Tennessee Woman Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Water Tests
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee woman has pleaded guilty to submitting hundreds of false reports to state regulators about the cleanliness of wastewater she was paid to analyze, federal prosecutors said.
DiAne Gordon, 61, faces up to five years in federal prison after she pleaded guilty on Oct. 26 to making and using false writings and documents in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said. She is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
As chief executive officer of a Memphis environmental testing company, Gordon was hired by clients to sample and test stormwater, process water and wastewater to satisfy Clean Water Act permit requirements.
Prosecutors said Gordon fabricated 405 lab test reports and other documents sent to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Gordon forged documents from a reputable testing laboratory and billed her clients for sampling and analysis, prosecutors said.
As part of a plea agreement, Gordon was ordered to repay more than $200,000 to customers.
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