Michael A. Wolf Jr., Tampering with Records and Theft, Ohio 2014

Columbus, OH – Michael A. Wolf, Jr. was sentenced in January 2014 following a scheme to defraud the City of Columbus by illegally manipulating wastewater discharge monitoring at WW Transport, a bulk flour transport company. The case, stemming from a year-long investigation, revealed a deliberate effort to bypass environmental regulations and avoid substantial fees associated with proper wastewater treatment.

According to court documents and investigative reports, Wolf, along with co-defendant Scott Seymour, tampered with sampling devices used by the City of Columbus to assess the quality of wastewater discharged from WW Transport’s truck cleaning operations. The company’s pretreatment system was allegedly unable to handle the volume of wastewater generated, leading to the illegal practice of diverting untreated effluent directly into the city’s sanitary sewer system.

The fraud came to light when city officials suspected irregularities in WW Transport’s discharge reports. Authorities then deployed a covert video surveillance system, which captured Wolf and Seymour on multiple occasions directly manipulating the city’s automated sampler. Footage reportedly showed the pair physically disconnecting the sampling hose, preventing accurate readings of the wastewater’s pollutant levels – specifically Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS).

Investigators determined that by falsifying the discharge data, WW Transport avoided paying the corresponding fees levied by the City of Columbus for exceeding permitted pollutant limits. The total financial impact of the scheme amounted to $36,793.11, which has been ordered as restitution to be jointly paid by Wolf and Seymour. Seymour received a suspended 36-month jail sentence and 36 months of community control, alongside the restitution order, in November 2013.

Wolf ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of Tampering with Records, a third-degree felony, and one count of Theft, a fourth-degree felony. On January 23, 2014, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Kimberly Cocroft sentenced Wolf to six months in jail, with the remaining 84 months of a potential sentence suspended. He also received five years of community control. The judge waived fines and court costs to prioritize the full restitution payment to the City of Columbus.

Table of Contents

Key Facts

Defendant: Michael A. Wolf, Jr.
Co-Defendant: Scott Seymour
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Company: WW Transport (bulk flour transport)
Statutes Violated: Tampering with Records (3rd degree felony), Theft (4th degree felony)
Restitution: $36,793.11 (joint and several with Seymour)
Wolf’s Sentence: 6 months jail (84 months suspended), 5 years community control
Seymour’s Sentence: 36 months incarceration (suspended), 36 months community control

The case highlights the ongoing challenges faced by municipalities in enforcing environmental regulations and holding corporations accountable for fraudulent practices that impact public resources and potentially endanger public health. The use of covert surveillance proved crucial in uncovering the deliberate scheme and securing convictions in the matter.

Source: EPA ECHO Enforcement Case Database

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