Two Arizona men have been arrested for reportedly scamming a California recycling program out of more than 16 million dollars. Investigators say 49-year-old Miguel Bustillos of Glendale operated Bustillos Trucking for the sole purpose of smuggling out-of-state empty beverage containers into California to defraud the California Redemption Value fund.
The fund pays people who recycle California beverage containers, which each have a five or ten cent redemption value. Investigators say the company was shipping thousands of pounds of empty Arizona containers into California and redeeming the worthless containers.
Bustillos and truck driver, 57-year-old Anthony Sanchez, are charged with felony recycling fraud and attempted grand theft.