", "deceptive practices", etc. He is also big on things being "punished." The fact is, Next Energy, after possibly investing more in the play than anyone at that time, tried to add leases in Edwards County and instead did not receive timely title information, ran short of cash, experienced the H****s and a few other landmen filing liens contrary to statutory authority, lost a sale, and then correctly released leases where there was either no title or insufficient funds to complete acquisition on. That's a long way from fraud, and it's not even dishonest. Few have sacrificed what this team has so far to make Illinois a drillable, new province for modern oilfield technology.

5. As to when oil and gas leases are recorded in the public records, note that Illinois is a "race to the courthouse" state. In other words, in most cases, the first person to record a deed or lease wins in the event there are two conflicting contracts placed of record. So, especially in a competitive environment, it is customary, legal, not fraudulent, etc. to record a newly executed lease immediately, even if title is not approved and the payment has not yet been made. No leases were "wrongfully filed" and none were "wrongfully held." There was every intent to pay the leases, as in the $8 million worth we have already paid in S. Illinois, if the title was good, and then several unforecast circumstances occurred, including as exacerbated by the complainant.

6. In an effort to finance activities and consolidate existing debt, Next Energy did in fact execute a mortgage in August, 2012, which covered every lease we had in the area - thousands of individual leases - including the handful of record in Edwards whether paid yet or not. Banks like to cover everything the borrower owns, and this is not illegal or fraudulent or a slander of anyone's mineral title (see above). Then, when Next ran into a shortfall and lack of title data and released leases, the bank was requested to release the mortgage-of-no-effect as to the relevant leases; their compliance of that request will be double-checked, but the release of a lease trumps any incorrect listing of that lease in a financing.

7. At the end of his ripoff report, Mr. H**** has really gone deeply into clear libel about the Saline County Conservatorship, and this is a new charge. He makes the broadside "it looks like a new scam...little or no investment." Illinois has a law which is intended to allow for the leasing of mineral owners who cannot be located after a diligent search. This fully legal law sets up a statutory procedure so that after the oil company has searched the courthouse records to determine mineral ownership, looked through estate administrations, tried to find phone numbers or relatives, and much more involved due diligence using the internet, etc., then the company can go to the court, explain its efforts to find the missing owner, and then the court if it concurs can appoint a trustee or conservator to execute a lease - with a full lease cash bonus paid over to the conservator to hold and account for - and the oil company can receive a valid lease and explore for oil for the benefit of all the mineral and working interest owners. Since some minerals started being split from the surface by deeds back around 1900 and especially in the 1930s, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to find all heirs or people who have just disappeared. While it may be possible to look at a list after the procedure and indeed find someone, the good faith effort was made, and the legislature decided it was better for exploration to be able to proceed than not. Now, if the missing owner pops up later (within 5 years, I think?), he can claim and collect the lease bonus being held by the trustee/conservator.

    In 2012, Next Energy, after leasing more than 50,000 net acres of land in Saline County, Illinois, from over a thousand mineral owners, made its case under the law about the "unlocatable" mineral owners, and a judge agreed and granted a lease under Illinois law. Over a million dollars, representing the price per acre being paid to the locatable owners, was paid over to the trustee under the court's auspices. For whatever reason, Mr. H**** has written "it is ASSUMED that the provisions...regarding deposit of monies...was not LIKELY complied with." This completely ignorant, unfounded assertion libels the judge, our prominent attorney, me, Next Energy, etc. Then, while Mr. H**** has named me personally in a google-popping-up headline of "fraud, deceptive business," he now also suggests "The manager of Next Energy has a brother who is a judge in a nearby county and as such it is BELIEVED the business used the political connection to obtain said judgment with use of mortgage as funds which should be held pursuant to the said Act" (???). So, Mr. H**** speculates and slanders my younger brother, the judge with an outstanding reputation, who has nothing to do with Next Energy, and he also suggests the Saline County judge must be subject to a "political connection." Good grief.

A business reputation, and a personal one, can take a lifetime to build, and certainly can easily be hurt. Everyone makes mistakes, and even a company with a longstanding excellent reputation can lay an egg or run out of money or miscalculate market timing. If you google my name, Jack Overstreet, notice that you will not see a bunch of oil and gas or business complaints; you'll see a lot about charitable and civic causes and other benefits good times have provided that we have been able to share. While I support free speech and the intent of your website, I do note that you do not intend to publish "rumors, speculation, and innuendo", which a reading of the complainant's vitriol should suggest even before my factual response is full of such incorrect information. I won't speculate on intent in the same way that Mr. H**** has, but I don't understand the shotgun approach, uconcerned about fact checking, that names me personally rather than just the company, and alludes to wrongdoing by my brother, my attorney, a judge, etc.

Next Energy is close to exiting this S. Illinois play with a market transaction which we believe will be very good for the area's development. We are structuring arrangements with the vendors or subcontractors whose final payments were disrupted last year. We certainly invite Mr. H**** to communicate directly with us and we will make similar arrangements with him, despite the very aggressive efforts to defame not only the company, but me personally, as he admits through this site, the BBB, and various legal authorities. However, we will not respond further in this venue but will otherwise refer this matter to our counsel for possible legal action over the libel, failure to complete title, overbilling in the case of one of the individuals, or as we are advised. So, even if I am accused of being on The Grassy Knoll in 1963, further comments by the complainant will not be responded to here. Thanks.