US Attorney: Construction officials lied about replacing lead service lines in Newark
JAS CEO Michael Sawyer, and Latronia Sanders, the company’s foreperson, are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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Two New Jersey construction officials have been arrested for their roles in an alleged fraud scheme that left Newark residents with lead water pipes.
Officials say that one of the construction companies that was tasked with replacing lead pipes in the city didn’t do so and lied to Newark officials to collect its full payment.
This all began when lead was found in Newark schools in 2016. The city then began a massive remediation project.
This charge only concerns jobs from one company - JAS Group Enterprises, of Burlington. The criminal complaint, filed in federal court, alleges that lead pipes were found in 28 of the sites that JAS worked on.
JAS CEO Michael Sawyer, and Latronia Sanders, the company’s foreperson, are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says they did this by submitting misleading photos alleging a completed job when that wasn’t the case. The contract was for more than $10 million.
Newark officials say that no residents were exposed to lead contamination. That’s because the city added a corrosion control - called orthophosphate - in 2019 to keep lead from releasing into water.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka says that this fraud was from one crew and that the rest of the lead replacement project has been a success.
