August 9, 2016

John Bennett, the former chief executive at Bennett Environmental Inc., a Canada-based company that treats and disposes of contaminated soil, was sentenced to serve 63 months in prison and pay roughly $3.8 million in restitution in connection with the payment of kickbacks to obtain subcontracts at a New Jersey Superfund site overseen by the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers.  According to court documents, Bennett conspired with others at Bennett Environmental to pay kickbacks, that included money wired to a co-conspirator’s shell company, lavish trips and entertainment expenses and personal gifts in an effort to guarantee the award of soil treatment contracts to his company.  As a result, Bennett Environmental was fraudulently awarded tens of millions of dollars in soil treatment and disposal contracts and the company won contracts at higher prices than it otherwise would have bid.  DOJ

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Environmental Fraud,