Fort Pierce Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Biofuel Fraud Conspiracy

MIAMI - The owner of a company that produced and sold renewable fuel and fuel credits was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, and to pay $2,857,029 in restitution and a $150,000 fine, for his role in a scheme that generated over $7 million in fraudulent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) renewable fuel credits and sought over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits connected to the purported production of biodiesel.

According to court documents, Christopher Burdett owned a biofuel company based in Fort Pierce, that claimed to turn various feedstocks into biodiesel. However, when reporting the number of gallons they produced to the IRS and EPA, Burdett and General Manager Royce Gillham vastly overstated their production volume to generate more credits. When auditors sought more information from the company, Burdett and Gillham provided false information about their fuel production and customers.

"This was not a paperwork error or a regulatory misunderstanding. It was fraud," said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. "Burdett inflated biodiesel production numbers, misled auditors, generated more than $7 million in fraudulent EPA renewable fuel credits, and sought more than $6 million in fraudulent tax credits from the American taxpayer. Today's sentence of 18 months makes clear that fraud against public programs carries real consequences. Public incentive programs depend on honesty. When companies lie to regulators and try to turn environmental programs into vehicles for fraud, they will face federal prosecution, prison time, and financial accountability. Fraud does not pay, and defendants do not get to keep the proceeds of their crimes."

Burdett previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to file false claims. For his role in the scheme, Gillham was previously sentenced to 37 months in prison.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), U.S. Attorney Jason A Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall of the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)'s Florida Field Office made the announcement.

The EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and IRS-CI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Funk for the Southern District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of ENRD's Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. under case number 25-cr-14071.

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