by Hugh R. Morley and Linh Tat   (NorthJersey.com)   FBI and local law enforcement officers raided a Montvale home and a Park Ridge building that houses several renewable energy companies Thursday in connection with a probe into fraud in the bio-diesel industry, a company executive and police said.

…”As I understand, we are not the object of the investigation,” (Joseph) Furando said. “They are engaging in an investigation which is unrelated to us. We are helping with the investigation,” which he described as a probe into “fraud within the bio-fuels industry.”

…Caravan Trading’s website says the company provides administrative, financial and technical services to clients in the “green energy, feedstock supply and all natural bath and beauty products.”

Cima Green, a renewable energy company that specializes in biodiesel, was founded by Furando and is also in the 52 Park Ave. building. Furando, who is senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the FBI was not interested in Cima Green.

…It was unclear whether the FBI operation is related to an ongoing crackdown by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on renewable fuel producers and importers. Authorities are looking at whether companies generated invalid credits in a program designed to ensure that transportation fuel sold in the U.S. includes a certain amount of renewable fuel.   READ MORE and MORE (Biodiesel Magazine) and MORE (Biodiesel Magazine update)

Excerpt from Biodiesel Magazine:  Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and EPA, along with members of the secret service and local law enforcement, raided Park Ridge, N.J.-based Cima Green just before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, in what Cima Green’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Joe Furando told Biodiesel Magazine was a “heavy-handed fact-finding mission” regarding eBiofuels LLC and its parent company, the publicly traded Imperial Petroleum.

“I asked investigators if I or any officers from our companies were under indictment or if there were arrest warrants, and they said ‘no,’” Furando said. Despite the event being “unexpected,” Furando said he and all the company personnel were treated “gently and with respect” by the investigators.

Furando said eBiofuels was a customer that bought feedstock and RIN-less fuel from Cima Green.

… Amid all of the news about RIN uncertainty and EPA’s handling of administering the RFS, the National Biodiesel Board announced the launch of the Genscape RIN Integrity Network dashboard, which allows obligated parties who subscribe to the Genscape service to do their due diligence with real-time information on participating biodiesel producers through an online information service. It allows subscribing parties to tell whether an individual biodiesel producer’s RINs have been verified through the Genscape system. Currently more than 70 full registrations and 15 obligated parties have signed up to trial the service. READ MORE