I had to share this with you!

Bidder said it was easy to rig government auction
By PAUL FOY

SALT LAKE CITY
A college student who infiltrated a government auction for oil and gas parcels said he didn't plan to run up prices and disrupt the sale until an auction clerk asked him, "Are you here to bid?"
With that, Tim DeChristopher, 27, a University of Utah economics student and environmental activist, showed his driver's license, picked up bidding paddle No. 70 and quietly seated himself in the bidding hall on Friday.
He snapped up 22,500 acres of parcels between Arches and Canyonlands national parks that he doesn't plan to develop or even pay for. He also drove up prices on other bids by hundreds of thousands of dollars.....more here