The Bullet:

Recycling executive Brian Brundage was sentenced on April 12, 2019 to three years in federal prison for illegally landfilling potentially hazardous electronic waste as part of a scheme to re-sell the materials and avoid paying income taxes.

Who:

• Brian Brundage 47, of Schererville, IN, formerly owned Intercon Solutions Inc. and was the owner of EnviroGreen Processing LLC at the time of his arrest, plea, and sentencing.
• The sentence was announced by:
  • John C. Kocoras, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
  • Jennifer Lynn, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.
  • Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
  • James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
  • Jeffrey Ryan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General, Great Lakes Regional Investigations Office.
• The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
• The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J.B. Franzblau and Kelly Greening of the Northern District of Illinois, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Crissy Pellegrin of the EPA.

What:

• Intercon Solutions Inc. and EnviroGreen Processing LLC, purported to recycle electronic waste on behalf of corporate and governmental clients.
• The companies represented to their clients that the materials would be disassembled and recycled in an environmentally sound manner. In reality thousands of tons of e-waste (including lead-containing cathode ray tubes or CRTs) and other potentially hazardous materials were landfilled, stockpiled, or re-sold at a profit to companies who shipped the materials overseas.
• Mr. Brundage admitted in a plea agreement that he caused employees of Intercon and EnviroGreen to sell some of the e-waste and other materials to vendors who he knew would ship the materials overseas. At one point in 2011, Intercon was publicly accused of shipping potentially hazardous materials to Hong Kong.  In response, Mr. Brundage began a fraudulent effort to publicly deny and conceal Intercon’s involvement in the shipment, the indictment states.  Mr. Brundage destroyed business records related to the shipment and made efforts to conceal other overseas shipments of large quantities of e-waste, according to the indictment.  The fraud scheme continued for another five years, the indictment states.
• Mr. Brundage pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.
• U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow imposed a three-year prison sentence and ordered Brundage to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to his victims.

Where:

This photo does not represent the subject of this article but it does show how CRTs can be managed improperly.

• Intercon Solutions Inc. was based in Chicago Heights, IL.
• EnviroGreen Processing LLC is based in Gary, IN.

When:

• Fraudulent recycling activities took place from 2005 to 2016.
• Mr. Brundage was arrested on December 19, 2016.
• Mr. Brundage pleaded guilty September 18, 2018 to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.
• Published in the EPA bulletin: Mar—Apr 2019

How:

• The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, IRS, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, and GSA’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.
• The case was prosecuted by a DOJ litigation team.

Why:

• Mr. Brundage evaded $743,984 in federal taxes by concealing the income he earned from re-selling the e-waste and from paying himself funds that he falsely recorded as Intercon business expenses.
• Mr. Brundage spent the purported expenses for his own personal benefit, including wages for a nanny and housekeeper, jewelry purchases, and payments to a casino in Hammond, IN.
• “Improper management of cathode ray tubes can pose risk to human health and the environment, as they contain significant quantities of lead,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Lynn.
• “This case demonstrates that EPA and our law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the environment and ensuring that companies follow the law.”
• “The GSA Office of Inspector General will aggressively pursue contractors who make false representations in order to obtain federal business,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Ryan.
• “This sentence should serve as a reminder that HSI will continue to work with its federal, state and local partners to pursue offenders who endanger others by engaging in fraud and deceit,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Gibbons.

Conclusion:

A generator of electronic waste is relieved to learn of a facility that will not only take their waste but will manage it in such a way through recycling and reuse that it is excluded or exempt from most of the “cradle-to-grave” regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).  However, it is the generator who must be wary of unscrupulous businesses who will not manage the waste properly.  The e-waste recycling industry – like any other – has its share of shady characters.  Make sure you perform an audit of any facility that manages your waste – even waste that is recycled – to ensure it is being managed properly.

More:

• Read the U.S. Department of Justice News Release of 12.19.16 of Mr. Brundage’s arrest
• Read of Mr. Brundage’s guilty plea in E-Scrap News