193 People Say Texas Oilman Oscar Wyatt|Underwrote Terrorism by Paying off Saddam

WASHINGTON (CN) - Nearly 200 people say Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt underwrote the murder and maiming of their relatives by paying bribes and kickbacks to Saddam Hussein as the price of getting his oil. The 193 plaintiffs claim Wyatt and El Paso Energy and oilman David Chalmers Jr. and his company Bayoil directly supported Saddam and his regime, which in turn supported acts of terrorism by the Arab Liberation Front, Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.

The 193 plaintiffs claim Wyatt and his oil companies cooperated with Saddam paid $5.5 million in laundered bribes and kickbacks to Saddam's regime to buy $420 million worth of oil, in defiance of the United Nations oil for food program.

Wyatt, of Houston, was sole shareholder and chairman of the board of defendant Coastal Corp., predecessor of defendants NuCoastal and El Paso, from 1991 to 2001, the complaint states. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to wire fraud and paying kickbacks to Saddam, according to the complaint. El Paso settled SEC charges in the case that year.

Defendant David Chalmers Jr. was sole shareholder of defendant Bayoil. He and Bayoil pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and engage in prohibited financial transactions, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs are represented in Federal Court by Michael J. Miller.

Here are the defendants: Oscar S. Wyatt Jr., NuCoastal Corporation, NuCoastal Trading Co., El Paso Energy Corporation, Bayoil (USA), David B. Chalmers Jr., and Bayoil Supply & Trading Limited.

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