Tag: Mountain Laurel Mining

Man Pleads Guilty in W.Va. Mine Kickback Scheme

  A Delbarton man has pleaded guilty to spearheading a kickback scheme at an Arch Coal mine in southern West Virginia.

David Runyon’s guilty plea came Thursday in U.S. District Court in Charleston. He faces up to 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines for extortion and tax evasion.

Judge Thomas Johnston said Runyon’s plea agreement includes $1 million in restitution to Arch and about $426,000 to the IRS.

Federal prosecutors say companies had to pay kickbacks to Arch employees for business at the Mountain Laurel mining complex in Logan County.

Prosecutors say kickbacks totaled nearly $2 million from 2007 to 2012.

Runyon was Mountain Laurel’s general manager.

He is among 10 men who’ve pleaded guilty to various charges related to the scheme.

His sentencing will take place Nov. 19.

Man Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme at W.Va. Mine

A Verdunville man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a kickback scheme at an Arch Coal mine.

Thirty-nine-old James Evans III’s company recycled scrap cable at Arch’s Mountain Laurel mining complex in Logan County. He was accused of paying Arch’s $30,000 commission from selling the scrap to the mine’s general manager, David Runyon of Delbarton, so that his company would remain as its scrap metal vendor.

Online court records show that Evans pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. Sentencing is set for Nov. 17 in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

Evans and Runyon are among 10 men accused of participating in the kickback scheme.

A plea hearing for Runyon is set for Thursday. He’s charged with extortion.

Two Plead Guilty in Arch Coal Kickback Scheme

Two men each face up to five years in prison after admitting that they lied to investigators about a kickback scheme at a coal mine.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says 53-year-old Ronald Barnette of Holden and 62-year-old Gary Griffith of Oceana both pleaded guilty Monday to making a materially false statement in a federal matter.

Barnette’s company, Mining Repair Specialist, Inc., did equipment rebuild work at Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel mining complex in Logan County. He admitted that he lied about paying kickbacks to Mountain Laurel’s general manager.

Griffith formerly was the mine’s maintenance manager. He admitted to receiving kickbacks on behalf of himself and the general manager.

Barnette and Griffith are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20. They are among 10 men accused of participating in the kickback scheme.

Second Guilty Plea Comes in Arch Coal Kickback Case

A second Logan County man has pleaded guilty in connection to a kickback scheme at an Arch Coal mine.

In U.S. District Court in Charleston, Alvis Porter pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to pay employment taxes. He faces up to five years in prison.

The 61-year-old admitted to paying $400,000 in kickbacks to the manager at Arch’s Mountain Laurel Mining complex in Logan County.

Porter, formerly Logan’s circuit clerk, will be sentenced Oct. 16.

Three former Arch employees and seven contractors and vendors total are expected to plead guilty.

Federal prosecutors say companies had to pay kickbacks to Arch employees for business at Mountain Laurel. Prosecutors say kickbacks totaled nearly $2 million from 2007 to 2012.

Mountain Laurel general manager David Runyon, facing extortion charges, has his hearing Aug. 7.

First Man in Arch Coal Kickback Case Pleads Guilty

A Logan County man is facing up to three years in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud connected to a kickback scheme at an Arch Coal mine.

Gary Roeher pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Charleston. The 52-year-old from Holden admitted he illegally claimed business-expense deductions for kickbacks paid to an Arch official at the Mountain Laurel Mining complex in Logan County.

Roeher’s sentencing is Oct. 15.

Three other former Arch employees and seven contractors and vendors also are expected to plead guilty.

Federal prosecutors say companies had to pay kickbacks to Arch employees for business at Mountain Laurel. Prosecutors say the kickbacks totaled nearly $2 million from 2007 to 2012.

Mountain Laurel general manager David Runyon faces extortion charges. His hearing is Aug. 7.

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