Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric accused two of its former employees of accepting bribes to funnel business to a waste-hauling company after the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history. PG&E alleges that Huggins approved false invoices and concealed fraudulent charges throughout PG&Es contract with Bay Area Concrete. PG&E alleges that Huggins was aware of Kooista's actions and did not disclose them. Days before the Paradise fire was officially declared contained on Nov. 25, an attorney for Singh and Johal, Steven Benjamin of Sacramento, filed papers with the state for a new real estate company, Regal Rose LLC. Huggins retired, and Kooistra sold his home and moved out of state after being confronted by PG&E investigators, the counterclaim by PG&E said. In business meetings, Singh tends to take the reins, while Johal listens quietly, occasionally asking a question. Something. The company says it is being more vigilant about trimming trees around its power lines and replacing outdated equipment before it crumbles. This article was produced in partnership with the Bay City News Foundation, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. For years, the owners of Bay Area Concrete Recycling had run an unlicensed dump in the city of Hayward, California. Later, the news agencies revealed a suspicious real estate transaction that connected Singh and one of the PG&E employees. Two days later, Kooistra quit his job, according to the complaint. Four days later, he retired. During the 2018 trial, he testified that Lucero had hired him in June 2014 to run the site. However, on Feb. 14, he died in what investigators said was a snowboarding accident in Oregon's backcountry slopes. / CBS San Francisco, by Scott Morris, Bay City News Foundation. "We will pursue every available action to remedy the situation and do right by those that we have the privilege to serve," Noonan said. ADVERTISING Advertise Legal Notices Obituaries Writing An Obituary Submit an Obituary, COMPANY INFO Job Opportunities Privacy PolicyTerms of Service, What to Include in Your Marin County Obituary. PG&E asked Kooistra to turn over his company-issued phone, which he did, but he refused to provide his passcode so investigators could access text messages and other data. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. In late 2019, PG&E learned of the alleged fraud and launched an investigation. The new court filings show that PG&E had a longer business relationship with Bay Area Concrete than previously known. They founded their first hauling company, Economy Trucking Services, in 2004. The complaint alleges that Huggins and Kooistra approved the overbilled work in exchange for kickbacks. "Everything was focused on the core competency of what we do.". In a statement posted to the company's website, he accused PG&E of falsifying accusations to avoid paying bills. It can also be found online. Now, an investigation by the Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica has revealed for the first time a multimillion-dollar real estate transaction linking one of Bay Area Concrete's owners,. Bay Area Concrete is part of a sprawling network of hauling, recycling and construction companies owned by Bay Area couple Preet Johal and Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh. "Their accusations are wrong, and they'll wind up paying us one way or another.". Olivero also said his firm had saved PG&E and its customers nearly $80 million by setting up the dumpsite outside of Paradise. The firm was tied to illegal dumping on federally protected wetlands and had engaged in a long conflict with regulators in the city of Hayward, where Bay Area Concrete operates a dump. Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. In July 2018, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a notice of noncompliance saying that the Sacramento facility, still under construction, lacked proper state permits. That business grew substantially in November 2018, when a PG&E transmission line sparked a wildfire in Butte County that destroyed more than 18,000 structures and killed 85 people. "PG&E has initiated an internal review to determine why this wasn't detected earlier, and we will be enhancing our protocols to ensure this doesn't happen again," a PG&E spokesperson wrote. "The litigation process will make this clear in time.". A powerful vacuum sucks up the slurry created in the process. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. Another shell company, CCI Management, was owned by Kooistra and acted as a subcontractor for Bay Area Concrete in Paradise. Meanwhile, Kooistra and Bay Area Concrete grew a lucrative business relationship separate from PG&E, according to records and interviews. A mural painted by Shane Grammar is seen on a chimney that remains at a property burned by the Camp fire in Paradise, California on February 01, 2019. LIVE-Wedding Ceremony || Yadwinder Singh & Karandeep Kaur || Deva Studio Ding Road Sirsa 94163-56150 In late 2019, PG&E learned of the alleged fraud and launched an investigation. Fortinet and Palo alto SME with NSE 1,2,3,4,5,7 and PCNSE 7. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder Kevin Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. PG&E alleges that in exchange for these kickbacks, the employees provided lucrative clean-up jobs to Hayward-based Bay Area Concrete Recycling. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Update: Highway 29, Howell Mountain Road may stay closed through weekend after Napa Valley snows, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, American Canyon delays warehouse amid Vallejo concerns, Homeless people to get permanent housing at former Napa motel, A plan for paid parking set to emerge in Napa three decades after meters were removed, Two arrested in Napa after crash of stolen SUV, police say, Police: Man arrested after Napa apartment break-in, Man dies in apparent Napa County drowning, Browns Valley Road homes approved by Napa City Council, Police: Man arrested after reported knife threat in Napa, American Canyon considers Chicken Guy restaurant amid drive-thru concerns, Premiere Napa Valley fundraiser brings in $3.4 million for the Napa Valley Vintners, American Canyon police arrest Napa man on assault allegation, Catnapped: Napa pet adoption van stolen with cats inside, State, federal officials take different paths trying to stop utilities from causing wildfires, Judge fines PG&E in Camp Fire manslaughter case, laments utility 'cannot be sent to prison', PG&E pleads guilty to 84 deaths in 2018 California wildfire, Millions at Risk of Slipping Into Poverty as COVID-Era SNAP Benefits Set to End, More than 300 words have been added to the English dictionary, Citizens travel to Peru's capitol Lima to protest against Boluarte, Senators react to the end of emergency SNAP benefits. You have permission to edit this article. He debuted with the India's national basketball team in 2005 and played at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran, Iran. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened an investigation. In February 2020, PG&E canceled Bay Area Concretes contracts and publicly announced its belief that the waste company had committed fraud. Police shut down the site in September 2014. In 16 years, the pair's. PG&E alleges that Huggins approved false invoices and concealed fraudulent charges throughout PG&E's contract with Bay Area Concrete. In 16 years, the pair's. Work began on the site in December. Those who have met the pair describe them as smart and friendly. - California utility PG&E, facing billions of dollars in potential liabilities over its role in. You can cancel at any time. In selecting Bay Area Concrete for the environmentally sensitive job, however, PG&E ignored the firm's history of illegal dumping and conflict with regulators, as well as its employment of a senior manager connected to environmental crimes, according to interviews and a review of court records, public documents and business filings by the Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica. Originally from Belgium, he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at KU Leuven in his home country and then a doctorate in soil and water engineering from Cornell University in 1999. Hydro excavation trucks use pressurized water to dig around delicate equipment and avoid accidentally rupturing a gas pipeline or destroying buried wires. PG&E asked Kooistra to turn over his company-issued phone, which he did, but he refused to provide his passcode so investigators could access text messages and other data. PG&E did not say how much the utility believes it was overcharged by Bay Area Concrete as it continues to investigate. At the time, PG&E owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million, according to bankruptcy filings. In a statement, PG&E spokesperson James Noonan called the alleged actions of Bay Area Concrete "completely unacceptable. Kooistra sold his home in California in February and returned to Arizona, where he founded a pool cleaning business in May. That business grew substantially in November 2018, when a PG&E transmission line sparked a wildfire in Butte County that destroyed more than 18,000 structures and killed 85 people. About 450 more new houses are in the pipeline for reconstruction one year after the start of the Camp Fire. "You need to know what you need to do to control this dust. The dumpsite proved its worth in October 2019, when a 77,000-acre blaze known as the Kincade fire broke out north of Santa Rosa. The water board declined to comment or confirm the existence of any ongoing investigations. A sign outside the Sacramento location warns state, city and county inspectors and code enforcement officers that they are not allowed to pass and must call for an escort. It is not clear whether or how PG&E vetted Bay Area Concrete before hiring the firm. 2023 FOX Television Stations, until WED 9:00 AM PST, Mendocino County Coast, until WED 8:00 AM PST, Carquinez Strait and Delta, from THU 2:00 AM PST until THU 8:00 AM PST, Carquinez Strait and Delta, from WED 1:00 AM PST until WED 8:00 AM PST, North Bay interior valleys, East Bay Interior Valleys, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, from THU 12:00 AM PST until THU 9:00 AM PST, Mendocino County Coast, High Stakes: Sports Betting in California, Japanese startup announces balloon flights taking passengers up to space. In exchange, the lawsuit alleges, a company linked to Johal and Singh repaved Huggins' driveway while they were supposed to be working on a PG&E job. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said last year that PG&E alerted his office to the allegations against Bay Area Concrete. "We think we got completely screwed by PG&E," Packal said. Soon after buying the property, Singh applied to use it to recycle concrete, but Hayward officials opposed the plan. February 26, 2021 / 9:44 AM Once it was up and running, trucks could dump their slurry in 20 minutes and leave with a clean tank of water. He graduated from GURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY / MEDICAL COLLEGE in 1991. On March 3, PG&E sent a second internal memo clarifying that it had also ended its business relationships with Johal and Singh's other companies, including Bay Area Hydrovac, Economy Trucking, PMK Contractors and Slurry Waste Solutions. The full investigation is available at ProPublica.org. MongoDb<br>3. According to the countercomplaint, Kooistra denied any wrongdoing or having an interest in the companies, despite the interest being disclosed in public records. To pay the bribes, Singh used a series of real estate transactions involving a 5,600-square-foot home in Saratoga to transfer money to Kooistra, PG&E alleges. In November 2013, Hayward officials received a complaint alleging that Singh and Johal had ignored the city and begun operating the recycling facility without a permit. One day, a PG&E employee crossed the street and offered Bay Area Concrete a contract to use street sweeping trucks to clean the PG&E facility, according to Packal. Facebook gives people the power. Kooistra did not respond to attempts to contact him by phone, mail or social media. He sold his home in Rocklin and moved to Arizona. "It stunned us," Packal said. In an interview, Bay Area Concrete operations manager Chris Packal argued that there were legitimate differences in opinion over what zoning allowed for the site in Hayward. Some of those sites ran afoul of regulators as well. "They have obviously factored into their business model that they can afford these fines and they can afford these violations because they're making enough money," Carroll said. In addition to his work with Bay Area Concrete, Bauters did training for the California Stormwater Quality Association. Under Kooistra's supervision, PG&E hired Bay Area Concrete to build a new slurry disposal center at a former Waste Management facility in Paradise. Olivero wrote that PG&E owed the company more than $14 million. Bay Area Concrete hired a manager of that site, Kevin Olivero, to be its CEO. PG&E then suspended business with the five sites, all competitors of Bay Area Concrete, pending the outcome of the water board's investigation. Under California law, PG&E executives couldn't be prosecuted for behavior about which they lacked direct knowledge. Bay Area Concrete is part of a sprawling network of hauling, recycling and construction companies owned by Bay Area couple Preet Johal and Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh. Filing 1 COMPLAINT against Bay Area Concrete, LLC, Bay Area Hyrovac, LLC, PMK Contractors LLC, Preet Johal, Yadwinder Singh (Filing fee $ 402, receipt number 0971-16273295). Dr. Singh is a very knowledgeable, explain things Very thoroughly. The site was shut down by police and its operator, James Lucero, was convicted of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. In late 2019, PG&E learned of the alleged fraud and launched an investigation. But Lucero wasn't interested. But that same day, a spark ignited brush in the remote foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said last year that PG&E alerted his office to the allegations against Bay Area Concrete. Public records show that the company's income increased substantially, from $16.5 million to $43.5 million, after receiving a contract to dispose of waste in connection with the Paradise fire. Packal confirmed that Kooistra lost his job over the allegations. A mound of crushed concrete got bigger and bigger and workers could no longer reach the top of it with hoses to control the dust. Kooistra did not respond to attempts to contact him by phone, mail or social media. Huggins did not respond to written questions mailed to his home in Auburn. Internal Medicine (18) 1 Award . The new court filings show that PG&E had a longer business relationship with Bay Area Concrete than previously known. The accused PG&E employees, Ronald Huggins Jr. and Ryan Kooistra, did not respond to requests for comment. When confronted by PG&E investigators, Huggins told the investigators he had paid the $16,750 bill in cash, which he happened to have on hand in his house. From Paradise, the truck operators would have to drive long distances to dump their loads, to places such as Chico, Sacramento or Tracy, slowing down the work and making it more expensive. Corporate records unearthed by the news organizations show that while the fire still burned in Paradise, an attorney for Bay Area Concrete's owners registered a limited liability company at the business address of another one of the owners' companies. Since 2012, most of their businesses have operated out of Hayward, a Bay Area suburb of Oakland. Anything. Now, an investigation by the Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica has revealed for the first time a multimillion-dollar real estate transaction linking one of Bay Area Concrete's owners,. PG&Es counterclaim, filed earlier this month, names Bay Area Concrete, both former PG&E employees, Singh, Johal, several of their other companies and Bay Area Concrete CEO Kevin Olivero as defendants. According to the disposal company, it racked up $14 million in unpaid invoices. All Rights Reserved. Packal characterized these issues as minor. "We're a hypergrowing company, we were exploding," Packal said. The site sits on a narrow street dotted with other office buildings and industrial facilities. City staff described broken promises, obstruction and apparently willful violation of the law. The full investigation is available here: https://www.propublica.org/article/how-a-pg-e-contractor-with-a-sketchy-past-made-millions-after-californias-deadliest-fire. (Another skier died on the same slope that same weekend.) In 2017, Bay Area Concrete opened new slurry waste disposal facilities in Richmond and Sacramento. Singh did not respond to requests for comment. Singh and Johal built a slurry dumpsite at a PG&E substation in Petaluma, a small town about 40 miles north of San Francisco. Liked by Yadwinder singh Happy Shree Krishna Janmashtami #sparkbrains #janmashtami2021 #webdevelopment #searchengineoptimisation #webdesigning Bay Area Concrete opened a dump in Paradise to take the waste from the cleanup. The Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica first reported the exchange, which one expert described as possible money laundering. The company has had its headquarters in Hayward since 2012, where it operated an unpermitted concrete recycling plant from 2013 until it was shut down last year after years of fighting with the city. As a result, the value of Bay Area Concrete's contracts with PG&E increased "exponentially" over a period of four years, the lawsuit said. Attempts to reach the couple through their attorney, phone calls, social media and mail were unsuccessful. PG&E first started disposing of waste in the company's Hayward yard in 2016, and the business expanded to include the cleanup of PG&E yards throughout Northern California. PG&Es court filing alleges that Regal Rose LLC, a shell company established by Singh, was also in possession of a property in Arizona when it was transferred to Kooistra. The accused PG&E employees, Ronald Huggins Jr. and Ryan Kooistra, did not respond to requests for comment. If the dust was allowed to drain into the bay, it could be harmful to fish. 90 percent of businesses in Butte County were destroyed in the wildfire. Bay Area Concrete is part of a sprawling network of hauling, recycling and construction companies owned by Bay Area couple Preet Johal and Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh. He wrote he was concerned rocks would tumble onto his property and hit someone. Later, the news agencies revealed a suspicious real estate transaction that connected Singh and one of the PG&E employees. Dr. Yadwinder Singh is a Internist in Circleville, OH. Another shell company, CCI Management, was owned by Kooistra and acted as a subcontractor for Bay Area Concrete in Paradise. Bay Area Concrete has said that PG&E's accusations of fraud are false and the bankrupt utility was just trying to get out of paying its bills. Bay Area Concrete is part of a sprawling network of hauling, recycling and construction companies owned by Bay Area couple Preet Johal and Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey confirmed that PG&E contacted his office regarding the allegations and said he is waiting for further information from the utility. Entire neighborhoods were reduced to ash and rubble. Chris Packal, Bay Area Concrete's operations manager, downplayed the citations the company received from regulators in Hayward and other cities as minor corrections. 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