E-waste Recycling Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud

An Indiana man who owned an electronics recycling company in Chicago has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.

According to a Chicago Tribune report, Brian Brundage of Dyer, Ind., pleaded guilty to a scheme in which thousands of tons of e-waste were buried in landfills or resold at profit to companies that shipped materials overseas. Brundage owned Intercon Solutions in Chicago Heights and then later owned EnviroGreen Processing in Gary, Ind.; both companies claimed to recycle e-waste for corporate and government clients.

The Tribune also reports that Brundage issued false certificates to customers that indicated their e-waste had been properly recycled, and he allegedly used sales proceeds from the business to pay off personal expenses.

 Chicago Tribune has more details:

The owner of an electronics recycling company, which operated in the south suburbs, has pleaded guilty to a scheme in which thousands of tons of e-waste were buried in landfills or resold at a profit to companies that shipped the materials overseas, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said Thursday.

Brian Brundage, 46, of Dyer, Ind., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion, the office said in a news release.

At one time he owned Intercon Solutions in Chicago Heights then later EnviroGreen Processing in Gary, both of which purported to recycle e-waste for corporate and government clients, according to the release. But from 2005 to 2016, Brundage had the materials stockpiled outside of Intercon’s plant, then later had the e-waste landfilled or sold overseas, the U.S. attorney said.

He issued false certificates to customers indicating the e-waste had been properly recycled, according to the plea agreement.

Read the full article here.