(Des Moines, IA) -- A former Des Moines Metro Waste Authority official has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for mail fraud. Fifty-five-year-old Jeffrey Dworek will also have to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution to the agency. Investigators say Dworek stole money over a nearly five year period, by creating a shell-company. He was accused of billing M-W-A for services the company never provided, and getting kick-backs.
Dworek has also been ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
Dworek served as the Director of Operations at MWA. Investigators say he created a front company, Britad – incorporated by Dworek in South Dakota – and fraudulently billed MWA for services Britad never provided.
Dworek was also aware that two other MWA “vendors,” Lamar Programming Company and International Telemetry Technologies, also submitted false invoices to MWA and Dworek approved those invoices, knowing they were not legitimate.
In addition to approving the fake invoices, Dworek also received payment from these companies, presumably as a kickback for Dworek’s role in the scheme. This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Iowa State Auditor’s Office.