Two research contractors at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal district court after being accused of filing false bills with the government.
Greenway Energy and Savannah River Consulting both agreed to accept a plea agreement in proceedings before U.S. District Judge Terry Wooten in Columbia, S.C. and sentencing has been set for Jan. 11, 2023, according to online court documents posted the same day.
The limited liability companies, headed by the same person, could conceivably face a fine of up to $500,000, according to the online court documents.
Scott Greenway, the president and founder of Greenway Energy and Savannah River Consulting, waived his right to contest allegations that his business submitted false billing to the federal government in an Oct. 18 document posted online.
“I understand that I have been accused of one or more offenses punishable by imprisonment for more than one year,” Greenway wrote.
“I waive my right to prosecution by indictment and consent to prosecution by information,” Greenway went on to say in the two-paragraph document. An information is an allegation of wrongdoing akin to an indictment but skips the process where the charge is first vetted by a grand jury.
The false billing of the federal government by the two businesses started by December 2010 and ran on for nine years, according to papers filed last month by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Greenway did hydrogen research and Savannah River Consulting did physical research at the Savannah River National Laboratory, according to online filings.
