Trial testimonies begin in Washakie Renewable Energy biofuel fraud court case

In Utah, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the trial and testimonies have started in the case of the multimillion-dollar biofuel fraud involving Washakie Renewable Energy in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Jacob Kingston’s testimony has him blaming Lev Dermen who has pleaded not guilty, for escalating the biofuel fraud that resulted in Kingston receiving $470 million with millions of that going to Derman.

Thursday was Kingston’s second day on the witness stand and according to The Salt Lake Tribune, “in about 100 minutes of testimony Wednesday, Kingston explained his family history, including growing up in the polygamous Davis County Cooperative Society, and the roots of the fraud, which began two or three years before he met Dermen.” Kingston had apparently told Dermen about a client in India who had backed out of a deal to buy biodiesel from Washakie and how he was worried about the biofuel being degraded in quality due to it being in transit on an ocean tanker.