Responsible for early character designs and explorations for an upcoming animated TV series. PG&E alleges that in exchange for these kickbacks, the employees provided lucrative clean-up jobs to Hayward-based Bay Area Concrete Recycling. The company, which declared bankruptcy in January 2019 after the fire, is expected to emerge from it as soon as Wednesday. Four days later, he retired. The complaint alleges that Huggins and Kooistra approved the overbilled work in exchange for kickbacks. My Official Page - Yadwinder Singh #14 Power Forward for Indian Senior Men's Basketball Team;. Bay Area Concrete's contract with PG&E was terminated, and the company is under criminal investigation. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said last year that PG&E alerted his office to the allegations against Bay Area Concrete. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. Olivero wrote that PG&E owed the company more than $14 million. Dawn Sweatt, an attorney for Bay Area Concrete, said her clients vehemently deny the allegations by PG&E. 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. The allegations are patently false and not supported by the evidence, she said. The pair were careful to keep Bay Area Concrete's purchase orders low enough that Huggins would not have to seek approval from his supervisors. He sold his home in Rocklin and moved to Arizona. 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. PG&E bankruptcy filings from March 2019 showed that the utility owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million. Two days later, Kooistra quit his job, according to the complaint. Kooistra was interviewed in January 2020 by PG&E investigators, who confronted him with evidence of his interest in companies connected to Bay Area Concrete. Copyright Weeklys All rights reserved. Now, an investigation by the Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica has revealed for the first time a multimillion-dollar real estate transaction linking one of Bay Area Concrete's owners,. In 2018, Singh and Johal acquired a property in Tracy in California's Central Valley and opened new facilities in Seattle and San Jose. ", "We will pursue every available action to remedy the situation and do right by those that we have the privilege to serve," Noonan said. "This is in addition to avoiding the significant negative environmental impacts that trucking and processing these materials elsewhere in the state would have caused," he wrote. PG&E alleges that Huggins approved false invoices and concealed fraudulent charges throughout PG&E's contract with Bay Area Concrete. Two days later, Kooistra quit his job, according to the complaint. In late 2019, PG&E learned of the alleged fraud and launched an investigation. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. Olivero wrote that PG&E owed the company more than $14 million. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. Yadwinder Singh Brar , who is the top worker in his industry, presently lives in a luxurious area in Chandigarh and drives a Audi alongside four other luxury cars and bikes, all purchased with his . "It is unfortunate that you decided to terminate our contract without first consulting us or making sure that your purported grounds had merit," he wrote. 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. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. Ramsey said in an email that he received no further information from PG&E but had determined that his office did not have jurisdiction in the case. T.J. Simmons, then-senior vice president of ConXtech, a neighboring business, wrote a letter to the city in 2018 to complain. . Singh did not respond to requests for comment. Chris Packal, Bay Area Concrete's operations manager, downplayed the citations the company received from regulators in Hayward and other cities as minor corrections. PG&E bankruptcy filings from March 2019 showed that the utility owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million. Bauters sat behind him, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. 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. According to PG&E's complaint, CCI did hauling work for Bay Area Concrete, which would submit invoices directly to PG&E. Singh did not respond to requests for comment. That business grew substantially in November 2018, when a PG&E transmission line sparked a wildfire in Butte County that destroyed more than 18,000 structures and killed 85 people. - California utility PG&E, facing billions of dollars in potential liabilities over its role in. In multiple interviews with the news organizations, Bay Area Concrete officials denied the firm had done anything wrong. February 26, 2021 / 9:44 AM Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more. 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. MongoDb<br>3. Circleville, OH . In late 2019, PG&E learned of the alleged fraud and launched an investigation. PG&E alleges that Huggins was aware of Kooistas actions and did not disclose them. "PG&E has initiated an internal review to determine why this wasn't detected earlier, and we will be enhancing our protocols to ensure this doesn't happen again," a PG&E spokesperson wrote. The dumpsite proved its worth in October 2019, when a 77,000-acre blaze known as the Kincade fire broke out north of Santa Rosa. Kooistra did not respond to attempts to contact him by phone, mail or social media. During the 2018 trial, he testified that Lucero had hired him in June 2014 to run the site. Another shell company, CCI Management, was owned by Kooistra and acted as a subcontractor for Bay Area Concrete in Paradise. 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. Nearly two years after the deadly Camp Fire, a new era for California's utilities is still taking shape. In July 2018, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a notice of noncompliance saying that the Sacramento facility, still under construction, lacked proper state permits. Later, the news agencies revealed a suspicious real estate transaction that connected Singh and one of the PG&E employees. The company is owned and managed by the husband-wife team Yadwinder "Kevin" Singh and Preet Johal, according to local and state documents. Great knowledge about SDWan.<br><br>Good knowledge about Azure, BGP, OSPF, MPLS, STP, RSTP, IPsecvpn, SSLvpn, SSL decryption, Firewall management. Four days later, he retired. But two industry sources with knowledge of Bay Area Concrete's work in Paradise identified Kooistra as the PG&E employee accused of receiving gifts. At the time, PG&E owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million, according to bankruptcy filings. Oct 2021 - Dec 20213 months. 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. Despite that, PG&E then contracted with Bay Area Concrete to play a key role in the cleanup after the Camp Fire. Later, the news agencies revealed a suspicious real estate transaction that connected Singh and one of the PG&E employees. Driven by gusts of up to 36 mph, the fire was heading straight for Paradise. 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. View the profiles of professionals named "Yadwinder Singh" on LinkedIn. In July 2019, a new filing for Regal Rose LLC listed its managers as Kooistra and his wife, Celia, a real estate agent and swimsuit model. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Singh and Johal met Olivero for lunch along with his boss, Jim Lucero, at a high-end restaurant in Oakland. Find Dr. Singh's phone number, address, insurance information, hospital affiliations and more. Anything. "We have confronted the two PG&E employees supervising BAC with the evidence that they received large sums of money and gifts from the vendor; those employees are no longer with the company," Johnson wrote. PG&E first started disposing of waste in the companys Hayward yard in 2016, and the business expanded to include the cleanup of PG&E yards throughout Northern California. The company declined to make Singh or Johal available for an interview. PG&E hired Bay Area Concrete to dispose of waste from hydrovac trucks special vacuum trucks that use pressurized water for precise excavation. In 16 years, the pair's. 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. Yadwinder has three known connections and has the most companies in common with Sabrina Hamipi. One supervisor for PG&E allegedly had his driveway paved on the power company's dime. Huggins did not respond to written questions mailed to his home in Auburn. In February 2020, PG&E canceled Bay Area Concretes contracts and publicly announced its belief that the waste company had committed fraud. The new court filings show that PG&E had a longer business relationship with Bay Area Concrete than previously known. During public comment, Gerald Carroll, an attorney for another neighbor, D.W. Nicholson, pleaded with the commission to deny the appeal, citing concerns about the health of their employees from dust. In it, Johnson accused Bay Area Concrete of fraud by overcharging PG&E and bribery by paying "large sums of money and gifts" to two PG&E employees who were no longer with the company. At the time, PG&E owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million, according to bankruptcy filings. According to the disposal company, it racked up $14 million in unpaid invoices. Bay Area Concrete overcharged for travel time while hauling and billed PG&E for work that was never done or was unnecessary. The site was shut down by police and its operator, James Lucero, was convicted of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Olivero wrote that PG&E owed the company more than $14 million. "The litigation process will make this clear in time.". 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. Dr. Yadwinder Singh is a Internist in Circleville, OH. PG&E's court filing alleges that Regal Rose LLC, a shell company established by Singh, was also in possession of a property in Arizona when it was transferred to Kooistra. New York, United States. PG&E alleges that Huggins was aware of Kooista's actions and did not disclose them. Bauters spoke in defense of Bay Area Concrete, arguing that city staff had not responded to the company's attempts to come into compliance. PG&Es 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. Bay Area Concrete opened a dump in Paradise to take the waste from the cleanup. "PG&E has initiated an internal review to determine why this wasn't detected earlier, and we will be enhancing our protocols to ensure this doesn't happen again," a PG&E spokesperson wrote. Once it was up and running, trucks could dump their slurry in 20 minutes and leave with a clean tank of water. 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. 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. 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. 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. One supervisor for PG&E allegedly had his driveway paved on the power companys dime. The facility processed the slurry waste from hydrovac trucks, special excavation equipment that uses pressurized water to dig around delicate equipment like buried gas lines or cables. Bay Area Concrete stuck around and opened a new dump on PG&E property in Petaluma. 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 business meetings, Singh tends to take the reins, while Johal listens quietly, occasionally asking a question. Packal confirmed that Kooistra lost his job over the allegations. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Packal said the arrangement resulted in substantial savings for PG&E in the labor and gas for trips to faraway disposal sites. 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. Operating under the name Slurry Waste Solutions, the company profited handsomely. PG&E alleges that Kooistra and Huggins steered PG&E contracts to Bay Area Concrete and other companies controlled by Singh and Johal. The accused PG&E employees, Ronald Huggins Jr. and Ryan Kooistra, did not respond to requests for comment. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Under California law, PG&E executives couldn't be prosecuted for behavior about which they lacked direct knowledge. Bay Area Concrete has denied the allegations of fraud and bribery in Paradise. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? Mike Mibach catches up with the principal investigator of the new study along with a San Francisco fire captain to discuss the results. The company has had its headquarters in Hayward since 2012, where it operated an unpermitted concrete recycling plant from 2013 until it was shut down last year after years of fighting with the city. According to the countercomplaint, Kooistra denied any wrongdoing or having an interest in the companies, despite the interest being disclosed in public records. PG&E did not say how much the utility believes it was overcharged by Bay Area Concrete as it continues to investigate. 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. 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. Skip to Header OhioHealth Home / Find A Doctor / / Profile Elisa Wilfong, who oversees Hayward's water pollution investigations, said her inspectors issued Bay Area Concrete repeated verbal warnings since 2015. PG&E alleges that Huggins approved false invoices and concealed fraudulent charges throughout PG&Es contract with Bay Area Concrete. "It was definitely a battle with the city the whole time," Packal said. Kooistra did not respond to attempts to contact him by phone, mail or social media. At the time, PG&E owed Bay Area Concrete nearly $4 million, according to bankruptcy filings. 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. Singh did not respond to requests for comment. How a PG&E contractor with a sketchy past made millions after deadly Camp Fire. About 450 more new houses are in the pipeline for reconstruction one year after the start of the Camp Fire. ADVERTISINGAdvertiseObituariesWriting an ObituarySubmit an Obituary, COMPANY INFOJob OpportunitiesPrivacy PolicyTerms of Service, What to Include in Your North Bay Obituary, Crescent Moonshine: Duo delivers more than nostalgia, Thanks for Not Procreating: Making Census of the Moment. Singh and Johal's companies also have a history of not cooperating with inspectors. Bay Area Concrete opened a dump in Paradise to take the waste from the cleanup. So you need to do more. 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. 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. However, on Feb. 14, he died in what investigators said was a snowboarding accident in Oregon's backcountry slopes. 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