A federal jury in Utica, New York has found Certified Environmental Services, Inc. (CES), two managers, Nicole Copeland and Elisa Dunn, and employee, Sandy Allen, guilty of conspiring to aid and abet Clean Air Act violations, commit mail fraud and defraud the United States. Additionally, CES and Elisa Dunn were convicted of making false statements to federal law enforcement officials.
Falsification of asbestos reports and air quality data is a serious crime. Asbestos exposure can be fatal, as it is linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavity and the organs it contain.
CES, its employees and a supervisor from a former asbestos abatement company, Paragon Environmental Construction, conspired over a decade to falsify lab results proving that asbestos removal was completed in accordance with legal regulations. When asbestos is not removed properly, workers and the surrounding community are exposed to toxic asbestos fibers that can be easily inhaled. Asbestos that lodges in the lungs is likely to cause pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs known as the pleura.
Asbestos removal companies claimed that homes and schools were free of asbestos contamination, when in actuality asbestos debris remained. Owners and residents were unaware because air quality reports were falsified by CES.
The conspiracy, Clean Air Act violations and false statements counts each carry a 5-year maximum term of incarceration and a fine of $250,000. The mail fraud counts each carry a 20-year maximum term of incarceration and similar fines.
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