It was definitely a battle with the city the whole time, Packal said. PG&E alleges that Huggins approved false invoices and concealed fraudulent charges throughout PG&E's contract with Bay Area Concrete. 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. "We were doing a ridiculous amount of volume at a much lower rate than what they could possibly have done." He sold his home in Rocklin and moved to Arizona. But Singh wanted $5.5 million about $1 million more than the assessed value and Rossi said he eventually realized that he'd never be able to buy the house back. "Absolutely no photos or videos taken on these premises without permission," it says. Kooistra, a PG&E supervisor in charge of liquid waste disposal whose area included Paradise, found a solution. A subordinate is accused of having received a bribe in an unorthodox property transfer of a multimillion-dollar house in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco. The new court filings show that PG&E had a longer business relationship with Bay Area Concrete than previously known. 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. That year, the couple used a holding company to buy a property at 24701 Clawiter Road. "As we have stated previously, PG&E will continue to hold ourselves and those that do work on our behalf to the highest ethical standards.". As a result, the value of Bay Area Concretes contracts with PG&E increased exponentially over a period of four years, the lawsuit said. The complaint alleges that Huggins and Kooistra approved the overbilled work in exchange for kickbacks. Bay Area Concrete also said that it continued to work for PG&E as other companies fled when the utility declared bankruptcy in January 2019. Four days later, he retired. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. The allegations are patently false and not supported by the evidence, she said. He sold his home in Rocklin and moved to Arizona. 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. His office accepts new patients and telehealth appointments. Very good beside manners. 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. The couple did not respond to requests for comment via mail, phone, email and social media. 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's 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. 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. PG&E paid CCI $150,000 over five weeks without knowing that the company was owned by Kooistra, a violation of PG&E employment and supplier policies. Attempts to reach the couple through their attorney, phone calls, social media and mail were unsuccessful. You can cancel at any time. | Learn more about Yadwinder Singh's work experience, education . 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. But the same morning Hayward's Planning Commission officially denied Bay Area Concrete's appeal to continue operating, a PG&E employee called 911 to report a fire in a heavily wooded area by the 115,000-volt Caribou-Palermo transmission line. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. In 2014, the company was connected to an illegal dumping operation on federally protected wetlands in Newark. Bay Area Concrete opened a dump in Paradise to take the waste from the cleanup. Kooistra sold his home in California in February and returned to Arizona, where he founded a pool cleaning business in May. Bay Area Concrete has said that PG&Es accusations of fraud are false and the bankrupt utility was just trying to get out of paying its bills. The sprawling complex includes parking for utility trucks, a repair station, outdoor storage for large spools of wires, pipes and other equipment, and a compressed natural gas vehicle fueling station. In February, PG&E CEO William Johnson publicly accused Hayward-based Bay Area Concrete Recycling of defrauding the utility and bribing PG&E employees. 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. PG&E bankruptcy filings from March 2019 showed that the utility owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million. Bay Area Concrete hired a manager of that site, Kevin Olivero, to be its CEO. PG&E's filing is in response to a breach of contract lawsuit filed against the utility in October by Bay Area Concrete. Liked by Yadwinder singh Happy Shree Krishna Janmashtami #sparkbrains #janmashtami2021 #webdevelopment #searchengineoptimisation #webdesigning The company, Packal said, had a truck to haul water from site to site. He sold his home in Rocklin and moved to Arizona. In its suit, Bay Area Concrete alleged that it had saved PG&E millions of dollars by doing disposal work in Paradise more cheaply than a competitor. Kooistra resigned and his supervisor, superintendent of gas transmission and distribution Ron Huggins, also no longer works at PG&E, according to the news organizations' investigation. Lucero, who pleaded guilty in a 2008 case involving the payment of bribes to landfill operators in San Jose, told one of Johal and Singh's employees that he had permission to dump on a national wildlife refuge site on the shores of San Francisco Bay. The company says it is being more vigilant about trimming trees around its power lines and replacing outdated equipment before it crumbles. Kooistra did not respond to attempts to contact him by phone, mail or social media. PG&E alleges that Huggins was aware of Kooistas actions and did not disclose them. In the same year they hired Olivero, Johal and Singh expanded into the business of disposing slurry waste collected by specialized disposal trucks known as hydrovacs. In response to a long list of questions, PG&E provided a brief statement that did not directly address how warning signs like the company owners' long conflict with the city of Hayward and participation in an illegal dumping operation were overlooked. In August 2017, Bay Area Concrete hired an environmental engineer, Tim Bauters, to oversee the process. PG&Es filing is in response to a breach of contract lawsuit filed against the utility in October by Bay Area Concrete. Bay Area Concrete has denied the allegations of fraud and bribery in Paradise. PG&E paid CCI $150,000 over five weeks without knowing that the company was owned by Kooistra, a violation of PG&E employment and supplier policies. / CBS San Francisco, by Scott Morris, Bay City News Foundation. Heres how the scheme worked, according to PG&Es allegations in court filings. Packal confirmed that Kooistra lost his job over the allegations. 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. A PG&E contractor accused of bribery and fraud during the Camp Fire cleanup had a history of illicit dumping, conflict with regulators and employed a senior manager connected to environmental crimes, according to a new investigation by the Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica. Yadwinder "Yadu" Singh (born 30 December 1986) is an Indian professional basketball player. 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. The same month, San Jose code enforcement officials cited the company for operating a recycling transfer facility without permits. React . 6 Cabo hotels for your spring break vacation, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). 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. Records show that Kooistra owned another company, CCI Management LLC, which was founded in June 2019. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? Great knowledge about SDWan.<br><br>Good knowledge about Azure, BGP, OSPF, MPLS, STP, RSTP, IPsecvpn, SSLvpn, SSL decryption, Firewall management. 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. 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. 21 talking about this. 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. In 16 years, the pair's. 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. Filed by Bank of America N.A., and Banc of America Leasing & Capital, LLC. In 2018, Singh and Johal acquired a property in Tracy in California's Central Valley and opened new facilities in Seattle and San Jose. The new court filings show that PG&E had a longer business relationship with Bay Area Concrete than previously known. Bay Area Concrete appealed to continue operating, but it was unanimously rejected by the Hayward Planning Commission late in 2018. LIVE-Wedding Ceremony || Yadwinder Singh & Karandeep Kaur || Deva Studio Ding Road Sirsa 94163-56150 In the summer of 2014, Economy Trucking used an illegal dump site in Newark, a nearby suburb, to get rid of thousands of tons of concrete and asphalt, court records show. 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. Olivero wrote that PG&E owed the company more than $14 million. Neither the memos nor media reports identified the employees. PG&E paid CCI $150,000 over five weeks without knowing that the company was owned by Kooistra, a violation of PG&E employment and supplier policies. The firm was tied to illegal dumping on federally. That summer, PG&E expanded its business with Bay Area Concrete. Hands on experience on Palo alto firewall, Fortinet firewall, Fortimanager, Fortianalyzer, Fortiswitch, FortiAP. Packal also alleged that PG&E-contracted hydrovac trucks were dumping illegally. 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. But slurry can be tough to get rid of. 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. He moved out in November . 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. In addition to his work with Bay Area Concrete, Bauters did training for the California Stormwater Quality Association. PG&E did not say how much the utility believes it was overcharged by Bay Area Concrete as it continues to investigate. PG&E alleges that in exchange for these kickbacks, the employees provided lucrative clean-up jobs to Hayward-based Bay Area Concrete Recycling. When those did not work, they issued three violations in 2018 for allowing concrete dust into the street, where it clogged storm drains. "We built that site in Paradise for [PG&E], growing an entire site dedicated to rebuilding Paradise," Packal said. The accused PG&E employees, Ronald Huggins Jr. and Ryan Kooistra, did not respond to requests for comment. Kooistra sold his home in California in February and returned to Arizona, where he founded a pool cleaning business in May. Another shell company, CCI Management, was owned by Kooistra and acted as a subcontractor for Bay Area Concrete in Paradise. For years, the owners of Bay Area Concrete Recycling had run an unlicensed dump in the city of Hayward, California. "Their accusations are wrong, and they'll wind up paying us one way or another.". Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more. In February, PG&E CEO William Johnson publicly accused Hayward-based Bay Area Concrete Recycling of defrauding the utility and bribing PG&E employees. 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. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. 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. They show that while the 2018 fire still burned in Paradise, an attorney for Bay Area Concretes owners registered a limited liability company at the business address of another one of the owners companies. Singh did not respond to requests for comment. 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. Dawn Sweatt, an attorney for Bay Area Concrete, said her clients vehemently deny the allegations by PG&E. A Santa Clara University psychology professor said the enormity of the destruction and devastation in Paradise can take an emotional toll on fire victim and leave psychological scars. Bay Area Concretes contract with PG&E was terminated, and the company is under criminal investigation. In a statement, PG&E spokesperson James Noonan called the alleged actions of Bay Area Concrete completely unacceptable., We will pursue every available action to remedy the situation and do right by those that we have the privilege to serve, Noonan said. City staff denied the application. The site was shut down by police and its operator, James Lucero, was convicted of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. "At the end of the day, this is really an illegal business that's asking to continue operating," Commissioner Gary Patton said at the meeting, "and it's been illegal since 2013.". Oct 2021 - Dec 20213 months. Kooistra sold his home in California in February and returned to Arizona, where he founded a pool cleaning business in May. Bay Area Concrete stuck around and opened a new dump on PG&E property in Petaluma. City staff described broken promises, obstruction and apparently willful violation of the law. At the time, PG&E owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million, according to bankruptcy filings. In a letter to PG&E posted to the company's website, Olivero accused PG&E of falsifying accusations to avoid paying bills as the utility still owes the company a substantial sum. PG&E alleges that Kooistra and Huggins steered PG&E contracts to Bay Area Concrete and other companies controlled by Singh and Johal. Bauters spoke in defense of Bay Area Concrete, arguing that city staff had not responded to the company's attempts to come into compliance. He provided photos showing that the concrete stockpile had grown so large it leaned against the fence between the two properties, bulging over the boundary. In 16 years, the pair's. A subordinate is accused of having received a bribe in an unorthodox property transfer of a multimillion-dollar house in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco. Rajwinder Singh is at Melbourne Magistrates Court where Queensland police are applying to extradite him north on Wednesday to be questioned over Ms Cordingley's murder four years ago. "We're a hypergrowing company, we were exploding," Packal said. PG&E operates a service center across the street from Bay Area Concrete's main facility in Hayward. It is not clear whether or how PG&E vetted Bay Area Concrete before hiring the firm. Clearly what you are doing now is not working. According to the countercomplaint, Kooistra denied any wrongdoing or having an interest in the companies, despite the interest being disclosed in public records. According to the countercomplaint, Kooistra denied any wrongdoing or having an interest in the companies, despite the interest being disclosed in public records. 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. Copyright Weeklys All rights reserved. The wildfire grew rapidly, driven by winds that fanned flames across the region. So you need to do more. It paid a low hourly rate, but it was a steady contract that soon expanded to include sweeping PG&E sites from Sacramento to Monterey and east into the Central Valley. 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. 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. I don't know what they're going to do. T.J. Simmons, then-senior vice president of ConXtech, a neighboring business, wrote a letter to the city in 2018 to complain. The allegations track closely with the results of an investigation last year by ProPublica and the Bay City News Foundation, which found that PG&E had overlooked numerous warning signs when it hired Bay Area Concrete. Later, the news agencies revealed a suspicious real estate transaction that connected Singh and one of the PG&E employees. In 2018, the company applied for a temporary permit to continue operating while it moved to a different facility. Over the next year, crews working for the state Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery removed nearly 3.7 million tons of debris, including 673,244 tons of contaminated soil. "We were a little concerned because they owe us a substantial amount of money. My Official Page - Yadwinder Singh #14 Power Forward for Indian Senior Men's Basketball Team;.