Oklahoma City Thunder part owner Aubrey McClendon has been charged with conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
McClendon owns an estimated 20 percent of the Thunder and was part of the ownership group led by Clat Bennett that relocated the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008.
The Thunder declined comment.
McClendon, 56, is the co-founder and former chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Energy, the company that currently holds the naming rights to the Thunder's arena. McClendon left the company in 2013 and founded American Energy Partners one day after leaving Chesapeake.