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In addition to
the prison term, Malek Jalal, owner of Unity Fuels, was ordered
to pay more than $1 million in restitution in a scheme that
involved more than $7 million worth of fraudulent tax credits
and renewable fuel credits known as RINs, the Justice Department
said.
Jalal pleaded guilty in September.
According to his plea, Jalal engaged in a scheme with other
co-conspirators to fraudulently claim RINs multiple times on the
same fuel. Jalal bought fuel from a company based in New York,
blended it with other materials and then sold it back to the
same company, the Justice Department said.
Jalal also modified and destroyed records after receiving a
grand jury subpoena from a court in Ohio. He directed a worker
at Unity Fuels to fabricate false records in an attempt to hide
the scheme, according to his plea.
The U.S. government's renewable fuels programme requires certain
amounts of biodiesel to be blended into the country's motor fuel
each year. Under the programme, biofuel companies can generate
RINs credits they can sell to other companies who need them to
meet their fuel requirements.
"Unlawful acts like those at issue in this case defraud the U.S.
government, harm American taxpayers and consumers, and undermine
energy and environmental laws enacted by Congress,” said General
Wood, the Justice Department's acting assistant attorney general
for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill
Trott)
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