Clovis Man Charged with Defrauding Gas Station Owners Under the California Clean Air Act

June 14, 2010 - SAN JOSE, CA—A federal grand jury indicted Steven Foster, of Clovis, California, on Wednesday for two counts of mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

According to the indictment, Foster, 33, a contractor licensed to perform state-mandated enhanced vapor recovery (EVR) system upgrades to gas stations, entered into contracts with and collected financial deposits from gas station owners throughout the State of California. Foster agreed to complete the EVR upgrades, pursuant to California Clean Air Act and California Air Resources Board requirements, in advance of the April 1, 2009, deadline. EVR equipment is designed to capture emissions during the transfer of gasoline from the gas pump to the vehicle in compliance with air regulations. After signing each contract and collecting nearly $1 million in deposits, Foster and his company, F.M. Petroleum, never completed the upgrades as promised, and in many circumstances failed even to respond to gas station owners entirely.

Foster was arrested today in Clovis and made his initial appearance in federal court in Fresno. He is currently in custody pending a detention hearing, which is scheduled to take place on Monday in Fresno.

The maximum statutory penalty for each count of mail fraud in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., § 1341, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., § 1343, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Jeffrey Schenk is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kamille Singh. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by numerous federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation the California Air Resources Board, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Santa Clara County Environmental Crimes Task Force.

Please note that an indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Foster must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.