Category Archives: fools ‘n frauds

Clean Green Fuel Owner Guilty in $9 Million in Bio-Diesel Scam

A U.S. District Judge today sentenced Rodney R. Hailey, of Perry Hall, Maryland to nearly 12 years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling $9 million in renewable fuel credits that he falsely claimed were produced by his company, Clean Green Fuel, LLC. Hailey, age 34, was convicted in June of 2012 on eight counts of wire fraud, 32 counts of money laundering, and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. He has been detained since the guilty verdict.

Hailey made more than $9.1 million from selling the false credits, and used the proceeds of the scheme to purchase luxury vehicles, including BMWs, a Mercedes Benz, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and others, as well as real estate and more than $80,000 in diamond jewelry. In all of these transactions, Hailey generally used cash or checks drawn on accounts he controlled to make the purchase, including a check for $645,330.15 to buy his home in Maryland. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Sues Lance Armstrong for False Racing Sponsorship Claims

From 1996 through 2004, the USPS sponsored a professional cycling team owned by Tailwind and its predecessors. Between 2001 and 2004 alone, the Postal Service paid $31 million in sponsorship fees. (Imagine how much could be recovered only the Justice Department went after its friends at the Wall Street firms, banks and ratings agencies that cost taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars because of false claims in the sub-prime mortgage business.)
Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation, people, racing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Transocean Pleads Guilty of Environmental Crimes in Gulf Oil Spill. $400 Million in Penalties for its Role in Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Transocean Deepwater pleaded guilty today to a violation of the Clean Water Act for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The drilling company was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney General Holder announced today. Continue reading

Posted in energy, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More Spills in Gulf of Mexico as U.S. Files Suit against ATP Oil

Today the United States filed suit against ATP Oil & Gas Corporation and ATP Infrastructure Partners for civil penalties and injunctive relief under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The complaint alleges unlawful discharges of oil and banned chemical dispersants from the defendants’ floating oil and gas production platform, the ATP Innovator, into the Gulf of Mexico. The drilling rig is operating 45 nautical miles offshore of southeastern Louisiana. Continue reading

Posted in energy, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BP Sentenced to Pay $4 Billion for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Crimes

Nevertheless, the penalty remains a small fraction of the actual damage caused by pumping at least 5 billion gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This means that BP is paying less than $1 a gallon for the criminal spill and destruction of the environment. Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation, news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Second Alabama Cop to Serve Time for I-65 Motorist Thefts

A second Alabama police officer has been sentenced to serve time because of his thefts from motorists on I-65. Former Fort Deposit police officer Carlos Tyson Bennett, 37, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $500 in restitution. Bennett stole money from motorists during traffic stops with another ex Fort Deposit cop, Jessie Alan Fuller, on Interstate 65 in 2009. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, fools 'n frauds, insurance, litigation, news analysis, people | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Indicted for Odometer Tampering

A federal grand jury in Philadelphia charged Kyle Novitsky, 45, and Judith Aloe, 52, both of North Miami Beach, Florida with making false odometer statements, securities fraud and conspiracy, the Justice Department announced today. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Virginia Man Jailed for Selling Counterfeit GM Diagnostic Equipment

A Virginia man was sentenced today in federal court to serve one year and one day in prison for selling counterfeit General Motors automotive diagnostic equipment used by mechanics to identify problems with GM vehicles. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Transocean Pleads Guilty in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Criminal and Civil Fines Set at a Record $1.4 Billion by Department of Justice

Transocean Deepwater, the operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, will plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines for its conduct during the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Continue reading

Posted in environment, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Alaskan Contractor to Serve Time for Dumping Hazardous Waste

The former owner of a road and parking lot painting and striping business in Anchorage, Alaska will serve time in prison for dumping hazardous waste. William Duran Vizzerra, Jr., 43, was sentenced by Chief Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 15 months in prison. The court also ordered Vizzerra to pay $395,319 in restitution to two victims. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, environment, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toyota to Pay Record $17.35 Million for Lexus Safety Cover-Up

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced that Toyota Motor Corporation would pay $17.35 million, the maximum fine, in response to the agency’s assertion that the automaker once again failed to report a safety defect to the federal government in a timely manner. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation, safety | Leave a comment

U.S. Treasury Sells Final Shares of AIG Common Stock. Taxpayers Earn $22.7 Billion! More Profits to Come from the Bailout

Along with today’s stock sale, the return to date on the Federal Reserve and Treasury’s combined $182 billion commitment to bailout AIG during the financial crisis is now $22.7 billion. Treasury has now earned a positive return of $5 billion and the Federal Reserve has posted a profit of $17.7 billion. Continue reading

Posted in economy, financial results, fools 'n frauds, milestones, news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

International Auto Fraud Ring Busted in Four Countries

Law enforcement officials in Romania, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Canada arrested six Romanian nationals today for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated multimillion-dollar auto fraud scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice said the defendants were responsible for saturating Internet marketplace websites including eBay, Cars.com, AutoTrader.com and CycleTrader.com with detailed advertisements for cars, motorcycles, boats and other high-value items generally priced in the $10,000 to $45,000 range. Unbeknownst to the buyers, however, the merchandise did not exist. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Louisiana Used Car Dealer Sentenced to Prison for Odometer Fraud

Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, Louisiana was busted flat today by a U.S. District Court judge who sentenced the used car dealer to 20 months in prison for rolling back the odometers on used cars. Moreover, the court ordered Guidry to pay $72,805.51 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Melbourne Airport Caught Stealing from Taxpayers in NASA Scam

The misuse of NASA funding by two airport entities has resulted in millions of dollars of fines under the False Claims Act, which is used to look after taxpayer funded government grants. The Technological Research and Development Authority will pay $15 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Act in connection with grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, the Justice Department said Continue reading

Posted in aviation, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment