Wife of murder-for-hire suspect pleads not guilty in alleged oil patch scam

FARGO, N.D. – The wife of a man indicted in a murder-for-hire scheme that originated in the North Dakota oil patch pleaded not guilty Monday in an alleged scam involving her oil field trucking business.

Sarah Creveling is charged with four counts, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering. Authorities say Creveling and a co-conspirator, who is not named in the indictment, diverted or embezzled money from investors into personal banking accounts.

U.S. District Judge Bruce Hovland set trial for Nov. 17 and ordered that Creveling be released on a promise to appear.

Creveling’s husband, James Henrikson, is facing murder-for-hire charges in a separate case involving the deaths of Doug Carlile and Kristopher “K.C.” Clarke, two former associates in North Dakota. Henrikson told investigators that Carlile owed him nearly $1.9 million for their dealings in Kingdom Dynamics, an oil development firm owned by Creveling and Henrikson.

The indictment filed earlier this month against Creveling involves other business entities that were incorporated under her name.