John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that that, on September 5, 2018, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a superseding indictment charging DANIEL McCLAIN, 65, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, and KENNETH MIX, 60, of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, with federal offenses related to the false certification of bridge inspection vehicles.
McClain and Mix appeared today in Hartford federal court and entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.
According to the superseding indictment, Under Bridge Inspection (“UBI") vehicles are vehicles that contain a moveable boom with a platform. The vehicles are used to conduct inspections of bridges by positioning the vehicle on top of the bridge and, using the boom, lifting a platform carrying inspectors alongside or beneath a bridge deck. “Company A" rents or leases bridge access equipment, including UBI vehicles, to engineering companies and government agencies for use on bridge inspection and bridge maintenance projects. Company A’s UBI vehicles travel on interstate highways to job locations throughout the U.S. Company A has several locations, including one in Connecticut.
McClain is the sole owner and president of Company A, and Mix is an employee of the company. The indictment alleges that, between approximately January 2012 and January 2015, McClain and Mix participated in the creation of false or fictitious Certificates of Unit Test/Examination of Material Handling Device for the UBI vehicles in Company A’s fleet. The Certificates, which were provided to an investigator for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA"), represented that a UBI vehicle was examined and that the examination met federal requirements when McClain and Mix knew that, in fact, an examination was not conducted as set forth on the Certificates.
In addition, the indictment alleges that McClain falsified records in a federal investigation when he submitted an internal investigation report with false statements relating to a fatal accident that occurred on Aug. 26, 2015. McClain also transmitted false and fraudulent documentation to the Connecticut Department of Transportation in order to persuade officials to lift a moratorium preventing Company A from doing business in Connecticut while an investigation was conducted.
The indictment charges McClain and Mix with two counts of use of a false document, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count. The indictment also charges McClain with one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and two counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count.
McClain and Mix are released pending trial.
Mix was originally charged in an indictment that was returned on March 6, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation - Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
