|
A former Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector in Kansas has been charged in federal court with making false inspection reports.
A three-count federal indictment, released Tuesday (March 29), accuses Douglas W. McComb, 64, of making false inspection reports while working as an OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officer at the agency’s office in Wichita, KS.
‘Defendant Well Knew’
The grand jury indictment alleges that McComb “did knowingly and willfully make a false, fraudulent, and fictitious material statement and representation to OSHA” related to the filing of three reports of construction site inspections that “as the defendant well knew, he had not” conducted.
The charges stem from reports:
- Sept. 11, 2009, that McComb had inspected a Wichita work site operated by Cornejo & Sons Construction Company;
- Oct. 6, 2009, that he had inspected a Wichita work site operated by Dondlinger & Sons Construction Company; and
- March 10, 2010, that he conducted an inspection at a work site in Olathe, KS, operated by Weigel Construction Inc.
Unanswered Questions
The three-page indictment provided no details about the motivation for the alleged fraud. The construction companies were not accused of any wrongdoing, and the case remains open, said a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita. None of the companies involved in the case responded to requests for comment Thursday.
McComb, who could not be reached for comment, faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count if convicted.
Repeated messages to OSHA’s Wichita office were not returned. It could not be determined how long McComb worked for OSHA or whether the charges against him would affect other cases in which he had been involved.
McComb was summoned to appear April 18 in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
|
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Facebook
.jpg)
