Recycler Gets 18 Months and Fine in Fraud

SACRAMENTO — Norman Rockmaker, owner of one of California’s largest beverage recycling container centers, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $6,000 after pleading guilty to mail fraud and money laundering charges in Los Angeles federal court in March.

This was the longest prison sentence handed down in a recycling fraud case since the program started in 1987, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Conservation. The department charged that Rockmaker, 47, of Compton defrauded the state of thousands of dollars by submitting false claims to receive reimbursement for cans that were not eligible for redemption.

In a separate civil lawsuit, the department also recently won $704,000 in restitution from Rockmaker, which it said is the amount of money he fraudulently received.