Paul Mouawad still faces EPA prosecution for three separate waste offences
The NSW Land and Environment Court brings the Aussie Earthmovers asbestos documents case to a close by handing Paul Mouawad a 12-month prison sentence for faking waste disposal dockets.
The case was prosecution by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) over the disposal of 1,400 tonnes of waste containing asbestos.
An investigation by the EPA found 134 truckloads of asbestos-contaminated soil were collected from a building site in Darlington central Sydney in June and July 2016, but only one truckload was lawfully disposed of at the Elizabeth Drive Landfill at Kemps Creek.
The court heard that Mouawad supplied 29 fraudulent waste disposal dockets and a fake Ticket List Report to the construction company engaged on the building site in an attempt to show the asbestos waste was disposed of lawfully, at a licensed landfill.
The EPA told the court that Mouawad’s actions concealed the true location of the asbestos waste posing “indeterminable risks to the environment and human health, now and potentially, into the future”.
The EPA submitted the offences were aggravated by Mouawad’s disregard for public safety and the planned and organised nature of the crime.
The investigation revealed that in the lead up to the offences, Mouawad had purchased a thermal printer, which he used to create falsified waste disposal dockets.
Mouawad pleaded guilty to two charges of knowingly supplying false and misleading information about waste,
He is to serve his 12-month term of imprisonment via an intensive correction order in the community.
Justice Nicola Pain also ordered Mouawad to perform 250 hours of community service work, not commit any offences and pay the EPA’s legal costs of $60,000.
Each offence carried a maximum penalty of $240,000 or imprisonment for 18 months or both for an individual.
The company Mr Mouawad was employed by, Aussie Earthmovers, was convicted and fined $450,000 on two charges of knowingly supplying false and misleading information about the disposal of the waste in November 2020 following a separate EPA prosecution.
Read more about the EPA tackling illegal dumping, here
EPA major compliance and investigations director Greg Sheehy says rogue operators caused harm to both honest companies and the environment.
“The sentence shows that criminal behaviour does not pay,” Sheehy continues.
“The EPA will pursue and prosecute offenders who try to make a quick buck by damaging the environment.”
NSW Police separately charged Mouawad with defrauding the construction company by providing the false invoices.
He pleaded guilty to a fraud charge in September 2018 and was sentenced to a 15-month intensive correction order following an appeal to the NSW District Court.
He was also ordered to repay the construction company $225,056. The compensation has not yet been paid.
Mouawad is also being prosecuted by the EPA for three additional offences, which allege waste, including waste containing asbestos, was illegally disposed of at Arcadia in Sydney’s north-west.
He has pleaded not guilty to those matters, which are still before the court.