Corcoran Man Indicted for Multimillion Dollar Fraud in the Bakken Oil Fields

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced an indictment charging RONALD DAVID JOHNSON, 50, for stealing more than $2.1 million from victims hoping to invest successfully in the North Dakota oil boom. JOHNSON is charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering.  JOHNSON is expected to appear tomorrow before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul, Minn. 

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, JOHNSON came up with an investment idea to address the need to house oil workers in the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana. The idea, registered as Indoor RV Parks, LLC, would allow oil workers to eschew more common barracks-style housing in favor of comfortable indoor RV parks, which would have been large warehouses where oil workers could park their RVs and have access to shared amenities like laundry and vending machines.

According to the indictment, JOHNSON fraudulently solicited $2.1 million from four investors in Indoor RV Parks, LLC, telling the investors that their money would be used to build and manage indoor RV parks for oil workers. Instead of using the invested money for RV parks, JOHNSON used more than $1.8 million to fund his personal cattle farm, take vacations, buy vintage Chevrolets, and purchase real estate, including an entire 17-acre island on Mink Lake in Maple Lake, Minn.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS and the FBI.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.

Defendant Information:

RONALD DAVID JOHNSON, 50
Corcoran, Minn.

Charges:
• Wire fraud, 5 counts
• Money laundering, 1 count