Bob Kasarda

HAMMOND — A Valparaiso man was sentenced in federal court to a year on probation for his role in a scheme to defraud Indiana's environmental trust fund.

Alan Jones, 55, was further ordered to pay $123,523 in restitution after pleading guilty to mail fraud, according to Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.

Jones was employed by an environmental consulting company in Chesterton that was hired by gas station owners to manage and perform remediation work related to underground storage tank leaks, federal officials said.

The state created a trust fund, administered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, to help reimburse remediation costs.

Jones admitted to submitting false and fraudulent applications for reimbursement of costs that were not actually

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