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PA FRAUD. LAB REPORTS EARNS FELONY CONV. FOR OREGON LAB OWNER

Release Date: 06/14/96
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PA FRAUD. LAB REPORTS EARNS FELONY CONV. FOR OREGON LAB OWNER

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1996

FRAUDULENT LAB REPORTS EARNS FELONY
CONVICTIONS FOR OREGON LAB OWNER

On June 3, in Portland, Ore., Robert Cyphers, former president and owner of UST Environmental Services, pleaded guilty to four felony counts involving the submission of written false statements to the government. As part of the plea agreement, Cyphers agreed to serve a recommended 30-month term of incarceration. Cyphers operated a company whose primary business was the removal of leaking underground storage tanks and the subsequent cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater. Cyphers submitted over a thousand fictitious laboratory analysis reports regarding the extent of soil and groundwater contamination to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The reports are used by regulatory agencies to determine the degree of environmental contamination and cleanup needs necessary to protect human health and the environment. Cyphers began operating in Oregon in 1990 and performed work throughout Oregon on over 100 sites. Cyphers illegally profited by billing his customers for laboratory analyses that were never performed. Of the few sites that have been re-sampled, analysis has determined that petroleum contamination still exists. Cypher's sentencing is set for Aug. 12. An investigation by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division led to this laboratory fraud prosecution.

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