Wasn't me...it was my brother

In 2012, Asgard Associates, a company owned by Michael J. Conrad and his wife, pleaded guilty to storing hazardous waste at its facility on Roselle Street in Sorrento Valley. On June 30, Conrad pleaded guilty to submitting numerous false documents to the Environmental Protection Agency to cover up his involvement in the 2012 case so he could continue getting federal contracts.

After the 2012 case, the agency initiated debarment proceedings. But, fighting debarment, Conrad faked documents to keep his name out of the 2012 case. He sent an email to the agency this year saying that a key 2012 Asgard document was signed by "George H. Conrad III."

Michael J. Conrad denied any familial relationship with George H. Conrad. Michael said he had an older brother named George Conrad who had died in 1995 — but George H. Conrad had signed the document, is Michael's brother, and is alive and living in California.

Michael J. Conrad also submitted documents to the agency that, he said, had been written in 2008. Those documents falsely indicated that Michael J. Conrad had a very limited relationship with Asgard. Michael J. Conrad had written the documents in 2013.

He will be sentenced by U.S. district judge Janis Sammartino on September 11.