Chicopee Man Pleads Guilty to BP Oil Spill Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 25, 2012 |
BOSTON—A Chicopee man was convicted today of wire fraud for filing false claims in connection with the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Robert Zygarowski, 60, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor scheduled sentencing for January 17, 2012. Zygarowski faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the three counts.
Zygarowski attempted to obtain money from British Petroleum by submitting a false claim for losses in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and by submitting false documents in support of the claim.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.