Prosecution of TERP Grantee Conducting Fraudulent Activity
On September 5, 2013, in the 167th District Court of Travis County, Jose Villarreal Ibarra and his company Guido Construction, Inc. each pleaded guilty to the offense of Securing Execution of a Document by Deception. Mr. Ibarra pleaded guilty to a second degree felony and was ordered to serve 5 years of probation, pay restitution in the amount of $220,000.00 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) program, and to print a public apology in the Dallas Morning News within 30 days. Guido Construction, Inc. pleaded guilty to a first degree felony and paid a $30,000 fine.
An investigation revealed that Mr. Ibarra had fraudulently submitted documentation on the disposition of the vehicles he was to destroy per the TERP contracts. This investigation was conducted by the TCEQ Environmental Crimes Unit, the United States Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Environmental Crimes Unit, and the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the Travis County District Attorney’s office.
TERP is a voluntary program administered by the TCEQ to improve air quality in Texas. The TERP program helps Texas meet federal air quality standards by reducing emissions which forms ozone or smog. TERP grants offset the cost of replacing older, high-emission diesel powered trucks and equipment with modern low-emission equipment.
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