Former SAExploration executive arrested on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud

The former chief executive of a company that proposed conducting a seismic survey in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge was arrested in Anchorage on Friday on charges of wire fraud and securities fraud.

The federal charges are tied to Jeffrey Hastings’ work as CEO and board chairman of SAExploration, a Texas-based company that provides seismic data to the oil-and-gas industry. The company also has offices in Anchorage.

A complaint written by an FBI agent investigating the case — and unsealed on Monday — alleges that, between 2015 and August 2019, Hastings engaged in a multi-million-dollar scheme to deceive investors and artificially inflate the company’s revenue.

Hastings’ lawyer, Michael Dry, did not respond on Tuesday to requests for comment on the charges.

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/09/15/former-executive-of-saexploration-arrested-on-charges-of-wire-fraud-securities-fraud/