Las Vegan Follows Dad to Prison in Biodiesel Scam

LAS VEGAS (CN) - A Las Vegas resident was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a multi-million dollar biodiesel credits scheme, two months after his father was given 10 years.

Alex Jariv, 28, was sentenced last week for generating and selling fraudulent biodiesel credits, according to the FBI. Jariv was also ordered to forfeit $491,000, an SUV, real estate and the contents of several domestic and foreign bank accounts, the government said.

Biodiesel credits were created by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The law provided money to reward businesses for producing and using renewable fuels by awarding them renewable identification numbers, or RINs, that they can sell to other companies to help them meet their regulatory obligations. The program is also intended to reduce pollution.

The biodiesel credits are regularly bought and sold, and a number of crooks have been busted for running scams involving them.

The 28-year-old's father, James Jariv, and his co-conspirators claimed credits through three closely-held companies in Canada and Nevada that they said bought and sold biosel fuel and RINs to one another. But they never made any such fuel, according to the government.

The elder Jariv and Nathan Stoliar, 64, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy, conspiracy to launder money, two counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements under the Clean Air Act.

In addition to a 10-year prison sentence, James Jariv was ordered to pay $6,345,000 in restitution and give up between $4 million and $6 million in cash and other assets.

Stoliar, an Australia native, was sentenced in April to two years in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit $4 million in cash and pay $1.4 million in restitution.

Together, Jariv and Stoliar failed to give to the United States RINs worth more than $34 million, the FBI said.

The younger Jariv pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, make false statements and launder money. He was sentenced on Sept. 25.

"Mr. Jariv is the third defendant sentenced to prison in this complex and egregious scheme to defraud fuel suppliers and the United States," Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said in a statement. "Through the tenacious work of our investigators and prosecutors, we also were able to seize and forfeit millions of dollars from numerous bank accounts, as well as real property in Nevada and California, jewelry and other assets."

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