Asbestos abatement company owner pleads guilty to making false statements to RIDOH, EPA

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said the owner of a Rhode Island-based asbestos abatement training center admitted to providing false documentation to the Rhode Island Department of Health about individuals who completed an Environmental Protection Administration training program.

Jose Virgilio Fernandez was charged with making false statements.

Fernandez was accredited by RIDOH to provide asbestos abatement training courses to workers.

During an investigation by RIDOH and the EPA it was found that, between 2021 and 2023, he submitted documents to falsely certifying that nearly two dozen participants attended all days of instruction and achieved passing examination scores, even though no one actually attended the sources.

Cunha added that Fernandez later admitted to the EPA that, in many cases, he issued certificates to asbestos workers even though they did not actually attend or complete the abatement class.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2025.