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SACRAMENTO -- A
Glendale man thought to be a ringleader
in the largest fraud case of its kind in
California history was sentenced today
to four years in prison for defrauding
the state’s Beverage Container Recycling
Program of more than $2.5 million.
Migran Changulyan,
35, was arrested along with 17 others on
Oct. 17 and charged with conspiracy,
grand theft, perjury, recycling fraud,
and welfare fraud. He pleaded guilty to
grand theft and recycling fraud, and
agreed to the four-year term that was
handed down today in Los Angeles
Superior Court.
“This should serve as
a wakeup call to those engaged in
recycling fraud that they will be held
accountable for their actions,” said
Darryl Young, director of the California
Department of Conservation, which
oversees the Beverage Container
Recycling Program. “Along with our law
enforcement partners, we will continue
to pursue and bring to justice
individuals who take advantage of a
system meant to help the environment and
conserve natural resources.”
Officers and
investigators from the Department of
Justice, along with the California
Department of Conservation, Los Angeles
Interagency Metropolitan Police
Apprehension Crime Task Force
(LA-IMPACT), the Los Angeles District
Attorney's Office, the California
Department of Motor Vehicles, the Los
Angeles Sheriff's Department, the
California Department of Insurance, the
California Department of Corrections,
the United States Secret Service, and
the United States Immigration and
Naturalization Service, assisted with
the 10-month investigation that
culminated in the arrest of Changulyan
and the others.
California consumers
pay a fee, the California Refund Value (CRV),
for every beverage container purchased
in the state. This money is refunded to
the consumer when containers are
redeemed at a recycling center certified
by the Department of Conservation.
Recycling centers then reclaim the CRV
payments from the DOC. It is the
responsibility of each Certified
Recycling Center to ensure that it pays
and reclaims CRV only for eligible
bottles and cans that were sold in
California. Recycling centers may
purchase non-CRV bottles and cans for
their scrap value, but may not claim CRV
reimbursement from the Department of
Conservation on those containers, since
no CRV was paid on them in the first
place.
The Department of
Conservation provides funding to the
California Department of Justice to
pursue criminal cases of recycling
fraud. DOC auditors and enforcement
staff supply important technical
assistance to law enforcement
organizations in building criminal cases
related to recycling fraud. The
recycling act includes both civil and
criminal violations, and the DOC
discovered the underlying activities and
brought in the criminal investigators
and prosecutors to pursue criminal
actions in this case.
Primarily dealing
with aluminum and plastic materials, the
organization targeted in these arrests
brought into California ineligible
containers from Arizona, Nevada, Oregon,
Utah and Mexico, and also purchased
already redeemed (scrap) material and
resubmitted it for CRV. Some of the
individuals arrested are recycling
center operators who are charged with
knowingly claiming reimbursement from
the state for ineligible containers.
For additional
information on California’s recycling
programs, contact Mark Oldfield,
Department of Conservation at (916)
323-1886. For additional information on
the other individuals charged in this
case, contact Diana Callaghan, Los
Angeles Deputy District Attorney, at
(213) 580-3396.
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