WASHINGTON — The Institute for Energy Research submitted today a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning agency records on fraudster John C. Beale. In recent months, congressional investigators have sought to uncover the sources of agency management failures that allowed Beale to steal nearly $900,000 from U.S. taxpayers while falsely claiming to serve as a CIA agent. To date, reports have not fully explored the mismanagement of senior EPA officials that allowed — according to a federal sentencing memorandum — the “scale of [Beale’s] fraud and deception [to] become even more egregious” under the supervision of then-Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy.
“The public has a right to know how John Beale perpetrated a fraud of massive scale over many years and under numerous supervisors, including EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The available records are incomplete, leaving many more questions about internal operations of the EPA, particularly at a time of expanded regulatory activity targeting America’s most abundant and affordable energy resources,” said Daniel Simmons, IER’s Director of State and Regulatory Affairs, in a statement upon release of the FOIA request.
“While EPA seeks to increase its regulatory authorities and write rules that dramatically alter the horizon of America’s energy and environmental landscape, it is critical that the agency’s career and political officials have the trust and confidence of the American people. The Beale fraud undermines public confidence, and further disclosures are needed.”
The IER FOIA request seeks:
- All records provided to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during the course of the committee’s investigation of John Beale.
- All EPA records pertaining to Gina McCarthy’s discovery, reporting, and handling of John Beale’s fraud both before her confirmation as Administrator and after.
- All records reflecting communications between John Beale and his wife, a former EPA employee and current Managing Director at the Rockefeller Foundation.
- All of John Beale’s phone records from June 1, 2009 to April 30, 2013.
To read the full FOIA request, click here.
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