United States v. Ruffatto

The president and owner of a company that received federal funding for a carbon sequestration study was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to using the funds for personal use. He will also be on supervised release for three years after his release from prison and must pay a $50,000 fine and more than $2 million in restitution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced that the president and owner of a company that received federal funds to study the potential use of a Wyoming site for carbon sequestration had pleaded guilty to a charge of filing a false claim against the United States. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the defendant did not perform work under a cooperative agreement, which required his company to conduct field studies and drill wells; instead, the defendant transferred millions of dollars to his personal bank account. The count to which the defendant pleaded guilty involved a request for reimbursement of $363,668.50 in 2011. Sentencing was scheduled for February 3, 2017.

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