The California Attorney General’s office has announced sentencing in a multi-year investigation of recycling fraud in Sacramento County. More than $80 million was paid out to Recycling Services Alliance, a redemption center for California Redemption Value (CRV) materials, based on fabricated weight tickets and fraudulent processor invoices. CDFA’s Division of Measurement Standards (DMS), in partnership with Sacramento County weights and measures officials, assisted in the investigation by identifying and collecting the false weight tickets.
The company pleaded guilty to recycling fraud and was ordered to pay restitution and a fine, and a former manager pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
As a result of this case, DMS and CalRecycle entered into a formal agreement to perform inspections at CRV processor locations, with a focus on weight tickets.
DMS serves Californians by ensuring the accuracy of commercial weighing and measuring devices, verifying the quantity of both bulk and packaged commodities, and enforcing the quality, advertising and labeling standards for most petroleum products, in partnership with county weights and measures jurisdictions.