By Liz McMahan
An amended petition has been filed in U.S. District Court alleging Lake Region Electric Cooperative of Hulbert has violated civil racketeering laws.
The lawsuit originally was filed in April and sought an injunction against the co-op’s annual meeting. That request was denied.
The amended petition was filed May 20 by Michael Linehan, Sherry Linehan, Ralph Cole, Delisca Cole and Kathleen Cole.
Defendants are board member Gary Cooper, Bobby Mayfield, Jim Loftin, Jack Teague, Kenneth Shankles, Lynn Lamons, John Hopkins and Chief Executive Officer Hamid Vahdatipour.
Donn Baker of Tahlequah, one of the attorneys representing Lake Region, called the allegations “wild and outlandish” and said he expects the suit to be dismissed.
“They (allegations) are all false,” Baker said. “There’s no basis. It’s just untrue.”
The amended petition alleges:
• Lake Region is a for-profit corporation and should lose its standing with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(12) cooperative.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture loans do not show on the cooperative’s books.
• Board members and the CEO have received income “from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt.”
• The actions of the board members and CEO have harmed each of the plaintiffs in their persons or business.
• The individual defendants maintain two sets of books for the LREC and have used those two sets of books to deceive or defraud the government.
• The board members and CEO tried to disguise their activities by procuring two individuals to pose as FBI investigators to extract information from the plaintiffs, who believed they were providing information to the government and by having the "FBI agents" inform the plaintiffs there was no cause of action.
• Board members have retained their seats by having dead people vote for them, having board members remain in the tent while voting takes place, allowing board members to count their own votes, allowing board members to remove the voting box during elections and allowing employees to sign people in to vote who were not present.
• Used their insider knowledge of the board to financially benefit themselves in addition to paying themselves $31,200 per year in salary and benefits.
The suit asks the board members be removed and ordered to pay treble damages.
The case is set for a status and scheduling conference at 9:30 a.m. July 2 before U.S. District Judge Ronald White.
White has ordered the plaintiffs are to file a statement by June 9 outlining their racketeering claims in more detail.
