Security News: Environmental Crimes Bulletin – May 2026

• No. 3:26-00166 (District of Puerto Rico)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
• AUSA Seth Erbe
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On May 1, 2026, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Ramon Plaza-Gregory, Ileana Cortes-Gonzalez, and Mo-Na-Co Biomedical & Environmental Corp. (Monaco) with conspiracy and Clean Air Act violations (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(1)).

Monaco owns a commercial incinerator in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Plaza-Gregory is the company president and Cortes-Gonzalez is an operator at the facility, which processes biomedical, pathological, and miscellaneous waste.

Monaco’s permit limits both the materials it can burn in the incinerator and the level of its emissions. Starting in August 2021, Plaza-Gregory and Cortes-Gonzalez burned unpermitted materials, used malfunctioning equipment, and exceeded emissions limitations. After an inspector from the Environmental Protection Agency  advised the defendants they had violated their permit, Plaza-Gregory began operating Monaco’s incinerator on weekends and holidays. The defendants continued to operate the incinerator illegally and new emission violations were documented in July 2024. Even after the permit expired in September 2024, the defendants continued to illegally operate the incinerator on weekends until April 2026.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Both agencies participate in the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Environmental Crimes Task Force.

• No. 1:26-CR-00118 (District of Maryland)
• ECS Trial Attorney Leigh Rendé
• AUSA Matthew Phelps
• AUSA Bijon Mostoufi
• AUSA Kim Phillips
• ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On May 12, 2026, a court unsealed an 18-count indictment charging two companies and one individual. The charges stem from the March 26, 2024, crash of the Motor Vessel Dali into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, which caused the death of six individuals and the destruction of the bridge.

Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in Chennai, India, are charged in the indictment, along with Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair. Nair is an Indian national who worked for both companies as the Technical Superintendent for the Dali.

According to the indictment, the Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span as it navigated out to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge. The indictment alleges that a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard likely caused the first power loss. Critical systems on the Dali were originally designed with reliable redundancies and automatic restart capabilities so the Dali could quickly regain power after a blackout. But shortly after the vessel regained power, it lost power again. The investigation determined that the defendants altered the Dali and relied on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of the vessel’s four generators. However, the flushing pump was not designed to automatically restart following a blackout, and the  generators could not operate without a fuel supply, so the ship ultimately experienced a second blackout. The indictment alleges that if the Dali used the proper fuel supply pumps, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the Key Bridge.

The charges include conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements. The two Synergy corporations are also charged with misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and the Refuse Act for the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers and their contents, oil, and the bridge itself (18 U.S.C. § 371; 46 U.S.C. § 70036 (Ports & Waterways Safety Act – Failure to Report a Hazardous Condition); 18 U.S.C. § 1115 (Misconduct or Neglect of Ship Officers Resulting in Death); 18 U.S.C. § 1505 (Obstruction of an Agency Proceeding); 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (False Statements); 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311, 1319 and 1321 (Clean Water Act – Discharge of Pollutants, Oil Pollution Act – Discharge of a Harmful Quantity of Oil); and 33 U.S.C. §§ 407 and 411 (Refuse Act)). 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation. 

• No. 3:26-CR-00195 (Northern District of California)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors
• AUSA Kenneth Chambers
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On May 13, 2026, authorities arrested Donald Do on an indictment charging Do with conspiracy, Lacey Act false labeling, and attempted Lacey Act trafficking (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), (a)(4), 3373(d)(3)(A)(ii), (d)(1)(B); 18 U.S.C. § 371). 

Between December 2022 and May 2024, Do and a California accomplice attempted to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan. Do’s co-conspirator secured an export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based on a false claim by Do that he hatched and raised the turtles when he had not.

After obtaining the export permit, Do bought musk turtles poached from the wild in Florida and elsewhere, and tried to get more. Do told sellers he would take “wild caught” and sent instructions to ship turtles to San Francisco. Do and the co-conspirator also tried to obtain more than 200 turtles from Albert Bazaar, who is also facing turtle trafficking charges in San Francisco. After unsuccessfully getting enough turtles to export, Do tried to conceal his role by lying to his co-conspirator in California that he had sold the turtles to other domestic buyers.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and California and Florida state agencies.

• No. 26-mj-02857 (Southern District of California)
• AUSA Katherine Rookard

On May 18, 2026, prosecutors filed a complaint charging Sydney Johnson and Brandon Marion with illegally importing 16 parrots and 11 parakeets hidden inside a modified spare tire in the trunk of a car (18 U.S.C. § 545). Orange-fronted parakeets and white-fronted Amazon parrots are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

On May 3, 2026, federal agents detained Johnson and Marion as they attempted to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Customs and Border Protection officers detected anomalies in the spare tire. When an officer inspected the tire, he heard a screeching noise and found the birds in the spare tire that had been outfitted with a cage.

Only 23 birds survived. Smuggled birds that are not subject to quarantine can be dangerous as they may carry and spread Avian influenza (bird flu) and other diseases. 

Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

Photo from press release of smuggled birds inside spare tire cage

• No. 1:26-CR-00049 (District of Hawaii)
• AUSA Michael D. Nammar

On May 26, 2026, prosecutors filed an Information charging Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk  with violating the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act for throwing a large rock at a Hawaiian monk seal’s head (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(B), 1538(g), 1372(a)(2)(A)). Lytvynchuk remains in custody following his arrest.

On May 5, 2026, witnesses observed Lytvynchuk walking and filming along the shoreline in the Lahaina area of Maui. He followed the movements of a Hawaiian monk seal, known as “Lani,” as she came closer to the shoreline.  Lytvynchuk picked up a large rock and threw it directly at the animal’s head. It narrowly missed her nose, startling her, and causing her to rear up out of the water.  Witnesses immediately confronted Lytvynchuk and told him they had contacted law enforcement. The sea lion remained largely immobile for a long time after the incident but recovered.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

Photo of defendant throwing a rock at monk seal’s headhead

• No. 3:26-mj-08002 (Northern District of Ohio)
• AUSA Matthew Simko

On May 8, 2026, Teunis Jan Willemsen pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act for negligently discharging a pollutant (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319(c)(1)(A)). Sentencing is scheduled for September 8, 2026.

Willemsen worked as the manager for Heartland Dairy in Rockland, Ohio. On December 12, 2022, the dairy illegally discharged wastewater into the Little Black Creek, a tributary of Saint Mary’s River, causing a significant fish kill. Environmental officials responded and questioned Willemsen. 

Willemsen stated he was responsible for employees pumping the contents from the settling basin into a nearby drainage ditch. The discharge, consisting of manure and silage leachate, included concentrated amounts of ammonia. Heartland Dairy did not have a permit to discharge any pollutant. The Ohio Department of Agriculture determined that the discharge killed approximately 789 fish and 1,370 other animals.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Ohio Department of Agriculture conducted the investigation.

• No. 26-CR-60078 (Southern District of Florida)
• ECS Trial Attorney Emily Stone
• AUSA Daniel Rosenfeld
• ECS Paralegal Jillian Grubb

On May 11, 2026, Sunseeker International (a company based in the United Kingdom) and Sunseeker USA Sales (a Delaware corporation) pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(B)(i), 3373(d)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for August 20, 2026.

 The companies used illegally harvested teak from Myanmar to construct their yachts in violation of British law. They then sold and transported those yachts from the United Kingdom to the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

• No. 4:24-CR-00109 (District of Montana)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
• AUSA Jeffrey Starnes
• ECS Paralegal Jillian Grubb

On May 14, 2026, John Lewton pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act trafficking violation (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for September 30, 2026.

On October 20, 2019, Lewton guided a client on a sheep hunt on public land in Montana managed by the Bureau of Land Management. During the hunt, Lewton’s client killed a trophy-sized wild Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, after which Lewton harvested parts from the sheep. He then sold those parts to Arthur Schubarth for use on his alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn, Montana. A person who sells or purchases any part from any game animal in Montana violates Montana State law and the Lacey Act.

In September 2024, Schubarth was sentenced to serve six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. Schubarth also paid a $20,000 fine and made a $4,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks conducted the investigation.

• No. 4:26-CR-00133 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Liesel LeCates Roscher

On May 14, 2026, Santos Guerrero pleaded guilty to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act for shooting and killing a bald eagle (16 U.S.C. § 668(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for July 30, 2026.

On October 11, 2024, witnesses reported that Guerrero shot and killed the eagle at his residence. Authorities received video footage showing the eagle being shot and falling from a tree. They proceeded to Guerrero’s residence and matched the tree to the one seen in the video. They located the eagle, which was still alive and transported it to an animal hospital. It had to be euthanized due to its injuries.

A necropsy determined the bullet caused significant damage to the eagle’s wing. The impact from the fall also caused liver fractures, internal bleeding, and a fractured leg.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from Texas Parks and Wildlife. 

• No. 3:25-CR-00196 (Middle District of Tennessee)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Matthew Morris
• ECS Trial Attorney Rachel Roberts
• AUSA Ahmed A. Safeeullah
• ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On May 18, 2026, David Ray Stark pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act for bypassing treatment processes and tampering with a monitoring device at a Nashville waste treatment facility (18 U.S.C. § 371). Co-defendant Caleb Warran Randall recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  (18 U.S.C. § 371). Randall’s sentencing is scheduled for August 4, 2026, and Stark’s is scheduled for August 19, 2026. 

Stark was the Facility Operations Manager and Randall was the Plant Supervisor at a facility operated by Allwaste Onsite, doing business as Onsite Environmental (Onsite). As part of the conspiracy, Stark and Randall directed Onsite employees to discharge untreated and partially treated wastewater into the Nashville sewer system in December 2022 and January 2023. Stark and Randall also tampered with and caused Onsite employees to tamper with a sampling device that the Nashville Metro Water Services (MWS) had installed to monitor Onsite’s compliance with its pretreatment permit.

In December 2025, Onsite was sentenced to pay a $512,000 fine, representing $16,000 per day of bypassing, and complete a three-year term of probation.  As a special condition of its probation, Onsite must comply with a consent order previously issued by a state court, which Onsite entered into with MWS to enact a facility operating plan. Additionally, as part of the consent order, Onsite paid $86,628 to MWS for expenses related to sewer repairs and clean-up, $299,576 for surcharges related to pollutant exceedances, and $50,387 for water and sewer charges. The company will also implement several plant and equipment upgrades.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and its Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:26-CR-00194 (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
• ECS Trial Attorney Lauren Steele

On May 20, 2026, Mikhail Tsurikov pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for August 27, 2026.

Tsurikov worked as the second engineer for the Motor Vessel MSC Samira III. On January 27, 2025, he caused the master of the vessel to present a false Oil Record Book (ORB) to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors during a Port State Control Examination in the Port of Philadelphia. The ORB was inaccurate because it did not contain entries for  oily bilge water discharges that had been made without the use of a properly functioning Oil Water Separator. 

The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service conducted the investigation.

• Nos. 3:25-CR-00503, 504 (District of Puerto Rico)
• AUSA Seth Erbe

On May 22, 2026, Héctor Rivera González pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and is scheduled for sentencing on August 7, 2026.   González is one of five defendants who pleaded guilty to trafficking in migratory birds (16 U.S.C. §§ 703, 707(b)(2)).

From May 2020 through April 2024, Ricardo Morales-Colón, Derline Cordero-Galloza, Ezequiel Muñiz-Salas, Edison Pérez-Collado, and González captured migratory birds, offering them for sale to local customers and members of private internet chat groups. Among the species the defendants sold were Bahama pintail ducks, Northern pintail ducks, black-bellied whistling ducks, Eastern spot-billed ducks, blue-wing teal, Canadian geese, wood ducks; and white-crowned pigeons.

Sentencings for the other four defendants, all of whom pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371), are scheduled for June 17, June 29, and July 9, 2026.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:23-CR-00034 (District of Alaska) 
• AUSA Ainsley McNerney 

On May 5, 2026, a court sentenced Michael Beans to 36 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release.  Beans was sentenced to serve 24 months for federal wildlife offenses  and an additional 12 months on a state case, which will run consecutively. Beans also will pay a total of $64,110 in restitution, which will be divided among 21 victims. He pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and Wire Fraud for operating an illegal hunting and guiding service (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372 (a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B); 18 U.S.C. § 1343). 

In October 2021, Beans began advertising guide-outfitter and transporter services for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 bull moose hunting seasons on various social media hunting forums. Beans has never held a big game guide-outfitter license or big game transporter license in the state of Alaska. Beans contacted prospective hunters stating that he would reduce the hunting rates if hunters paid in full early or assisted Beans by advancing fees months before the hunt occurred. In some messages, Beans conveyed costs of the hunt and then received deposits to formalize the booking through mobile money transfer applications or other electronic financial services.

Between October 2021 to December 2022, Beans fraudulently collected more than $59,000 in deposits, advanced payments, and other funds from approximately 30 hunters who were not Alaska residents. 

The first group of hunters arrived on September 1, 2022. Beans cancelled all contracted hunts without meeting any of the hunters in person. Beans returned $700 to one hunter but did not refund any others for the cancelled hunts. Another group of three hunters arrived between September 19 and September 24, 2022. Beans attempted to cancel this hunt, but the hunters located Beans in St. Mary’s, and he took them on the hunt consistent with their agreement. Acting as the guide-outfitter or transporter, Beans assisted the hunters in killing three bull moose, even though he was not licensed to do so.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Alaska Wildlife Troopers Investigations Unit conducted the investigation.

• No. 9:23-00055 (District of Montana)
• AUSA Randy Tanner
• AUSA Ryan Weldon

On May 5, 2026, a court sentenced John Patrick Butler to complete a five-year term of probation. Butler and a previously sentenced co-defendant were held jointly and severally responsible for $77,500 in restitution, to be paid into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Butler pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Lacey Act. He trafficked in bald and golden eagles and purchased illegally taken eagles and eagle parts (18 U.S.C. § 371; 16 U.S.C. §§ 668(a), 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(1)(B)). 

Between January 2015 and March 2021, Butler, along with co-defendants Travis John Branson, Simon Paul, and others, conspired to illegally kill eagles on the Flathead Indian Reservation and offer eagle feathers and parts for sale to domestic and international buyers. Branson traveled from Washington to the Reservation and arranged for Paul to shoot and ship the eagles for him. Butler purchased the eagles and parts on the black market from Branson and Paul after requesting specific types of eagles. Confederated Salish & Kootenai tribal authorities alerted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents to the defendants’ activity.

In total, the defendants killed approximately 3,600 birds. 

In October 2024, a court sentenced Branson to serve 46 months’ incarceration, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and to pay $77,250 in restitution into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Paul is a fugitive.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Fish and Game Department conducted the investigation.

• No. 1:25-CR-00007 (District of Alaska)
• Former AUSA Seth Brickey 
• AUSA Mac Caille Petursson

On May 6, 2026, a court sentenced Vince Jacobson to pay a $15,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation, to include a world-wide fishing and hunting ban while under supervision. Jacobson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act for illegally harvesting halibut with other commercial fishermen (18 U.S.C. § 371).

From September 2019 through August 2022, Jacobson conspired with co-defendant Jonathan Pavlik to fraudulently use Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) permits. Commercial fishermen are required to possess an IFQ permit to legally fish for halibut in the waters off the Alaskan coast. The permit holder must be aboard a vessel at all times during a fishing trip, including when fishing gear is set and when fish are harvested. 

On two trips in August 2022, Pavlik directed his crew aboard the Fishing Vessel  (F/V) New Era to receive halibut on his behalf from Jacobson aboard the F/V Epic. The halibut was harvested by the F/V Epic at a time when neither Pavlik nor his crew were aboard, in violation of federal law and regulations. Pavlik later landed the halibut under his IFQ permit and falsely reported that he had harvested it aboard the F/V New Era.

Pavlick, along with commercial fisherman Kyle Dierick, Michael Babic, and Timothy Ross all participated in similar conduct between October 2022 and July 2024. Ross was sentenced in December 2025; the other three are scheduled to begin trial on October 13, 2026, for conspiracy and Lacey Act violations (18 U.S.C. § 371; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(1)(B)).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers.

• No. 3:25-CR-00038 (District of Alaska)
•  AUSA Ainsley McNerney

On May 12, 2026, a court sentenced two hunters for operating an illegal guiding and outfitter business in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B), (d)2)). Theodore Turgeon will serve six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. Turgeon also will pay a $20,000 fine and forfeit his rifle and scope. Charles Emmi will pay a $30,000 fine, complete a four-year term of probation, and perform 100 hours of community service. Additionally, both are subject to a worldwide hunting and fishing ban and barred from obtaining a transporter or guide license while under supervision. Each will forfeit $14,982 in lieu of forfeiting their boat, the Motor Vessel (M/V) Sound Choice.

In March 2021, Turgeon and Emmi created a hunting transportation business called “The Rock Outfitters LLC.” Turgeon and Emmi attempted to obtain a transporter license from the Alaska Department of Commerce Big Game Commercial Services Board but were denied due to Turgeon’s previous federal conviction in 2018 for violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

In June 2022, within months of the Big Game Board’s denial, Emmi obtained a transporter license under the guise of a new business, “The Rock Kodiak,” which did not list Turgeon as an owner. Emmi and Turgeon also jointly owned a boat, the M/V Sound Choice, that they used to facilitate the illegal guide service. Neither defendant obtained a State of Alaska big game guide-outfitter license.

On November 9, 2022, Turgeon and Emmi collected $16,000 from a four-person hunting party to provide transporter services to hunt waterfowl and Sitka black-tail deer out of Kodiak. Between November 17 and 22, 2022, Turgeon illegally guided a resident of Texas using his personal rifle, sighted the scope on his rifle, and spotted two deer for the client. Turgeon also quartered and packed the doe and buck out of the field, all in violation of Alaska law. Turgeon and Emmi transported this client to port, and the client took the harvested meat and other animal parts to Texas. 

The defendants also submitted a falsified Transporter Activity Report (TAR) to the Big Game Board for the trip. Alaska law requires TAR documents to accurately record wildlife harvesting activities. The TAR submitted by Turgeon and Emmi listed only two of the four clients and under-reported the harvested game.

In May 2024, Emmi and Turgeon collected $13,500 to guide a black bear hunting trip from three clients who were residents of Arizona, South Carolina, and Oregon. They assisted the hunters with spotting black bear from the M/V Sound Choice, directing the clients where to offload and stalk black bear while remaining in the field. All three clients successfully harvested black bear using Emmi and Turgeon’s illegal guiding services.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

Photo of defendant from press release

• No. 2:25-CR-00194 (Eastern District of Louisiana)
• AUSA Mary K. Kaufman
• AUSA Jon Maestri

On May 13, 2026, a court sentenced Ariel Kornienko to nine months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release, to include six months’ home detention, for distributing animal crush videos (18 U.S.C. § 48(a)(3)). Between October 2023 and June 2024, Kornienko sent these videos over the internet.

The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crimes Group, and the HSI Wildlife and Environmental Unit conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:25-CR-00295 (District of Oregon)
• AUSA Andrew Ho
• AUSA William M. McLaren
• RCEC Gwendolyn Russell

On May 21, 2026, a court sentenced Kayla Hartley to five months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release, and five months home confinement. Hartley will also pay a $25,000 fine. Hartley pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Clean Water Act for illegally receiving and discharging industrial wastewater from a facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, into a sanitary sewer system (18 U.S.C. § 371; 33 U.S.C. §§ 1317(d), 1319(c)(2)(A)). 

Bay Area Concrete, LLC, was a California-based company that operated construction slurry dewatering facilities in California, Oregon, and Washington. Northwest Slurry Solutions and Hydro Excavation, LLC (Northwest Slurry), was an Oregon-based company that operated Bay Area Concrete’s facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, where it received, processed, and disposed of hydro excavation slurry. The facility did not have an industrial wastewater discharge permit and was only allowed to discharge slurry wastewater into the sanitary sewer system. Clean Water Services (CWS) operated the sanitary sewer system in Hillsboro and implemented the industrial wastewater discharge permit program.

Hartley worked as the Director of Operations at the Hillsboro facility. She marketed the company as capable of accepting and processing industrial wastewater for disposal that contained chemicals they were not permitted to accept. 

Between February and September 2020, under Hartley’s leadership, Northwest Slurry accepted approximately 500,000 gallons of industrial wastewater containing hydrofluoric acid, titanium, molybdenum, vanadium, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Northwest Slurry discharged this wastewater into the Hillsboro sanitary sewer without a permit. 

When CWS regulators met with Hartley, they explained that she needed to have an industrial waste discharge permit to receive wastewater trucked to the Hillsboro facility. Hartley then submitted an application but claimed the facility would only process “clean slurry” and “oily slurry,” which she knew to be false.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:24-CR-00180 (Southern District of Ohio)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Nicole Pakiz
• AUSA Kevin Kelley

On May 21, 2026, a court sentenced Joel Brown to 71 months’ incarceration and five years of supervised release. Brown pleaded guilty to possessing dogs for fighting purposes and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute (7 U.S.C. § 2156 (b); 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)). Brown will also pay $8,055 in restitution to Columbus Humane.

Brown kept 11 pit bull-type dogs for fighting purposes in Franklin County, Ohio. Columbus Humane rescued the dogs and authorities also recovered tools and supplies commonly used in training dogs for fighting. Brown possessed a shotgun and ammunition, as well as approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine. 

Brown had previously been sentenced to 108 months in prison on drug and gun charges as part of a multi-defendant prosecution involving a notorious Columbus street gang, known as the Short North Posse.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Columbus Division of Police, and Columbus Humane conducted the investigation.

• No. 1:25-CR-20477 (Southern District of Florida)
• ECS Trial Attorney Emily Stone
• AUSA Brooke Latta

On May 21, 2026, a court sentenced Francisco Javier Ravelo to 60 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Ravelo pleaded guilty to violating the animal crush statute for distributing approximately 40 videos depicting animal torture between September 2024 and February 2025 (18 U.S.C. § 48(a)(3)). 

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

• No. 1:23-CR-00787 (District of New Jersey)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
• AUSA Michelle Goldman

On May 22, 2026, a court sentenced Tommy Watson to 32 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Watson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess, train, and transport dogs for an animal fighting venture, sponsoring and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture, and being a felon-in-possession of ammunition (7 U.S.C. §§ 2156(a)(1), 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)). 

The case began when officers responded to an emergency call at an auto body garage in Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey. They found a fighting pit in the garage, along with two pit bull-type dogs, still fighting, that had been placed into an inoperable car on a lift in the garage as the participants fled on foot. The dogs later died from injuries they sustained while fighting. Officers also found an uninjured pit bull-type dog in a car near the garage, along with a rudimentary veterinary suture and skin staple kit. 

The investigation revealed that Watson organized the fight, and that his dog was scheduled for the next fight on deck. Cell phone evidence showed that Watson jointly trained the dog for this particular fight. Watson participated in a dog fighting operation called “From Da Bottom Kennels.” This group and others live-streamed dog fight videos from the garage via the Telegram app.

Co-defendant Johnnie Lee Nelson was sentenced in April 2025 to complete a two-year term of probation, to include one year of home confinement. Nelson will also perform 100 hours of community service.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’ Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:24-CR-00122 (Northern District of Alabama)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
• AUSA Ryan Rummage
• ECS Paralegal Jillian Grubb

On May 26, 2026, a court sentenced Carlton Adams to 120 months incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date. 

Adams pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing dogs for the purposes of having the dogs participate in an animal fighting venture and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (7 U.S.C. § 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. §§ 49, 922(g)(1)). One of the seized firearms is a large-caliber automatic shotgun known as a “Street Sweeper,” () which is considered a “destructive device” under federal law rather than simply a firearm.

In September 2023, law enforcement seized 78 dogs, three firearms, and a large quantity of fentanyl at three residences used by Adams. Adams is currently facing state criminal charges for the fentanyl recovered. Local law enforcement believed that Adams, prior to being detained on the charges in this case, operated as a regionally significant leader of the Gangster Disciples drug trafficking and gang organization.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

• Nos. 2:25-CR-00120, 00121 (Eastern District of Wisconsin)
• AUSA Julie F. Stewart

On May 27, 2026, a court sentenced Ashley George to complete a six-month term of probation. Her company, Brew City Environmental and Restoration Services (BCE), will pay a $5,000 fine. George pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) and BCE pleaded guilty to making a CAA false statement (42 U.S.C §§ 7412, 7413(c)(2)(A)).

BCE was an asbestos abatement, demolition, and waste transportation business. In 2017, the State of Wisconsin issued George a license to work as an asbestos abatement supervisor and inspector. She bid on and won contracts with the municipality of Milwaukee to demolish residential homes. Those contracts required the proper removal and disposal of regulated asbestos containing material (RACM).

Between February 2020 and February 2021, George negligently caused the release of asbestos into the ambient air, placing others in imminent danger of death and serious bodily injury. She disposed of RACM more than 30 days after conducting abatement work. She also stored open bags of RACM on her property, releasing hazardous air pollutants. George admitted she did this frequently to save on disposal fees.

While conducting demolition and asbestos abatement activities, BCE submitted manifests to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). Between February 2020 and February 2021, the company made false statements on at least 14 of those manifests. The manifests misidentified the landfill where BCE disposed of RACM, preventing WDNR from accurately tracking where the RACM ends up.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation. 

• No. 2:22-CR-00057 (Central District of California)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
• AUSA Matthew W. O’Brien
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer 

On May 28, 2026, a court sentenced Jose Manuel Perez to 65 months’ incarceration for smuggling and Lacey Act trafficking charges (18 U.S.C. § 545; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Perez is serving a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in May 2023 to three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms. The new term of incarceration will run concurrently and includes a three-year term of supervised release following his discharge.

Perez and his sister, Stephany, illegally imported more than 1,700 reptiles (including 60 reptiles Perez hid in his clothes) into the United States from Mexico. 

Between January 2016 and February 2022, the Perez siblings and co-conspirators used social media to buy and advertise the sale of wildlife in the United States. They posted photos and videos of the animals smuggled from Mexico showing how they collected them from the wild.

The defendants and others imported animals (including Yucatan box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles, and Mexican beaded lizards) illegally into the United States from Mexico and Hong Kong without permits or documentation. Co-conspirators retrieved the wildlife from Cuidad Juarez International Airport in Mexico and transported the animals by car to El Paso, Texas. Jose Perez paid his co-conspirators a “crossing fee” for each border crossing, which depended on the number of animals transported, the size of the package, and the risk of detection by authorities. 

In February 2022, Jose smuggled an additional 60 reptiles, including dozens of lizards and four snakes, concealed inside his jacket pockets, pants pockets, groin area, and pant legs. While being searched, Perez initially denied to customs officials that he had anything to declare. He later stated that, “the animals were his pets.” Authorities valued the wildlife smuggled at $739,000. 

In May 2023, Stephany was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations.

• Nos. 2:24-CR-14046, 2:25-CR-14071 (Southern District of Florida)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Daniel Funk

On May 29, 2026, a court sentenced Christopher Burdett to18 months’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Burdett will also pay a $150,000 fine and is jointly and severally responsible for $2,857,029 restitution to ACT Fuels, Inc.

Burdett pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his involvement in a Renewable Identification Numbers fraud scheme (18 U.S.C. § 371). Burdett was the owner of a biofuel producer, located in Fort Pierce, Florida, which fraudulently claimed tax and environmental credits on biodiesel that it never produced. The court previously sentenced co-defendant Royce Gillham (the company’s former general manager) to 37 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Gillham pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to make false claims (18 U.S.C.§ 371). 

Burdett’s biofuel company produced and sold renewable fuel and fuel credits and claimed to turn various types of feedstocks into biodiesel. When reporting the number of gallons produced to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Burdett, Gillham, and others vastly overstated the production volume to generate more credits. When auditors sought more details from the company, the defendants gave them false information about their customers and fuel production. 

The scheme generated more than $7 million in fraudulent EPA renewable fuels credits and sought over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits.

The U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation Division and IRS Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.