FraudBlawg reported in September that three subcontractors had been indicted for kickback and fraud conspiracies at federal Superfund sites in New Jersey. According to the DoJ,  James E. Haas Jr., a former representative of a subcontractor that provides common backfill, a type of soil material used to refill an excavation, pleaded guilty to charges that he engaged in a kickback and fraud conspiracy at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J.

Haas admitted to paying kickbacks to former employees of a prime contractor at Federal Creosote in exchange for the award of a subcontract. He also admitted to inflating prices for the subcontract to include the amount of the kickbacks paid to his co-conspirators. Haas also pleaded guilty to committing fraud against the United States

The remaining defendants, John A. Bennett and Gordon D. McDonald are presumed innocent and await trial, which is set for Jan. 5, 2010. Separately, Frederick Landgraber was sentenced to serve five months in jail, five months of home detention and to pay a $5,000 criminal fine for his role in a related kickback and fraud conspiracy. “To date, a total of three companies and eight individuals have pleaded guilty as a part of the investigation,” says DoJ.

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