began an investigation into whether Encana, Canada's largest natural gas company, "illegally colluded with Chesapeake Energy Corp to lower the price of Michigan exploration lands during a public land auction in May 2010." Encana's internal investigation determined in 2012 that it did not collude with Chesapeake. The investigation ended in 2014. Cancellation of leases On June 5, 2014, the state of Michigan filed felony fraud and racketeering charges against Chesapeake Energy, alleging that the company canceled hundreds of land leases on false pretenses after it sought to obtain oil and gas rights. Michigan attorney general Bill Schuette claimed that the company "obtained uncompensated land options from these landowners by false pretenses, and prevented competitors from leasing the land." Chesapeake Energy disputed all charges. In 2015, the company settled the lawsuits by agreeing to pay $25 million to the landowners. Underpayment of royalties to landowners The company has faced thousands of lawsuits regarding the alleged under-payment of royalties due to individuals that rented land to the company. In 2013, the company agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit by Pennsylvania landowners. In 2017, the company agreed to pay another $30 million to Pennsylvania landowners. Alleged collusion in Oklahoma On March 1, 2016, a DOJ federal grand jury indicted Aubrey McClendon for allegedly rigging the bidding process for land leases between December 2007 and March 2012. McClendon was charged of orchestrating a conspiracy in which two oil and gas companies, not named in the indictment, colluded not to bid against each other for the purchase of land in northwestern Oklahoma. According to the indictment, the companies decided ahead of time who would win bids, with the winner then allocating an interest in the leases to the other company, eliminating open competitive bidding. The DOJ said this was the first case resulting from a continuing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anti-competitive conduct in the petroleum industry. The next day, on March 2, 2016, McClendon died in a single-occupant single-vehicle crash when he drove his vehicle straight into a concrete bridge embankment. The charges were dropped by the DOJ as a result of the death. Possible conflicts of interest by Ex-CEO Aubrey McClendon Ex-CEO Aubrey McClendon was accused of engaging in several conflicts of interest that benefited him at the expense of shareholders of the company: McClendon nominated several of his friends, including long time