Hayden O’Byrne United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida | The Florida Bar
The General Manager of a renewable fuel company in Fort Pierce, Florida, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. This sentencing is part of his involvement in a scheme that led to over $7 million in fraudulent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) renewable fuels credits and attempted to secure more than $6 million in fraudulent tax credits related to biodiesel production.
Royce Gillham, who worked at the biofuel company, was implicated in inflating production volumes reported to the IRS and EPA. This inflation aimed to generate additional credits. When auditors requested further details, Gillham and his co-conspirators allegedly provided false information regarding their production processes and customer data.
Gillham had previously admitted guilt for conspiring to commit wire fraud and filing false claims.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida alongside Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).
The case investigation was conducted by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and IRS Criminal Investigations. The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Funk for the Southern District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman from ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section.
For more details on this press release or updates, visit the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida website at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl. Related court documents can be accessed through the District Court for the Southern District of Florida's website or PACER under case number 24-cr-14046.
