April 30, 2015

Former Shell Employee Ordered to Pay Over $19 Million in Restitution

United States Attorney James L. Santelle announced today that Randy Jones (age: 44) of Houma, Louisiana, a former corrosion coordinator for Shell Pipeline Company L.P. (Shell) was sentenced in federal court to five years of probation and ordered to pay $19,377,785 in restitution.

Previously, Jones pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to conduct required safety test between January and December 2011 and submitting the false data to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). Jones’ violations were connected to a pipeline owned by Shell that delivered commercial aviation jet fuel to General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, WI. In January 2012, a hole was discovered in the pipeline at Mitchell Airport after jet fuel began showing up in the soil surrounding the airport and Wilson Creek. Approximately 9,000 gallons of jet fuel was released from the pipeline.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Department of Transportation office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from PHMSA. The case was prosecuted by Jennifer A. Whitfield of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice and Tracy M. Johnson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.