A Denver man and founder of an oil and gas royalty consulting firm has been arrested on suspicion of defrauding a Weld County landowner out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in mineral royalties.
Adam Ferrari, 36, CEO and managing partner of Denver-based Ferrari Energy LLC, was arrested Feb. 7 and booked into Denver City Jail on suspicion of 14 felony charges, including four counts of identity theft, four counts of forgery, three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and three counts of theft.Ferrari is accused of attempting in 2016 to defraud Jennifer Davis and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation out of about $305,000 Anadarko held in a suspense account for the Rice Family Trust. Davis, a resident of Oregon, is the daughter of Dale and Theora Rice, also of Oregon, and a beneficiary of the trust, which owned four parcels of land in Weld County being developed by Anadarko.A suspense account is one set up by an oil and gas operator to hold a mineral owner’s royalties should the parties lose contact.Following the death of Theora Rice, Davis was set to receive the surface and mineral rights to the four parcels, but she became involved in a probate dispute over the property with her uncle, Loren Rice. Davis ultimately received a judgment in her favor.On February 29, 2016, Ferrari sent Davis an offer letter to purchase her mineral rights for $253,750. But Davis did not yet legally own the property.Ferrari also sent Davis two mineral deeds for her to sign. She agreed with the understanding that Ferrari could begin the paperwork for the transaction, but could not file the deeds with the Weld County Clerk and Recorders Office until her ownership of the land was final.Authorities say on March 24, 2016, Ferrari filed those deeds with the clerk and recorders office without Davis’ knowledge or consent. On May 25, 2016, Ferrari, without legally owning the parcels, sold them to Delaware-based RAISA II LLC for $270,075.45.On July 14, 2016, Ferrari, through a Denver attorney, submitted to Anadarko Petroleum fraudulent deeds in an effort to gain access to the $305,000 being held in the suspense account for the Rice Family Trust. Authorities think Ferrari specifically targeted Davis to gain access to those funds.The affidavit for Ferrari’s arrest does not state how he learned about the suspense account when Davis and the executors of the trust did not it know the account existed.Davis first filed a complaint with the Denver District Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crime Unit on July 13, 2017, more than a year after her dealings with Ferrari. A warrant was not issued until Jan. 29. Ferrari was arrested a little more than a week later on Feb. 7.Ferrari is free on a personal recognizance bond. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Feb. 25 in Denver District Court.– Joe Moylan covers crime and public safety for The Greeley Tribune. Reach him at jmoylan@greeleytribune.com, (970) 392-4467 or on Twitter @JoeMoylan.
