Iowa City trash hauler pleads guilty to mail fraud

An Iowa City man who owned a trash-hauling business has pleaded guilty to ripping off customers by creating phony landfill receipts to overcharge them.

Nicholas Yutzy pleaded guilty Tuesday to 10 counts of mail fraud. In a plea agreement, the owner of N&N Sanitation acknowledged he overcharged a range of corporate customers up to $400,000 between 2004 and 2009.

Yutzy received receipts from drivers who hauled trash for customers to the Iowa City Landfill, and then created false receipts exaggerating the landfill fees N&N paid on their behalf. Victims ranged from a Coralville carpet store to Wal-Mart.

Yutzy has been released on bond pending sentencing Oct. 12. He faces up to 20 years in prison but is likely to receive far less. His attorneys didn't immediately return messages.