March 14, 2025
BY U.S. Department of Justice
The General Manager of a company that produces and sells renewable fuel and fuel credits was sentenced on March 13 to serve 37 months in prison to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release for his role in a scheme that generated over $7 million in fraudulent EPA renewable fuels credits and sought over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits connected to the purported production of biodiesel.
Royce Gillham worked at a biofuel company based in Fort Pierce, Florida, that claimed to turn various feedstocks into biodiesel. However, when reporting the number of gallons they produced to the IRS and EPA, Gillham and his employer vastly overstated their production volume in an effort to generate more credits. When auditors sought more information from the company, Gillham and his co-conspirators provided false information about their fuel production and customers.
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Gillham previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to file false claims.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
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EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and IRS Criminal Investigations investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Funk for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
NREL announced the findings of the Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2024, the eighth in a series of annual reports documenting the quality of biodiesel from U.S. and Canadian producers participating in the BQ-9000 program.
Kintetsu World Express Inc. has entered into a new agreement with Shell Aviation regarding the use of SAF. Under this agreement, KWE will adopt Shell Aviation's digital platform "Avelia" to swiftly address shippers' low-carbon transportation needs.
Aemetis Inc. released Q2 results, reporting increase revenue when compared to Q1. During an earnings call, company officials detailed progress with the company’s RNG, ethanol, biodiesel, SAF and carbon CCS projects.
Calumet Inc. on Aug. 8 confirmed its Montana Renewables biorefinery is currently running at full capacity. An initial phase of the company’s MaxSAF initiative remains on track to boost SAF capacity to up to 150 MMgy by mid-2026.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. on Aug. 5 released second quarter financial results, reporting improved EBITDA for its renewable diesel segment. The company primarily attributed the improvement to increased utilization and higher margins.