Wisconsin salvage yard owner charged in $14M bilking case

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) - The owner of a Wisconsin auto salvage yard is accused of bilking a Fond du Lac recycler out of $14 million.

Fifty-two-year-old Sterling Kienbaum of Oshkosh is charged with racketeering and theft. Kienbaum posted a $1 million cash bond Monday.

WLUK-TV (https://bit.ly/2mcuf7w ) reports the complaint alleges Kienbaum worked with two other men to overcharge Sadoff Iron and Metal for scrap metal.

Prosecutors say Kienbaum, owner of Fox Valley Iron and Metal, paid one of his employees, Daniel Christianson, to take scrap vehicles loaded with dirt to Sadoff’s. Christianson would then pay a Sadoff’s employee, Donald Krueger, to accept the vehicles, which were heavier than Sadoff’s limit. Kienbaum would then get money from Sadoff’s as if the dirt were scrap metal.

Messages for Kienbaum and his attorney were not immediately returned.

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Information from: WLUK-TV, https://www.fox11online.com