SandRidge shareholder presents allegations against CEO Tom Ward

The hedge fund is questioning a series of “related party transactions” reported by SandRidge involving entities associated with Ward.

SandRidge has said it disclosed related party transactions in regulatory filings when appropriate. The company declined comment on Wednesday's filing.

The Wednesday filing by TPG-Axon spotlighted some deals by Ward family entities WCT Resources LLC and TLW Land and Cattle that it said were not disclosed to shareholders or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“In a number of instances, WCT Resources has moved ahead of the company to acquire mineral rights from third parties, and then flipped them to SandRidge just weeks or months later,” according to the presentation posted on its website, shareholdersforsandridge.com. “More worryingly, it appears that WCT Resources has acquired acreage in advance of purchases by SandRidge in the same area, and then either sold it to third parties or kept it.”

TPG-Axon, which owns about 6.7 percent of the company's outstanding stock, has hired investigators to review lease information on a small percentage of SandRidge's 2 million acres in the Mississippi Lime play, leading it to conclude the Ward entities have been competing with SandRidge to acquire mineral rights.