Koch verdict: Company underreported oil purchased

(Tulsa, Oklahoma-AP) -- A jury in Oklahoma today ruled Koch Industries under reported the amount and quality of oil bought from federal and Indian leases. The jury recommended that Kansas-based Koch

Thursday, December 23rd 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Tulsa, Oklahoma-AP) -- A jury in Oklahoma today ruled Koch Industries under reported the amount and quality of oil bought from federal and Indian leases. The jury recommended that Kansas-based Koch -- which has operations in Texas -- pay over 553-thousand dollars to the government for oilal penalties.

Koch later released a statement saying it's disappointed with today's verdict -- and the company will challenge the jury's findings. Koch didn't dispute that adjustments were made -- but said it had permission from producers to make up for field conditions such as oil shrinkage and sediment in tanks. The whistleblower lawsuit was filed by Bill Koch. He's the son of the company's founder and younger brother of Koch chief executive Charles Koch.