Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.
For 11 years, Brian Brundage promoted Intercon Solutions, his booming suburban Chicago electronics recycling company, as a scrupulous industry leader in environmentally responsible waste disposal, led by a colorful, high-flying entrepreneur.
On Thursday, a decidedly humbled Brundage was sentenced to three years in federal prison for what prosecutors called an elaborate fraud that caused untold damage to the environment and millions of dollars in losses to victims…
Intercon took in more than $60 million in revenue during the course of the scheme, fraudulently disposing of more than three-fourths of the materials intended for recycling.
Brundage was arrested in December 2016 and charged with misrepresenting that the electronics the company collected would be disassembled and recycled “in an environmentally sound manner.” The 11-count indictment alleged Brundage caused “thousands of tons” of electronics parts and potentially hazardous materials to be placed into landfills, resold to customers who shipped the materials overseas or stockpiled in his warehouses.
In September, Brundage agreed to plead guilty to one count each of wire fraud and tax evasion, admitting he evaded paying nearly $744,000 in federal taxes by concealing the income he earned from reselling e-waste.
