Westport Trash Company Owner Charged with Fraud

BOSTON – The owner of a trash company was charged Friday in federal court in Boston in connection with defrauding the operator of the Fall River Landfill out of approximately $473,000 in disposal fees.

Stephen P. Aguiar, Jr., 47, of Westport, was charged with three counts of mail fraud. Aguiar was one of the owners and operators of Cleanway Disposal & Recycling, Inc., a trash removal and recycling company, and JS Aguiar Enterprises, Inc., a construction and equipment rental company, which were both located in Westport.

It is alleged that Aguiar contracted with the company operating the Fall River Landfill to dispose of trash collected from his private clients in Fall River for one rate, and to dispose of trash collected from his private clients outside of Fall River for a higher rate. Aguiar also contracted with the City of Fall River to collect trash from the Fall River Housing Authority (FRHA) and dispose of the trash at the landfill. The company operating the landfill allowed the City of Fall River to dispose of trash collected from FRHA properties at no charge. Between 2009 and 2014, Aguiar allegedly misrepresented the origin of a significant portion of the trash he disposed at the landfill. Aguiar claimed he was disposing trash from the FRHA, when in fact he was disposing trash collected from his private clients, thereby defrauding Fall River Landfill of approximately $473,000 in revenue.

The maximum sentence under the statute is 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, restitution and forfeiture. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Massachusetts Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha; and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of Weinreb’s Public Corruption Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

--U.S. District Attorney's Office