GUWAHATI, Oct 11: A researcher-scientist hailing from Samarkuchi in Assam’s Nalbari district has been charged in the United States for his involvement in a carbon-credit fraud scheme, a release issued by the US Department of Justice stated.
Tridip Goswami, former head of carbon offsetting company C-Quest’s carbon and sustainability accounting team, has been charged with fraud by US Federal authorities.
Goswami has been charged along with Kenneth Newcombe, former CEO of C-Quest Capital LLC and a leading figure in the offsetting industry, with commodities and wire fraud.
“As alleged, Kenneth Newcombe and Tridip Goswami, among others, engaged in a multi-year scheme to fraudulently obtain carbon credits by using manipulated and misleading data. They then sold those credits to unsuspecting buyers in the multi-billion-dollar global market for carbon credits. The alleged actions of the defendants and their co-conspirators risked undermining the integrity of that market, which is an important part of the fight against climate change. Protecting the sanctity and integrity of the financial markets continues to be a cornerstone initiative for this Office, and we will continue to be vigilant in rooting out fraud in the market for carbon credits,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release issued by the Justice Department.
“From at least in or about 2021, through 2023, Newcomb and Tridip Goswami along with a few other employees of the firm submitted false and misleading data to Issuer-1, tricking Issuer-1 into giving CQC VCUs for emission reductions that, according to Issuer-1’s methodology for calculating such reductions, had not in fact been achieved.
“Newcomb of Santa Barbara, California, and Goswami, who resides in India, are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; commodities fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and commodities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison,” US authorities stated.
