Some SemGroup Creditors Suspect Possible Fraud

A group of SemGroup creditors on Wednesday raised the prospect that unauthorized energy trading may have caused the $3.2 billion loss that sank the 12th-biggest privately held U.S. company. Eleven lenders that participated in a $141 million secured term loan objected to SemGroup’s request for permission to access cash collateral to maintain normal business operations, warning in a brief filed with the court that any fraudulent trades made by SemGroup could affect their ability to recoup their losses. “Last week was the first that we heard of this level of losses and at the same time heard the need for more money,” Keith Wafford, a lawyer for the 11 creditors at SemGroup’s first bankruptcy hearing in a Wilmington, Del., federal court, told Reuters. The objection was filed on the day the court was approving routine requests by... [read full story]