2 investors accused of manipulating highway ROW sales in North Texas

LAKE DALLAS, Texas (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted two Dallas real estate investors on mail fraud conspiracy charges alleging they bought up prospective highway rights-of-way and demanded inflated prices from taxpayers to accommodate highway expansion.

A grand jury in Sherman on Thursday charged Kevin Bollman and Wade Blackburn in indictments announced by U.S. Attorney John Bales at a news conference in Lake Dallas, near Denton. Bollman and Blackburn could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The men are accused of conspiring to defraud the Texas Department of Transportation out of almost $13 million between June 2008 and last July by buying up property and selling it to the department at inflated prices.

Telephone calls by The Associated Press to Bollman and Blackburn found their voicemail boxes full.