Two men attended sentencing hearings in federal court for their roles in creating false calibration certificates in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Miguel Marcial Amaro and Martin Ramos had each previously pleaded guilty to the felony offense of making and using a false document, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Each defendant is banned from participation or employment in NRC-licensed activities as a condition of their plea agreement – Marcial Amaro for five years and Ramos for two years.
According to court documents, Marcial Amaro and Ramos both worked for a company that provided acoustic emissions (AE) testing to nuclear power plants to detect structural defects in the plant’s equipment, including critical components within the nuclear reactors.
Between 2010 and 2021, Marcial Amaro was responsible for ensuring that the company’s AE testing equipment was calibrated annually; Ramos worked under Marcial Amaro as an engineer. The two men created numerous false calibration certificates for AE testing equipment and 15 of these false certificates were sent a total of 29 times to nuclear plant owners as part of final testing reports required by NRC. The falsified calibration certificates were discovered in 2021 during an external audit.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement.
The NRC’s Office of Investigation conducted the investigation.
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