According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Plymouth, Minnesota-based Luminaire Environmental & Technologies Inc. has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud for the improper disposal of discarded toxic materials.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, Luminaire offered to pick up customers’ fluorescent light ballasts containing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), transport the PCB-containing ballasts to its facility in Plymouth, and remove and dispose of all the PCBs in accordance with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In exchange, Luminaire charged customers 35 cents per pound to handle the ballasts, plus transportation costs.
The plea further states that between 2010 and 2015, John Miller, owner of Luminaire, instructed employees to remove warning labels from containers holding collected PCB ballasts and then sold some PCB-laden ballasts as scrap metal to scrap yards and metal recycling facilities.
To conceal the fact the ballasts had not been processed at Luminaire’s facility, Miller directed employees, including Joseph Miller, to falsely certify on shipping manifests that the ballasts had previously arrived at Luminaire’s facility. Employees also sent copies of the falsified shipping documents by mail to customers and to certain state environmental agencies. In addition, Miller instructed employees to prepare and deliver falsified invoices to customers who, in turn, made payments to Luminaire. As a result of the scheme, the company fraudulently collected more than $1 million in fees and additional profits, according to the DOJ.
States U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald, “Luminaire defrauded its customers and, in doing so, exposed the community to the toxic chemicals they had been paid to safely destroy. The United States will vigorously pursue those who steal and pollute for their own profit.”
“The laws surrounding the safe management of PCBs exist to protect human health and the environment,” comments Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Lynn of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Minnesota. “Instead of complying with those laws, the defendants defrauded their customers and put workers and the public at risk by removing PCB labels and selling PCB-containing fluorescent light ballasts to scrap metal recyclers. EPA and its law enforcement partners are committed to working aggressively to prevent these types of flagrant and dangerous violations.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Hennepin County (Minnesota) Department of Environmental Protection.