MIAMI, Florida — A Florida biofuel company owner has admitted to his role in a $7 million fraud scheme involving Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) renewable fuel credits.
Christopher Burdett, a 59-year-old from Fort Pierce, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for overstating his company’s biodiesel production to fraudulently obtain EPA credits and seek over $6 million in tax credits, according to court documents. The company, which claimed to convert various feedstocks into biodiesel, provided false information to auditors about its production and customers, stated the Justice Department.
“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. “The defendant inflated production numbers to steal millions in fuel and tax credits, taking money straight from taxpayers.”…