The California Attorney’s General (AG) office has set bail of $300,000 for the owner of Perris Valley Recycling, Perris, Calif., for allegedly bilking the state's beverage container recycling program out of $7 million. Bail was set at $30,000 each for two employees of the company.
"These people pretended to be recycling California aluminum cans when they were really importing tons of cans from Arizona, which are not eligible for California's recycling refunds," says Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. in a press release. "They brazenly defrauded the state's successful recycling program."
Howard Leveson, owner of Perris Valley Recycling; Jose Barragan, the center's general manager; and Susie Ambriz-Molina, an office worker, were arrested. Leveson was also charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon.
The three face a total of 18 felony counts on charges including recycling fraud, grand theft and conspiracy. If convicted of all charges, they could each spend seven years in prison.
The release notes that special agents with the Attorney General's office, working with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), conducted the investigation into Perris Valley Recycling with the help of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. The Attorney General's office is prosecuting the case. CalRecycle oversees the state's beverage container recycling program.
According to the AG’s office, from February 2009 until July 2010, Perris Valley Recycling collected as much as 10,000 pounds per day of UBCs, far more than comparable facilities, which average about 500 pounds per day. The AG’s office claimed that unusually high volume indicated the possibility that out-of-state containers were being brought to the facility.
Investigators estimate Perris Valley Recycling took in 4.4 million pounds of cans from Arizona, then illegally claimed as much as $7 million in reimbursement from the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund.
As a deterrent to fraud, recycling centers are required to report to CalRecycle purchases of more than 250 pounds of aluminum CRV material. According to investigators, Perris Valley Recycling hid the size of incoming loads by creating multiple weight tickets for trucks coming in with loads larger than 250 pounds, making it appear they were many individuals with smaller loads.
Perris Valley Recycling remains open, though CalRecycle continues to conduct inspections and has placed restrictions on the center's reimbursement claims.
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Get curated news on YOUR industry.
Enter your email to receive our newsletters.
Latest from Recycling Today
- Missouri city expands recycling capabilities with funding from The Recycling Partnership
- Port of LA reports hectic June
- Trade issues have nonferrous scrap heading into US
- Recycle BC portrays its end markets
- MP Materials to collaborate with Apple on rare earth elements recycling
- ABTC awarded $1M by DOE for Argonne Laboratory partnership
- Ocean Conservancy report claims most states lagging in plastic pollution efforts
- LRS diverts 330,000 tons of recyclable material in 2024
