Virginia man sentenced to 1 year for coal fraud

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A southwestern Virginia man has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty in a coal fraud scheme targeting Eastman Chemical Co. in Kingsport.

Dale Edward Stanley of Clintwood, Virginia, admitted that his company, Mountain Energy Resources, bribed an employee of a coal testing service to submit samples that would ensure meeting the standards in its contract with Eastman. But Stanley instead directed his employees to ship lesser quality coal to Eastman.

Stanley was originally indicted in November 2012 on 22 counts of wire fraud but later pleaded guilty in Greeneville federal court to a single count. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer also sentenced Stanley to a fine of $10,000 and 200 hours of community service after his prison sentence.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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