Executives Sentenced In Massive South Bay Warehouse Fire

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Three Virgin Scent executives and the company have been sentenced after pleading no contest to felony and misdemeanor environmental crimes connected to a massive 2021 warehouse fire in Carson and the illegal discharge of hazardous waste into the municipal storm drain system.

Virgin Scent and executives Yaakov Nourollah, Akiva Nourollah and Yehuda Nourollah each pleaded no contest to one felony count of disposal of hazardous materials and one misdemeanor count of reckless storage of hazardous materials, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

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Each defendant also pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts involving the unlawful deposit of hazardous materials, a violation of the Clean Water Act and failure to report the discharge of hazardous materials following the fire.

The pleas and sentencing took place Friday in Department H of the Compton Courthouse in case TA157794.

The charges stemmed from the Sept. 30, 2021, fire at Virgin Scent's Carson warehouse, where prosecutors said large quantities of alcohol-based hand sanitizer had been improperly stored.

Following the fire, the defendants pumped the remaining hand sanitizer into the municipal storm drain system, according to the District Attorney's Office. The material flowed into the Dominguez Channel, contributing to a noxious rotting egg odor that lingered for months and affected thousands of nearby residents.

"Businesses that handle hazardous materials have a legal and societal obligation to protect our communities and our environment," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Hochman said the defendants' actions endangered first responders, harmed the environment and affected thousands of residents.

The defendants were placed on two years of formal supervised probation, according to the District Attorney's Office. They were also sentenced to one year in county jail, which was suspended, and ordered to complete 75 hours each of community labor.

Restitution for victims will be determined at a future hearing.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Louis Morin and the Environmental Crimes Division. It was investigated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation.