Albania Deleon Goes to Prison for Asbestos Training Scam
After nearly 19 months as a fugitive living in the Dominican Republic and another year and a half awaiting sentencing, EPA fugitive Albania Deleon has finally received her prison sentence. Deleon was first arrested and placed on trial in November 2008, following a five-year fraud scandal with her business, Environmental Compliance Training (ECT).
The Massachusetts-based company provided week-long certification courses in asbestos removal, a dangerous profession that requires strict safeguards. An investigation found, however, that ECT was signing certificates without placing the workers in the training course. Over 2,000 untrained individuals were certified as a result, despite a real lack of qualifications in the removal process.
Asbestos exposure causes significant health problems, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a rare but extremely deadly form of cancer that attacks the thin membranes lining the lungs, heart, chest, and abdomen. Improper asbestos removal is a leading cause of exposure.
Following a 2008 trial that lasted three weeks, Deleon fled the United States and assumed a false identity, but was caught in 2010 in the Dominican Republic through a joint effort led by the EPA, US Marshals office, and local authorities.
The recent sentencing includes a seven-year prison sentence, three additional years of supervised release, and fines including $1.2 million to the Internal Revenue Service for restitution and another $369,015 to AIM Mutual Insurance Company.
According to Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, the "sentence marks the final chapter in bringing Albania Deleon to justice. Committing environmental crimes to make a profit that put workers and our communities at risk carry serious consequences."
Citation Regulatory Analyst Kym Luttermoser offers her own impressions of the Deleon case in her blog article, EPA Fugitive Captured.
