Recycling Executive Sentenced for Scheme to Sell Hazardous E-Waste to Be Exported
An executive for a waste recycling company was sentenced to three years in prison after he illegally resold dangerous electronic hazardous waste to companies that then exported it overseas, according to an April 12 notice from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Brian Brundage, who owned Intercon Solutions and EnviroGreen Processing in Indiana, told clients that he safely recycled waste on behalf of corporations and governments, the notice said, but actually “caused thousands of pounds of e-waste” to be landfilled or sold to companies that shipped and sold the waste illegally overseas. Between 2005 and 2016, Brundage sold the waste, such as cathode ray tubes, to vendors who he knew “would ship the materials overseas,” he admitted in a plea agreement.
Brundage used the scheme to dodge more than $740,000 in federal income taxes by hiding the income he made from reselling the waste, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit said. Along with the prison sentence, Brundage was ordered to pay $1.2 million to victims, according to the notice. According to an announcement in December 2016 of the arrest of Brundage following indictment for the fraud scheme, as far back as 2011 his businesses were accused of shipping potentially hazardous e-waste to Hong Kong. The sentencing notice said the investigation was aided by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.