A Pasco man has been handed a lengthy prison sentence for his role in a massive scheme to defraud the government and commit wire fraud.
Scott Johnson, 43, of Pasco, Washington, was sentenced to 97 months in prison, followed by three years of court supervision, for his involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the government and commit wire fraud.
Johnson, who plead guilty on November 24, 2015, was ordered to pay $9,517,412.50 in restitution to the United States taxpayers and an additional $6,175,929.17 in restitution to the victims of his fraud.
The scheme, which lasted from October 2012 to April 2015, involved Johnson and his co-conspirators falsely claiming the production of over 72 million marketable renewable energy credits, which they then sold for over $57 million.
The renewable fuel claimed to be produced at the Gen-X facilities, a renewable energy company based in Pasco and Moses Lake, Washington, was either not produced or re-processed multiple times.
Johnson’s sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. in Spokane, Washington.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, and the United States Secret Service, with assistance from the Washington State Patrol.
The case was prosecuted by Scott T. Jones, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington; Karla G. Perrin, EPA Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel and Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington; and Adam Cullman and Thomas Franzinger, Trial Attorneys, Environmental Crimes Section.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: White Collgrim Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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