Oklahoma business briefs for Dec. 5

TULSA — Helmerich & Payne Inc. is doubling its quarterly dividend to 15 cents a share, the contract driller announced Tuesday. The dividend is payable on March 1. “We have delivered dividend increases every year for over 40 years and we are pleased to announce a significant increase for fiscal 2013,” CEO Hans Helmerich said. “Our continuing success allows for the probability of maintaining this strong record and of increasing dividend levels in coming years as well as pursuing future growth opportunities.”

Man sentenced to prison for fraud

A Moore man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for mail fraud and failure to file an income tax return for 2008. Ronald Tead Cawthon Jr. pleaded guilty to the charges in August. Cawthon had been accused of issuing company checks totaling more than $150,000 to himself and his creditors between 2006 and 2011 while he was vice president of S&S Promotions, a sign printing business in south Oklahoma City. Cawthon failed to file a federal income tax return in 2008, while his returns for 2009 and 2010 did not accurately report his income, according to prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange sentenced Cawthon to 27 months in prison and ordered him to pay more than $250,000 in restitution to the IRS and his former employer.