Feb 06, 2024
Some Californians may have been filling up on bad gas for years
by: Travis Schlepp Posted: Feb 2, 2024 / 04:26 PM PST Updated: Feb 2, 2024 / 04:26 PM PST
Executives at a California fuel company are facing felony charges related to allegations that the company sold old contaminated fuel from scrapyards to gas stations around the state.
The scheme apparently lasted for at least a decade, officials said.
Last week, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control filed felony charges against executives of Lamb Fuels, Inc. for illegally treating and transporting hazardous waste to unpermitted facilities across California.
Company CEO Gregory Lamb, Vice President Kezin Parabia and General Manager Jeffrey Lisowski are the executives named by the DTSC in the fuel scheme.
Investigators allege that Lamb Fuels instructed truck drivers to collect contaminated waste fuel from scrapyards everyday, which would then be illegally treated and sold as new to gas stations across the state.
The waste fuel came from wrecked and abandoned vehicles, officials said.
Lamb Fuels did not have permits to treat or transport the hazardous waste, yet profited greatly from the “widespread, sophisticated scheme.”
The illegal enterprise took place between at least 2012 and 2021, meaning unaware consumers may have filled up their vehicles with bad fuel for years, state officials said.
Many of the gas stations that sold the contaminated fuel were located in impoverished communities that have “historically suffered from environmental injustices and are already overly burdened by pollution.”
Meredith Williams, director of DTSC, called the actions of those charged as “gross negligence” and said they demonstrated “complete disregard for the environment and public safety.”
“We have zero tolerance for people who knowingly and recklessly violate our hazardous waste laws, which are some of the strongest in the country,” Williams said in a news release.
The State Agency caught wind of the scheme through an online complaint that led its criminal investigators to open a case against the San Diego County-based company. DTSC is working with the California Attorney General’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the ongoing investigation.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said California’s natural beauty is something the state works hard to protect.
“Environmental crimes hurt affected communities, and this is why we have strong regulations in place to protect the environmental integrity of our great state and its residents,” Bonta said in a news release. “It is imperative we hold violators accountable for hazardous environmental crimes and the damage they cause.”
The three executives were arraigned on Jan. 26 and have pleaded not guilty. They have been ordered to “self-surrender” by Feb. 26 and the company’s CEO has given up his passport.
They are due back in court on May 7, DTSC officials said.
To read the full criminal complaint, click here.
by: Travis Schlepp Posted: Feb 2, 2024 / 04:26 PM PST Updated: Feb 2, 2024 / 04:26 PM PST
Executives at a California fuel company are facing felony charges related to allegations that the company sold old contaminated fuel from scrapyards to gas stations around the state.
The scheme apparently lasted for at least a decade, officials said.
Last week, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control filed felony charges against executives of Lamb Fuels, Inc. for illegally treating and transporting hazardous waste to unpermitted facilities across California.
Company CEO Gregory Lamb, Vice President Kezin Parabia and General Manager Jeffrey Lisowski are the executives named by the DTSC in the fuel scheme.
Investigators allege that Lamb Fuels instructed truck drivers to collect contaminated waste fuel from scrapyards everyday, which would then be illegally treated and sold as new to gas stations across the state.
The waste fuel came from wrecked and abandoned vehicles, officials said.
Lamb Fuels did not have permits to treat or transport the hazardous waste, yet profited greatly from the “widespread, sophisticated scheme.”
The illegal enterprise took place between at least 2012 and 2021, meaning unaware consumers may have filled up their vehicles with bad fuel for years, state officials said.
Many of the gas stations that sold the contaminated fuel were located in impoverished communities that have “historically suffered from environmental injustices and are already overly burdened by pollution.”
Meredith Williams, director of DTSC, called the actions of those charged as “gross negligence” and said they demonstrated “complete disregard for the environment and public safety.”
“We have zero tolerance for people who knowingly and recklessly violate our hazardous waste laws, which are some of the strongest in the country,” Williams said in a news release.
The State Agency caught wind of the scheme through an online complaint that led its criminal investigators to open a case against the San Diego County-based company. DTSC is working with the California Attorney General’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the ongoing investigation.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said California’s natural beauty is something the state works hard to protect.
“Environmental crimes hurt affected communities, and this is why we have strong regulations in place to protect the environmental integrity of our great state and its residents,” Bonta said in a news release. “It is imperative we hold violators accountable for hazardous environmental crimes and the damage they cause.”
The three executives were arraigned on Jan. 26 and have pleaded not guilty. They have been ordered to “self-surrender” by Feb. 26 and the company’s CEO has given up his passport.
They are due back in court on May 7, DTSC officials said.
To read the full criminal complaint, click here.
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