AUSTIN, Texas - Three company executives at Vallee Oil and Gas are now facing federal charges related to their involvement in an oil-theft ring that was operating out of West Texas, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.

What we know: Leandro Juarez, the president of Vallee Oil, along with the head of Vallee's West Texas operations, Moses Juarez, and principal yard manager, Eduardo Lopez, are accused of devising a scheme to purchase crude oil that had been stolen from parts of New Mexico and transported into Texas.

Authorities said Texas-based Vallee Oil was documented as a salt water disposal, giving the company the ability to accept and dispose of produced water, but that they did not have the authority to purchase crude oil.