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PA FLORIDA MAN TO PAY $6 MILLION PENALTY IN CFC CASE
Release Date: 04/03/98
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FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1998
FLORIDA MAN TO PAY $6 MILLION PENALTY IN CFC CASE
On March 23, Joseph Kodel, of Miami, Fla., was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami to pay a $6,334,000 penalty for evasion of excise taxes and was also ordered to resolve all his civil tax liabilities. Kodel's company, Florida Motor Oil Distributors Inc., (FMOD) violated federal law by not possessing CFC consumption allowances that are required under federal law, and by not paying more than $6 million in federal CFC excise taxes. In addition, he was sentenced to twelve months home confinement and placed on three years probation. Kodel previously plead guilty to charges that arose from the illegal distribution of over 1,297,695 pounds of CFC-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane gas). CFC-12 is a refrigerant used in air conditioners of older-model automobiles. The importation of CFC-12 has been highly restricted under federal law, because the gas depletes the earth’s ozone layer when it leaks from air conditioners. Depletion of the ozone layer exposes people to increased amounts of ultraviolet radiation which can cause cataracts and skin cancer. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
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