Watauga man bilked $255,000 from oil investors — even after he'd been indicted

Money for nothing — that's what Chad Allen Isaacs dealt in.

The 43-year-old Watauga man was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week after defrauding four victims out of a combined $255,000 in a series of fake sales of interest in oil and gas wells that he did not own.

Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson's office called Issacs a "shameless swindler," who continued to steal from people even after coming under indictment for the oil and gas scam, in a news release on the sentencing.

One of those separate victims was a Haslet man who had been saving since the 1990s in hopes of building a pole vaulting center. He lost $76,000 in a deal with Isaacs.

Another victim is a Sachse man whom Isaccs took for $40,000 that the victim thought would go toward a pool. The pool was never installed, because in both cases Isaacs simply pocketed the money, according to the release.

"Chad Isaacs is like every other white collar criminal," lead prosecutor Matt Smid said in the release. "He looks and sounds like an accomplished and knowledgeable salesman. But when you peel back the layers, it is clear that he is a criminal that belongs in prison."

Isaccs represented himself to all four of his latest victims as the owner of a "working interest" in oil wells in Jack and Cooke Counties, telling the victims he needed to sell shares to fund the well drilling and operations.

He has a history of white collar crime in Tarrant County, including a 2004 conviction for theft between $1,500 and $20,000 in a case from North Richland Hills, and a 2011 conviction on the same charge from Burleson. He was sentenced to 90 days in the 2004 case and eight months in the 2011 case.

The penalty was much stiffer this time.

Matthew Martinez: 817-390-7667; @MCTinez817

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Watauga man bilked $255,000 from oil investors — even after he'd been indicted."