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PA UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK TESTER ADMITS FRAUD
Release Date: 06/26/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1998
UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK TESTER ADMITS FRAUD
Mark Smith, a former employee of several underground storage tank testing companies in Texas and Arkansas, pleaded guilty on June 10, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. The charges allege that between October 1993 and April 1997, Smith conspired to falsely report tests performed to determine if leaks existed in underground storage tanks used to contain petroleum and other products. Smith allegedly filed the false reports for tanks in numerous states including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. When gasoline leaks from underground tanks it can contaminate drinking water supplies with benzene, a known carcinogen. When sentenced, Smith faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI.
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