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In a case that shows prosecutors are cracking down on sellers of fake biodiesel credits, a Maryland man got 12 1/2 years prison and has been ordered to pay more than $42 million in restitution after being convicted of selling $9 million worth of the fake credits to oil companies and commodities brokers.

This Baltimore Sun article says Rodney R. Hailey, operator of Clean Green Fuel, was guilty of eight counts of wire fraud, 32 counts of money laundering and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act.

Environmental Protection Agency investigators visited Hailey’s office in 2010 after receiving a tip that he was selling fake credits. Several months later, a federal financial crimes task force investigated after a neighbor complained to Baltimore County police about the luxury cars parked outside Hailey’s house. He was charged in October 2011 and accused of using money from the fuel credits to purchase real estate, jewelry and several cars, including a Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini.

On top of all that, Hailey also collected Maryland unemployment insurance while running Clean Green Fuel. While he appeared contrite at his hearing, some other biodiesel makers were not in favor of leniency for Hailey because of the trouble he has caused by putting doubt into the security of the Renewable Identification Numbers system used to track and credit legitimate biodiesel producers.

Jennifer Case, CEO of San Diego-based New Leaf Biofuel, said 12 1/2 years is a light sentence for the damage Hailey has done and that his actions made credit buyers less likely to trust small businesses like his.

“Companies like mine are still being penalized,” she said.

Folks in the Lonestar State don’t have to feel so lonely and left out in the cold when it comes to wanting to do the right thing with used cooking grease. Austin-based grease-to-biodiesel maker DieselGreen Fuels has a new service to help residents, schools, churches and other small producers of oil avoid dumping their used grease in landfills or sewers. According to this article in Biodiesel Magazine, just put your oil into a container provided or drop it off and their folks will take care of it:

“This exciting new program provides another opportunity for Austinites to rethink the concept of waste,” said Lucia Athens, chief sustainability officer with the city of Austin. “Instead of trash, we can recognize that leftover cooking oil is another resource that can be captured and reused, closing the loop on human activities to make them more efficient.”

Hours: 7:30 – 4:30 Mon – Sat.

DieselGreen Fuels has been operating in Austin since 2006, cranking out high-quality biodiesel out of the old grease. The company expects to expand into Dallas and San Antonio later this year.