Category: MIL-OSI

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

On January 22, 2025, a court unsealed an indictment following the arrest of Joel Brown. Brown is charged in a 13-count indictment with illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and illegally possessing a firearm after a felony conviction (18 USC §§ 922, 924; 7 USC § 2156(b); 21 USC § 841. Trial is scheduled for March 24, 2025.

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

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

• Nos. 3:24-CR-00824, 3:25-CR-00001 (District of New Jersey)     
• ECS Trial Attorney Christopher Hale
• AUSA Kelly Lyons
• Former AUSA Kathleen O’Leary

On January 2, 2025, Darren McClave pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2025.

McClave, captain of a clam vessel based out of New Jersey, was involved in a scheme to illegally harvest and sell excess scallops, violating federal fishing regulations. While clam vessels are authorized to take a limited quantity of scallops as bycatch, McClave routinely exceeded these limits and sold the surplus to Antonio Pereira, a seafood dealer. To cover up the overfishing, McClave and Pereira worked together to falsify the required Fishing Vessel Trip Reports and Dealer Reports mandated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Between October 2017 to April 2021, McClave sold over 64,000 pounds of illegal scallops to Pereira, making substantial profits from the illicit operation. Pereira, who participated in the conspiracy, pled guilty on December 19, 2024, to the same charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2025.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:23-CR-00080 (Eastern District of California)
• AUSA Katherine Lydon
• AUSA Whitnee Goins

On January 7, 2025, Jason K. Bruce pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle an endangered Ladakh urial trophy into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for May 20, 2025.

In March 2023, federal prosecutors charged Bruce and Pir Danish Ali, a Pakistani national, with conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act for making false statements and smuggling goods into the United States. Bruce also faced charges of smuggling and violating the Endangered Species Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545; 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(A), (g)).

Ali, the CEO of a hunting outfitting and guiding company in Pakistan, and Bruce, a recreational big game hunter, began their illegal scheme in February 2016. They conspired to hunt a Ladakh urial, an endangered wild sheep in Pakistan, and smuggle the trophy into the United States. Bruce was aware that exporting this species from Pakistan was illegal. In the lead-up to the hunt, the two agreed that, if successful, Bruce would present forged documents to U.S. officials, falsely identifying the Ladakh urial as a different species when bringing it into the United States.

In December 2016, Bruce paid Ali $50,000 for the hunt. In April 2017, Bruce successfully shot the Ladakh urial. Between 2017 and 2018, Bruce made several trips between the U.S. and Pakistan to facilitate the illegal smuggling of the trophy.

On March 29, 2018, Bruce arrived at San Francisco International Airport from Pakistan with eight hunting trophies in his baggage, including the Ladakh urial. He was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection who alerted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials.  Bruce presented forged export documents purporting to be issued by Pakistani authorities.

Further investigation revealed that, between 2013 and 2018, at least 25 people who had hunted with Ali’s company presented forged documents to import at least 97 hunting trophies into the United States.

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

• No. 4:24-CR-00240 (District of Idaho)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Cassie Barnum
• RCEC Karla G. Perrin

On January 7, 2025, Jeremy Pierce pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act for tampering with a monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). Pierce admitted to being involved in deleting and tuning vehicles at Gorilla Performance, a repair shop in Rexburg, Idaho, owned by his brother, Barry Pierce. Sentencing is set for March 26, 2025.

In addition, Jeremy Pierce’s company, Pierce Diesel Performance, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act for providing technical support to customers nationwide who purchased tuning devices and tunes from Barry Pierce’s company, Gorilla Diesel Performance (18 U.S.C. § 371).

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

• No. 24-CR-01264 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Tory Sailer
• Assistance from ECS Senior Counsel Elinor Colbourn

On January 10, 2025, Andres Alejandro Sanchez pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally importing a spider monkey into the United States (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).

On October 7, 2024, Sanchez travelled from Mexico to Laredo, Texas, and failed to declare a spider monkey he had in his vehicle to Customs and Border Protection officers as he attempted to cross the border.

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

• No. 23-CR-02377 (Southern District of California)
• ECS Assistant Chief Steve DaPonte
• AUSA Elizabet Brown

On January 16, 2025, Ruben Montes pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle and distribute more than $3 million worth of Mexican pesticides and veterinary drugs that are not approved for use in the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2025.

Beginning in November 2020, Montes coordinated the smuggling of pesticides and veterinary drugs from Mexico into the United States. Montes smuggled these chemicals and drugs into the country and distributed them within the United States. The primary pesticides involved were Taktic and Bovitraz, which are not registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in the United States. The smuggled veterinary drugs included Tylocet, Terramicina, Tetragent Ares, and Catarrol, which are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.

Montes and others stored the pesticides and veterinary drugs in storage units in Calexico to distribute them throughout the United States.

Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control conducted the investigation.

• No. 1:24-CR-00005 (Middle District of Georgia)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
• ECS Trial Attorney Leigh Rende
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On January 21, 2025, Donnametric Miller pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and transporting and possessing a dog for the purpose of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture. Miller also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm (7 U.S.C. §§ 2156(b), (a)(1); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922, 924). Miller is the fourteenth and final defendant to plead guilty in a dog fighting case involving participants from several states. Co-defendants Terelle Ganzy and Terrance Davis pleaded guilty to conspiracy and participating in an animal fighting venture.

On November 22, 2024, co-defendants Fredricus White, Brandon Baker, Rodrecus Kimble, Tamichael Elijah, Timothy Freeman, Gary Hopkins, and Marvin Pulley entered guilty pleas for their involvement in a large-scale dog fighting event that was disrupted while in progress on April 24, 2022, in Donalsonville, Georgia. White and Baker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possessing and transporting a dog for animal fighting purposes. Freeman pleaded guilty to being a spectator at the event, and Kimble, Elijah, Hopkins, and Pulley pleaded guilty to conspiracy. On December 16, 2024, Herman Buggs pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Prosecutors charged a total of 14 defendants who traveled from  southwest Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to participate in this event. Agents recovered 27 dogs, including 22 who were found in cars on the scene and had either already been fought, or whose handlers were awaiting their turn in the pit. Agents found one dog still in the fighting pit, who later succumbed to his injuries, as well as others living on the property who were owned by the event host.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

• No. 6:24-CR-00441 (District of Oregon)
• ECS Trial Attorney Rachel M. Roberts
• ECS Trial Attorney Stephen J. Foster
• AUSA William M. McLaren
• RCEC Karla G. Perrin
• ECS Paralegal Maria Wallace
• Former ECS Paralegal Samantha Goins

On January 22, 2025, J.H. Baxter & Co., Inc., and J.H. Baxter & Co., a California Limited Partnership (collectively “J.H. Baxter”) both pleaded guilty to charges of illegally treating hazardous waste and knowingly violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(2)(A); 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)). The companies’ president, Georgia Baxter-Krause, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C. § 6928 (d)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2025.

J.H. Baxter used hazardous chemicals to treat and preserve wood at its Eugene facility. The wastewater from the wood preserving processes was hazardous waste. The company operated a wastewater treatment unit to treat and evaporate the waste. Over the years, however, when the facility accumulated too much water on site, employees transferred this water to a wood treatment retort to “boil it off,” greatly reducing the volume. J.H. Baxter would then remove the waste that remained, label it as hazardous waste, and ship it offsite for disposal.

J.H. Baxter did not have  a RCRA permit to treat its waste in this manner. Additionally, the facility was subject to CAA emissions standards. Company employees were directed to open all vents on the retorts, allowing discharge to the surrounding air.

State inspectors requested information about J.H. Baxter’s practice of boiling off hazardous wastewater. On two separate occasions (September 28 and 30, 2020), Baxter-Krause made false statements in response to these requests regarding the dates the practice took place, and which retorts were used. The investigation determined that Baxter-Krause knew J.H. Baxter maintained detailed daily production logs for each retort.

From approximately January to October 2019, J.H. Baxter boiled off hazardous process wastewater in its wood treatment retorts on 136 known days. Baxter-Krause was also aware that during this time J.H. Baxter used four of its five retorts to boil off wastewater.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with assistance from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon State Police.

• No. 1:24-CR-00066 (Southern District of Ohio)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Tim Oakley
• ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On January 27, 2025, Giancarlo Morelli pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to create and distribute videos depicting the torture of monkeys (known as animal “crush” videos) (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Prosecutors charged Morelli, along with Nicholas Dryden and Philip Colt Moss, with various crimes related to these videos. The indictment states that Dryden commissioned videos from a 17-year-old in Indonesia who was willing to commit specified acts of torture on video in exchange for payment. Dryden utilized Telegram, a cross-platform messaging app that includes encrypted group messaging and private chats, to advertise the animal crush videos and solicit funding for additional videos. Within these private groups, Dryden shared snippets of videos that he commissioned and advertised that the full content was for sale.

Moss and Morelli each sent money to Dryden more than a dozen times in exchange for monkey torture videos. Thereafter, they frequently gave feedback on the videos and Morelli sometimes suggested torturous acts he’d like to see in future videos.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:24-CR-01972 (Southern District of California)
• AUSA Edward Chang

On January 2, 2025, a court sentenced Todd Campbell to complete a 12-month term of probation and pay $8,808 in restitution to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Campbell pleaded guilty to failure to declare merchandise for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433 (b)(2), 1436).

On September 3, 2024, Campbell drove his vehicle into the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Inside his vehicle, he was carrying seven 30-pound cylinders of R-22 refrigerant, which he intentionally failed to declare for inspection. As a result of Campbell’s actions, the EPA was forced to properly dispose of the refrigerant, incurring a cost of $8,808.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:21-CR-00217 (Eastern District of New York)
• ECS Trial Attorney Christopher Hale
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ken Nelson
• Former ECS Paralegal Samantha Goins
• ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On January 6, 2025, a court ordered Christopher Winkler to pay $725,000 in restitution to the New York State Marine Resources Account of the Conservation Fund. The court also ordered Bryan and Asa Gosman to pay a combined restitution amount of $247,297 to the same fund. All three defendants—Winkler, Asa Gosman, and Bryan Gosman—are jointly and severally liable for $247,297 in restitution. Winkler alone is responsible for paying $477,703 to the fund, bringing his total restitution amount to $725,000.

In November 2024, a court sentenced Bryan and Asa Gosman to two years of probation, noting their “extraordinary cooperation” as the basis for the probation sentence.

In October 2023, after a three-week trial, a jury found Christopher Winkler guilty on all charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1341, 1519). Winkler, a commercial fisherman and captain of the F/V New Age, participated in a scheme to illegally overharvest fluke and black sea bass, violating federal fishing regulations. He conspired to commit mail fraud, falsified fishing logs to obstruct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and worked to undermine NOAA’s efforts to regulate fisheries. Winkler was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $725,000.

Between 2014 and 2017, Winkler was involved in a scheme to illegally overharvest summer flounder (fluke) and black sea bass, exceeding both federal quotas and state trip limits. To conceal the overharvesting, he falsified Fishing Vessel Trip Reports (FVTRs) on at least 200 fishing trips. In total, Winkler and his co-conspirators illegally harvested approximately 200,000 pounds of fluke and black sea bass, with an estimated wholesale value of $750,000.

Bryan and Asa Gosman, and the company they partially own, Bob Gosman Co., Inc., had previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the fraud. The company was sentenced in December 2021 for its role in the illegal overharvesting operation. Under federal law, fishing captains are required to accurately report their catch on FVTRs submitted to NOAA, which relies on these reports to regulate fisheries and enforce sustainable fishing practices. Similarly, the first company to purchase fish from a fishing vessel must file a dealer report with NOAA.

NOAA Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation. 

• No. 3:24-CR-00993 (Southern District of California)
• ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
• Former AUSA Melanie Pierson

On January 7, 2025, a court sentenced Edwin Flores to complete a one-year term of probation and to pay $2,900 in restitution to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Flores pleaded guilty to conspiracy and failing to present merchandise for inspection by a customs officer (18 U.S.C. § 371).

On April 18, 2024, Flores drove a vehicle across the U.S.-Mexico border with three 30-pound cylinders of HCFC-22 that he failed to present for inspection.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

• No. 4:23-CR-00013 (District of Alaska)
• AUSA Steve Skrocki
• AUSA Carly Sue Vosacek

On January 13, 2025, a court sentenced Jun “Harry” Liang to time served (110 days), followed by two years’ supervised release. Liang also will pay a $10,060 fine and $9,100 in restitution to the Bureau of Land Management.

Prosecutors charged Liang and Brian Phelan for participating in an illegal big-game guide-outfitter operation. Between August 2021 and August 2022, Liang and Phelan conspired to provide guide-outfitter services for caribou and brown bear hunts in Fairbanks, Alaska, without the required state licenses to do so.

Liang posted advertisements on the ‘Little Red Book’ social media site offering guiding and outfitting services for big-game hunts out of Fairbanks, Alaska. Interested hunters sent deposits to Liang, who promised to locate and scout trophy animals that could be transported out of state. However, neither Liang nor Phelan possessed a State of Alaska big game guide-outfitter license. Liang fraudulently collected about $11,000 in 2021 and $60,000 in 2022, on behalf of himself and Phelan, for these guided hunts.

Liang pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act false labeling violation (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(b)), for failing to obtain a special recreation permit and operating in Denali National Park without the necessary permit. Phelan was sentenced in December 2024 to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a 30-month term of probation after pleading guilty to violating the Lacey Act and Bureau of Land Management regulations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Alaska State Troopers Wildlife Investigations Unit.

• No. 4:24-CR-40091 (District of South Dakota)
• AUSA Meghan Dilges

On January 13, 2025, a court sentenced Joe Hofer to pay a $1,200 fine and complete a one-year term of probation for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 668(a), 668(c)).

Hofer is the farm boss for the Cambridge Hutterian Brethren (CHB) in Lake County, South Dakota. In November 2023, Hofer used CHB farm equipment to take down trees on property owned by CHB. One of the trees Hofer took down contained an active eagle nest, which was destroyed. Hofer did not have a permit to take down the eagle’s nest.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:21-CR-05184 (Western District of Washington)
• AUSA Seth Wilkinson
• AUSA Cindy Chang
• RCEC Karla G. Perrin

On January 13, 2025, a court sentenced Racing Performance Maintenance Northwest (RPM) and a related sales company called RPM Motors and Sales NW (RPM Motors) to each pay $10,000 fines and to complete three-year terms of probation. In March 2024, RPM pleaded guilty to tampering with a monitoring device in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA)(42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)) and RPM Motors pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the CAA (18 U.S.C. § 371).

In November 2024, the court had sentenced the companies’ owners, Tracy Coiteux and Sean Coiteux, to each pay $10,000 fines, complete four-year terms of probation (to include four months’ home confinement) and perform 60 hours of community service. Sean Coiteux had pleaded guilty in March 2024 to tampering with a monitoring device in violation of the CAA (42 U.S.C. 7413(c)(2)(C)). In May 2024, Tracy Coiteux was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial on conspiracy to violate the CAA (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Between January 2018 and January 2021, the defendants directed employees to delete pollution control hardware on diesel trucks they sold or serviced. They also tampered with the trucks’ monitoring devices to avoid detection of the missing control equipment. The Coiteux’s companies charged between $1,000 and $2,000 for each modification. Over a three-year period, the defendants serviced close to 375 diesel trucks, collecting more than $500,000 for these illegal modifications.

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

• No. 2:24-CR-00057 (Eastern District of Washington)
• AUSA Dan Fruchter
• AUSA Jacob Brooks

On January 22, 2025, a court sentenced Ryan Hugh Milliken and his company, Hardaway Solutions, LLC (Hardaway), after both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). They both will complete five-year terms of probation, during which the company will be responsible for implementing an environmental compliance plan. Both defendants are jointly and severally responsible for paying a $75,000 fine.

Between August 2017 and November 2023, Milliken and Hardway created and sold illegal “delete tune” packages designed to disable and defeat required emissions controls and monitoring systems. Milliken and Hardway created and sold these delete tune files for various customers and vehicles, including Spokane-based trucking companies —PT Express, LLC, Spokane Truck Service, LLC, and Pauls Trans, LLC—operated by co-defendant Pavel Ivanovich Turlak. Milliken created and sold custom software delete tunes to Turlak for vehicles based on specifications Turlak outlined. Turlak then charged as much as $3,500 to diesel truck owners to “delete” and “tune” their vehicles by tampering with their pollution monitoring devices. Turlak also fraudulently received more than $300,000 in federal funding designated for eligible small businesses during the pandemic.

Turlak and his companies pleaded guilty in December 2024 to conspiring to illegally violate CAA emissions controls and to fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funding (42 U.S.C. § 7413 (c)(2)(C); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343, 287). Both  defendants are scheduled for sentencing on April 2, 2025.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with assistance from the EPA National Enforcement Investigations Center, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Spokane Police Department.

• No. 23-CR-00354 (District of Maryland)
• AUSA Alexander Levin
• AUSA Darryl Tarver

On January 23, 2025, a court sentenced Mario Flythe to six months incarceration followed by three years of supervised release, to include six months’ home detention. Flythe also will pay a $10,000 fine.

Flythe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in animal fighting, specifically the fighting of dogs, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1952). Between November 2018 and September 2023, Flythe and co-defendant Frederick Douglass Moorfield, Jr., operated a kennel called “Razor Sharp Kennels,” using Flythe’s residence to keep, train, and breed fighting dogs.

Flythe’s cellphone revealed numerous message exchanges regarding dogfighting—primarily over the instant messaging applications WhatsApp and Telegram—with members of a group known as the “DMV Board.” In addition to arranging dog fights and wagers, Flythe and the DMV Board discussed the breeding and training of fighting dogs, procuring supplies for the maintenance and feeding of fighting dogs, and criminal prosecutions of dogfighters. In some exchanges, Flythe and others discussed indictments of other members of the DMV Board and speculated about the identity of a potential “snitch.”

Flythe’s instant messages also contained several exchanges in which he arranged dogfights. In those conversations, Flythe identified the weight and sex of the dog he wanted to sponsor in a fight. Other dogfighters then proposed a fight against their own dog or matched Flythe with another of their contacts who had a dog in the same weight class. The dogfighters would then agree on wagers and set a date for the fight, usually six to eight weeks after the match was made.

On several occasions between 2019 and 2023, Flythe received monetary payments through CashApp related to his participation in dogfighting conduct. Flythe also sent money to dogfighting contacts in connection with the dogfighting enterprise.

After executing a search of Flythe’s residence in September 2023, investigators recovered seven pit bull-type dogs from the premises. Four dogs were found chained to posts or poles in fenced-in cages in the property’s back yard, and three dogs were found in large metal cages in the basement.

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

• Nos. 2:24-CR-00655, 2:24-CR-00368 (Southern District of Texas)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth Nelson
• AUSA Liesel Roscher
• AUSA John Marck
• ECS Paralegal Maria Wallace

On January 29, 2025, Eurobulk Ltd. pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging the company with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a); 18 U.S.C. § 1519). The court sentenced the company to pay a total criminal penalty of $1,500,000 and complete a four-year term of probation.

Eurobulk operated the M/V Good Heart, which transported bulk cargo worldwide. On April 29, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a Port State Control examination of the vessel and received information from a whistleblower about illegal discharges of oil from the vessel. On at least two occasions in April 2023, the vessel’s crew discharged oily waste directly overboard from a space known as the “duct keel.” These discharges were not recorded in the oil record book (ORB). The crew also flushed the oil content meter with fresh water to ensure the oil water separator would allow the illegal overboard discharges. The crew failed to record these actions in the ORB, which obstructed the investigation. Christos Charitos, the vessel’s chief engineer, was sentenced in September 2024 to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation after pleading guilty to violating APPS.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:24-CR-00653 (District of South Carolina)
• AUSA Winston Holliday
• AUSA Amy Bower

On March 20, 2025, a jury convicted Don M. Rynn of making false statements to federal agents and falsifying fishing records (18 U.S.C. §§ 1001, 1519).

Rynn managed several commercial fishing vessels in the McClellanville area, including the Maximum Retriever and the Crystal C. The vessels docked at Carolina Seafood, a federally licensed dealer.

On March 21, 2023, the Maximum Retriever embarked on a commercial fishing trip captained by the defendant’s son, who Rynn instructed to catch as many fish as he could (ignoring federally imposed quotas). Rynn told his son he would “take care of things” when he returned.

The Maximum Retriever returned to McClellanville shortly after midnight on March 27, 2023, with almost three times the legal limit of snowy grouper on board, and one and a half times the allowable number of grey tilefish. Rynn was waiting for the boat to arrive. Once the Maximum Retriever was in place, the Crystal C was maneuvered so that the two boats were side-by-side.

Rynn then directed deckhands to move fish from the ice hold of the Maximum Retriever to the Crystal C. They removed additional fish from the Maximum Retriever to Rynn’s truck to take to another seafood dealer in Georgetown.

In the mandatory trip report filed shortly thereafter, Rynn reported his catch only up to the limit, hiding the fact that the Maximum Retriever had vastly overfished. He attributed a substantial portion of the catch to the Crystal C, which had remained moored at the dock.

On March 27, 2023, law enforcement officers received an anonymous tip alerting them to the excessive catch. The Georgetown seafood dealer that had received some of the overage initially lied to cover for Rynn. When he realized the agents were closing in, the dealer threw the fish in the river to get rid of them.

In October 2023, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) agents interviewed Rynn about the incidents in March. Rynn lied, saying the snowy grouper and tilefish had been contaminated by a fuel spill while at sea, and that he had disposed of them in a dumpster. Rynn further implied that a U.S. Coast Guard report addressing an unlawful discharge into Jeremy Creek was inaccurate and should have been attributed to the Crystal C, which would have bolstered his fuel spill story. 

In total, the Maximum Retriever caught approximately 560 pounds of snowy grouper and 450 pounds of tilefish. The legal limit for grouper is 200 pounds and 300 for tilefish.

NOAA, the U. S. Coast Guard, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Saltwater Team conducted the investigation.

Photo from dock surveillance camera showing Rynn on back of boat directing two individuals to carry a tote of federally protected fish to his truck.

• No. 2:25-mj-13053 (District of New Jersey)
• AUSA Jessica Ecker
• ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan

On March 14, 2025, a court unsealed a complaint charging the chief executive officer of a Georgia-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) company with illegally importing 500 cylinders of potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Peru.

William Randolph Hires is charged with violating the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) by unlawfully importing 500 cylinders of HFCs (42 U.S.C. §§ 7675, 7413).

In April 2022, on behalf of his company, Hires purchased 500 cylinders of HFCs in Peru. Over the next several months, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials explained to Hires’s employees that, under the AIM Act and its implementing regulations, Hires’s company could not lawfully import the HFCs into the United States because it did not have the required EPA-issued allowances. In a July 22, 2022, email to one of Hires’s employees, an EPA official stated “it is not possible to import bulk HFCs without consumption allowances.”

Hires’s employees conveyed this information from the EPA to Hires on several occasions. On one occasion, an employee forwarded an email to Hires that the employee had received from an EPA official which stated, “[t]he HFC you listed (R-410A) is a regulated substance. So, if you do not have allowances, you cannot import those bulk HFC refrigerants.” In another email exchange between Hires and an employee, the employee informed Hires that, based on a video conference the employee had with EPA officials, shipping without the necessary allowances would violate import laws so “[i]t is out of our hands.”

Hires nevertheless instructed his employees to illegally import the HFCs into the United States. In a July 28, 2022 email, Hires stated to his employees: “[y]eah you have to be careful what agencies you’re reaching out to because the EPA . . . can create a hassle and they can hold our stuff up in customs there[.]” In a subsequent email, Hires instructed his employees to “get [the HFCs] on the ship and get it out to sea . . . don’t care what it takes[.]” Hires later instructed his employees via email: “Do not call the EPA please do not.”

The EPA Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

• No. 6:25-CR-00012 (Eastern District of Oklahoma)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
• ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
• AUSA Jordan Howantiz
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On March 20, 2025, Leshon E. Johnson was arraigned on an indictment charging him with violating the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. § 2156(b) & 18 U.S.C. § 49). Specifically, Johnson possessed 190 pit bull-type dogs for the purpose of having the dogs participate in an animal fighting venture, and for selling, transporting, and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture. Federal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024 as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case.

Johnson ran a dog fighting operation known as “Mal Kant Kennels” in both Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma. He previously ran “Krazyside Kennels,” also out of Oklahoma, which led to his guilty plea on state animal fighting charges in 2004. Johnson selectively bred “champion” and “grand champion” fighting dogs — dogs that have respectively won three or five fights — to produce offspring with fighting traits and abilities desired by him and others for use in dog fights. Johnson marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to other dog fighters looking to incorporate the Mal Kant Kennels “bloodline” into their own dog fighting operations. His trafficking of fighting dogs to other dog fighters across the country contributed to the growth of the dog fighting industry and allowed Johnson to profit financially. Trial is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

• No. 4:23-CR-00692 (Eastern District of Missouri)
• AUSA Jillian Anderson

On March 7, 2025, Terrell Williams pleaded guilty to an Animal Fighting Venture violation for hosting dog fights in his home and training dogs to fight (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)-(c); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 6, 2025.

Between September 2020 through May 2022, Williams hosted fights in a wooden “box” setup in the basement of his home in Riverview, Missouri. He also owned and bred bull terriers and terrier mixes that were used for fights. On June 22, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Williams’s home and seized eight bull terrier mixes and three Yorkshire terriers. The dogs bore scars consistent with fighting. Agents also removed equipment used to train and condition dogs, including weighted vests and a canine treadmill.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

Dog rescued from defendant’s home during execution of search warrant. Photo included with detention motion filed with the court.

• No. 1:24-CR-00066 (Southern District of Ohio)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Tim Oakley
• ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On March 11, 2025, Nicholas Dryden pleaded guilty to creating and distributing videos depicting the torture of monkeys (known as animal “crush” videos) (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(3)). Co-defendant Giancarlo Morelli entered a similar plea in December 2024.

Dryden commissioned videos from a 17-year-old in Indonesia who was willing to commit specified acts of torture on video in exchange for payment. Dryden utilized Telegram, a cross-platform messaging app that includes encrypted group messaging and private chats, to advertise the animal crush videos and solicit funding for additional videos. Within these private groups, Dryden shared snippets of videos that he commissioned and advertised that the full content was for sale. Co-defendants Morelli and Philip Colt Moss each sent money to Dryden more than a dozen times in exchange for monkey torture videos.

Thereafter, they frequently gave feedback on the videos and Morelli sometimes suggested torturous acts he’d like to see in future videos.

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

• No. 3:24-CR-01037 (Southern District of California)
• ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
• AUSA Laura Sambataro

On March 18, 2025, Jose Manuel Valenzuela pleaded guilty to intentionally failing to present refrigerant tanks for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433, 1436). Sentencing is scheduled for June 10, 2025.

On April 22, 2024, Valenzuela (an HVAC technician) attempted to enter the United States from Mexico without declaring four 24-pound tanks of 404A refrigerant (a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant) in his vehicle.

Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:25-mj-00011 (Eastern District of Virginia)
• AUSA Carla Jordan-Detamore

On March 25, 2025, Robert C. Schmid pleaded guilty to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(1)(A), 1361(b)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for July 22, 2025.

Schmid owned the Atlantic Manufacturing Group, LLC (AMG), which manufactured and sold cleaning and janitorial products. AMG marketed and sold its products via various means, including a website, as well as through outside sales representatives. In September 2017, AMG entered into an agreement with “Company 1” to purchase a product called “Maquat 64-PD” for which Company 1 had obtained a registration from the EPA. AMG entered into this Agreement because it wanted to distribute and sell its liquid ProAmenities Lemon Detergent Disinfectant, made with Company 1’s Maquat 64-PD.

In October 2017, the EPA approved the label for AMG’s ProAmenities Lemon Detergent Disinfectant. The label made clear that the product was hazardous to humans and animals and was not for use on clothing or on skin.

Beginning in May 2020, and acting on behalf of AMG, Schmid began manufacturing and selling AMG “Hygienic Facility Wipes” that purportedly protected users from COVID-19. Schmid sold these wipes to janitorial services that supported government entities, gyms and health clubs, universities, and janitorial product retailers. AMG manufactured these wipes by applying the ProAmenities Lemon Detergent Disinfectant to dry wipes and packaging the wipes in plastic buckets or plastic packages. These wipes, however, were not registered with the EPA pursuant to FIFRA and did not have EPA approved labels or safety guidance. Investigators also determined that Schmid, his employees, and outside sales reps made unauthorized claims about the efficacy and safety of these wipes to potential customers.

After Company 1 issued Schmid a cease-and-desist email in August of 2020 about the unauthorized use of its product, Schmid switched to “Company 2” to use its liquid, which was not registered with the EPA, in its wipes. Schmid, however, continued to claim that his wipes were an EPA-registered product. AMG also generated product labels claiming the wipes eradicated corona viruses, in addition to other falsified information (to include the ingredient list).

Between March and November 2020, AMG sold approximately 5,000 cases of the wipes, taking in close to $415,000 in sales and making approximately $33,000 in gross profit.

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

• No. 1:24-CR-10056 (District of Massachusetts)
• AUSA Benjamin Tolkoff

On March 26, 2025, Robert J. Bullock, Sr., pleaded guilty to violating the Safe Drinking Water Act for tampering with public water systems (42 U.S.C. § 300i-1(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.

On the evening of November 29, 2022, Bullock, a former Stoughton Water Department employee, went into one of the Water Department’s pumping stations and turned off the pump that introduces chlorine into drinking water. As a result, water that had not been properly disinfected was introduced into the drinking water system.

When questioned by investigators, Bullock claimed to not have tampered with the water system. Specifically, Bullock said that he had not knowingly turned off the chlorine pump at Goddard Pumping Station 7 on the night of November 29, 2022, when in fact he had; and that he did not set the alarms for the chlorine level to zero that night, when he did.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, and the Stoughton Massachusetts Police Department conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:25-CR-00002 (District of Connecticut)
• AUSA Hal Chen
• RCEC Man Chak Ng

On March 4, 2025, a court sentenced the National Water Main Cleaning Company (NWMCC) to pay a $500,000 fine, complete a three-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance program. The company will also employ an independent outside consultant to perform a compliance audit and identify an environmental compliance manager for its Connecticut facilities. NWMCC will also make a payment of $500,000 to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) to fund aquatic ecosystem enhancement projects in the South-Central Coastal Watershed.

The company pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) for knowingly discharging a pollutant into Cuff Brook while refurbishing a large culvert pipe in Cheshire, Connecticut, in July 2019 (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319 (c)(2)(A); 1311(a)). The unauthorized discharge of uncured geopolymer mortar killed more than 150 fish and contaminated Cuff Brook.

At the time of the incident, NWMCC was operating under a Code of Conduct as part of a 2014 settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office to resolve civil allegations involving environmental pollution.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

• No. 3:24-CR-00077 (Southern District of Ohio)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman

On March 4, 2024, a court sentenced Fidelity Development Group LLC (Fidelity) to pay a $100,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Fidelity pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for failing to inspect for the presence of asbestos (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(1)).

In 2015 or 2016, Fidelity purchased a building and planned to renovate it into a mixed-use property. Fidelity failed to perform or acquire an asbestos survey for the building prior to renovations. Around April 2020, a certified asbestos company conducted an asbestos survey in the Fidelity Building and identified more than 12,000 linear feet of 80% chrysolite asbestos pipe wrap insulation in friable condition.

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

• Nos. 1:24-CR-00235, 00250 (Middle District of Pennsylvania)
• AUSA William Behe

On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced Frock Brothers Trucking, Inc., to pay an $80,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Mechanic Leon Martin will complete a two-year term of probation, to include three months’ home detention, and pay a $500,000 fine.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) for tampering with the emission control systems for several heavy-duty diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Between 2018 and October 2023, Martin provided “tuning” or “reprogramming” services by modifying the engine control modules (ECMs) on diesel trucks. The ECM is a computerized system that manages and controls the engine’s performance. During that time, Martin tampered with the emissions diagnostic systems on the vehicles for many companies to prevent the diagnostic system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware.

Frock, a long-distance trucking company based in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, transports a variety of goods, including snack foods, refrigerated items, and produce. Ed Frock owned the company until his death in August 2022.

Between November 13, 2018, and December 28, 2018, Frock contracted with co-defendant Martin to disable and/or remove emission control components from eight of their diesel trucks. Frock removed the vehicles’ ECMs from their engines and shipped them to Martin for reprogramming. Once the devices were “tuned,” Martin shipped them back to Frock, where they were reinstalled on the trucks. Martin also tampered with the onboard diagnostic equipment (OBD) to delete factory-installed emission controls from Frock’s heavy duty diesel trucks. Martin’s tunes enabled those deleted trucks to operate without emission control devices, which are required by federal law.

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

• No. 3:24-CR-00098 (Eastern District of Virginia)
• AUSA Heather Hart Mansfield
• RCEC David Lastra

On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced Benjamin Gathercole to complete a one-year term of probation, after he pleaded guilty to violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for illegally transporting hazardous waste without a manifest (42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(5)).

Gathercole lived in Tappahannock, Virginia, and worked at a local brake manufacturing facility. In 2019, a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) inspector determined that the brake manufacturing facility failed to make an accurate waste determination for 32 55-gallon drums stored on site. Some of the drums displayed labels noting they contained hazardous waste, but not in accordance with RCRA requirements. The DEQ issued a notice of violation to the facility in May 2019.

In September and October 2019, Gathercole removed 31 of the 55-gallon drums from the facility and transported them to his residence. He dug a hole near his property and buried the drums in the ground. He crushed some of them in the process, causing their contents to spill onto the ground.

In December 2020, a citizen tipped off the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the illegal burial. In November 2021, agents executed a search warrant on the defendant’s property. Gathercole admitted to burying the drums at the request of his employer and directed authorities to where he had buried them. Further testing confirmed the waste was ignitable hazardous waste. The EPA finished excavating the site in November 2022.

The EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the EPA National Enforcement Investigation Center conducted the investigation.

• No. 24-CR-00040 (Eastern District of Arkansas)
• AUSA Edward Walker

On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced Keidrick Usifo to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. Co-defendant Deon Johnson will pay a $1,000 fine and complete an 18-month term of probation. Usifo and Johnson previously pleaded guilty to violating the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA)(16 U.S.C. §§ 3372 (e)(1)(A), 3373 (d)).

Lawmakers enacted the BCPSA in December 2022 to protect the public by prohibiting the private ownership of big cats (such as tigers and lions) as pets and by prohibiting exhibitors from allowing public contact with big cats, including tiger cubs. This law places new restrictions on the commerce, breeding, possession, and use of certain big cat species.

In April 2023, a citizen tipped off local game authorities after seeing a tiger cub in a residential neighborhood in Conway, Arkansas. Further investigation confirmed that Usifo purchased a tiger in March 2023 from a broker in Dallas, Texas, and brought it back to his residence in Arkansas.

After receiving a second complaint about the tiger cub, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on April 21, 2023, arresting Usifo on a felony state warrant. The Conway Police Department then executed a search warrant at Usifo’s residence. The animal was not there, but they found evidence of its presence, including the fact that rooms in the house matched those in photos of the tiger that Usifo posted on Instagram.

While in the Pulaski County Detention Facility (PCDF), Usifo made several calls to Johnson, asking him to take care of the tiger while Usifo was held in detention. Johnson concealed his knowledge of the tiger when questioned by agents.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Conway Police Department, and the Little Rock Police Department. 

Tiger cub, now named Fred, rescued by the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Photo taken by case agent June 2024.

• No. 3:24-CR-00174 (District of Puerto Rico)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
• AUSA Seth Erbe

On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced the final two Dominican nationals who attempted to smuggle tropical birds from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the Dominican Republic. Frankluis Carela De Jesús will serve 12 months and one day of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Domingo Heureau Altagracia will complete eight months of incarceration and three years of supervised release. Waner Balbuena and Juan Graviel Ramírez Cedano were each previously sentenced to serve 12 months and one day of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. All the defendants pleaded guilty to Lacey Act trafficking and to smuggling wildlife from the United States (18 U.S.C. § 554; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), (a)(4), 3373(d)(1)(B)).

On May 3, 2024, the four Dominican nationals traveled in a flagless vessel departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the Dominican Republic. They intended to smuggle various species of tropical birds to the Dominican Republic for financial gain. When the vessel was approximately 30 nautical miles north of Puerto Rico, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) approached the vessel and witnessed the crew tossing objects overboard. Following the boarding of the vessel, USCG authorities recovered several of the jettisoned objects, which were wooden cages containing tropical birds. Approximately 113 birds drowned as a result.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:23-CR-00036 (District of Alaska)
• AUSA Seth Brickey

On March 10, 2025, a court sentenced Travis Larson to pay a $40,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation.  Larson will also pay $2,400 in restitution, to be divided between the State of Alaska and the Port Graham Authority. Larson will forfeit $150,000 and is prohibited from hunting anywhere in the world or providing any big game commercial services while under supervision. Larsen pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting four black bears and making false records (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B); (d)(3)(A)).

Larson worked as a licensed big game transporter since 2010, and provided transport services through his company, Alaska Premier Sportfishing LLC (APS). Larson and APS offered paying clients transportation for multi-day hunting and fishing trips aboard a 65-foot liveaboard vessel, Venturess.

In May 2018, Larson transported eight hunters on a black bear hunt in the Nuka Bay area of the Kenai Peninsula. Each hunter paid $3,500 to participate in the hunt. The group included four Norwegian nationals. Larson knew all four people were not U.S. residents, nor were they accompanied by a licensed hunting guide or assistant guide, as required under state law.

On May 9, 2018, one foreign hunter was transported to a beach adjacent to Surprise Bay to hunt a black bear. The hunter shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the State of Alaska. On May 10, 2018, Larson transported three foreign hunters to a beach adjacent to Beauty Bay to hunt black bears. Two of the hunters each shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the Port Graham Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation, and the other hunter shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the State of Alaska. On both days, Larson transported the hunters and the illegally harvested black bears back to his vessel via the smaller motorboat.

On May 11, 2018, Larson transported the four foreign hunters and the four illegally harvested black bears to Homer, Alaska, where he knew the black bears would be transported in interstate and foreign commerce following the hunt. The government dismissed the charges against Larson’s business.

The National Park Service Investigative Services Branch and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

• No. 1:24-CR-00006 (District of Alaska)
• AUSA Ainsley McNerney
• SAUSA Andrea Hattan

On March 10, 2025, a court sentenced Dugan Paul Daniels to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, for falsifying fishing records in violation of the Lacey Act and illegally taking a sperm whale in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(A), 1583(a)(1)(C), 1540(b)(1)). Daniels will also pay a $25,000 fine and perform 80 hours of community service, and is banned from commercial fishing for one year.

Daniels is a commercial fisherman with 20 years of experience. Between October and November 2020, he submitted falsified fishing records to make it appear that he lawfully caught sablefish, aka “black cod,” in federal waters on two separate occasions. In fact, Daniels illegally harvested the fish in State of Alaska waters, specifically, in Chatham Strait and Clarence Strait. The total market value of the illegally harvested fish was $127,528.

In March 2020, Daniels and three crew members were fishing for sablefish southwest of Yakobi Island in the Gulf of Alaska when they came upon a sperm whale. During the encounter, Daniels directed a crewman to shoot the whale multiple times and also tried to ram the whale with his fishing vessel. Daniels documented the encounter in writing and through text messages sent from a GPS communication device. Some of the messages stated he wished he “had a cannon to blow” the whale out of the water and that he hoped “to be reeling in a dead sperm whale.” It is a violation of the ESA to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct involving an endangered species.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:23-CR-00177 (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
• AUSA Christopher Parisi

On March 11, 2025, a court sentenced Bien King and Khalil King to each complete three-year terms of probation, to include six months’ home confinement. Bien King was also sentenced to  pay a $1,000 fine. The defendants pleaded guilty to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act for selling a misbranded pesticide and for violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for selling misbranded animal drugs (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(1)(E); 21 U.S.C. § 331(a)).

Bien King started “Little City Dogs” (LCD) a New York corporation with office space in New York City. Bien King also created a website that sold various products intended to treat diseases or pests in animals. Bien King’s son, Khalil, worked in the New York office. Khalil King was responsible for mixing ingredients and packaging various products for shipment. The defendants obtained the ingredients for these products from various suppliers in China. They knew that these suppliers routinely mislabeled shipments of these products to avoid detection by customs officials.

When LCD received orders from online sales, Khalil King and others shipped the products from the New York office to customers throughout the United States. An undercover agent placed several orders for various products through the LCD website. These purchases included a January 17, 2020, order for fipronil drops and ivermectin. Fipronil is designed to treat external parasites such as fleas and ticks. Ivermectin is designed to control heartworms in dogs and cats.

The defendants shipped the fipronil drops and ivermectin from New York to an address in Springfield, Pennsylvania. The labeling and packaging material accompanying the fipronil drops did not include information required by law. The labeling and packaging material accompanying the ivermectin likewise did not include required information. Furthermore, LCD’s facility in New York City was not registered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.

• No. 1:24-CR-00071 (District of Rhode Island)
• AUSA John McAdams

On March 11, 2025, a court sentenced Jose V. Fernandez to complete a two-year term of probation. Fernandez pleaded guilty to making false statements for distributing false asbestos abatement training certifications (18 U.S.C. § 1001 (a)(3)).

Fernandez owned the Rhode Island Safety Environment Training Center. The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDH) accredited the facility to provide asbestos abatement training. On multiple occasions between 2021 and 2023, Fernandez submitted false documentation to the RIDH attesting that nearly two dozen individuals paid for, attended, and successfully completed an Environmental Protection Agency-approved abatement training program when, in fact, no one attended any classes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Rhode Island Department of Health conducted the investigation.

• No. 3:23-CR-00185 (District of Puerto Rico)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
• AUSA Seth Erbe

On March 11, 2025, a court sentenced Pedro Luis Bones-Torres to 12 months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Bones-Torres pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act for illegally constructing and depositing material into the wetlands and waters of the United States in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (the “Jobos Estuarine Reserve”) and Las Mareas community of Salinas, Puerto Rico (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 403).

Starting in January 2020, Bones-Torres engaged in construction and land clearing activities on a property to the South of Camino de Galileo in the Las Mareas area of Salinas, Puerto Rico (the “Property”). Much of the Property supported mangrove trees with an open area that was occasionally partially submerged by the sea tides. This wetland area was within the Jobos Estuarine Reserve.

Between January 2020 and October 2022, Bones-Torres removed mangroves from the Property, depositing fill material onto the wetland area using excavation and earth moving equipment. After he filled the wetlands, he built a concrete pad, a concrete gazebo with an outdoor kitchen, a wooden gazebo, and a dock extending into Mar Negro. Bones-Torres did not seek or receive approval to fill the wetlands and was at no point permitted to fill wetlands on or near the Property.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:24-CR-14046 (Southern District of Florida)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Daniel Funk

On March 13, 2025, a court sentenced Royce Gillham to 37 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Gillham, the former General Manager of a biofuel producer based in Fort Pierce, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to make false claims (18 U.S.C.§ 371).

This biofuel company produced and sold renewable fuel and fuel credits and claimed to turn various feedstocks into biodiesel. When reporting the number of gallons produced to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Gillham and his employer vastly overstated their production volume in an effort to generate more credits. When auditors sought more information from the company, Gillham and his co-conspirators gave them false information about their fuel production and customers.

The scheme generated more than $7 million in fraudulent EPA renewable fuels credits and sought over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits connected to the purported production of biodiesel.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.

• No. 2:24-CR-00161 (Central District of California)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors
• ECS Trial Attorney Lauren Steele
• AUSA Dennis Mitchell
• ECS Law Clerk Maria Wallace
• ECS Law Clerk Tonia Sibblies

On March 14, 2025, a court sentenced Sai Keung Tin, also known as Ricky Tin, to 30 months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Tin will also pay a $5,000 fine for his role in smuggling protected turtles from the United States to Hong Kong. Tin pleaded guilty to four counts of exporting merchandise contrary to law (18 U.S.C. § 554).

Between February 2018 and June 2023, Tin, a Chinese citizen, assisted turtle smugglers in the United States. During that time, Tin aided and abetted the trafficking of approximately 2,100 turtles to Hong Kong. The turtles were intended to be sold as part of the illegal Asian pet trade. Based on a conservative, contemporary market valuation of $2,000 per turtle, the smuggled reptiles were valued at $4.2 million.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) agents arrested Tin in February 2024 as he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

USFWS agents obtained a search warrant to seize Tin’s cell phones, and found evidence that Tin came to the United States to smuggle turtles. He planned to travel to New Jersey, Texas, and Washington — familiarizing himself with tourist locations to present a false story if apprehended. His ultimate plan was to pay for turtles in cash, ship them around the country, and eventually illegally export them to Hong Kong.

Tin was associated with international turtle smuggler Kang Juntao, of Hangzhou City, China, who was extradited from Malaysia in 2019 and later sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to money laundering. Kang caused the shipment of approximately 1,500 turtles (with a market value exceeding $2.25 million) from the United States to Hong Kong, which included shipments to Tin.

The eastern box turtle is a subspecies of the common box turtle and native to the United States. Turtles with colorful markings are highly prized pets, particularly in China and Hong Kong, and are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

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

• No. 2:25-CR-20016 (Eastern District of Michigan)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan
• AUSA Andrew Yahkind
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On March 19, 2025, Hino Motors, Ltd. (HML) was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation, during which it will be prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has manufactured into the United States, and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure. Additionally, the court entered a $1.087 billion forfeiture money judgment against the company.

Prosecutors charged HML in a single conspiracy count with five objects: to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency, to defraud the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, to violate the Clean Air Act, to commit wire fraud, and to smuggle goods into the United States, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.

Between 2010 and 2019, HML submitted and caused to be submitted false applications for engine certification approvals. Company engineers regularly altered emission test data, conducted tests improperly, and fabricated data without conducting any underlying tests. HML submitted fraudulent carbon dioxide emissions test data, which resulted in the calculation of false fuel consumption values for its engines. Company engineers also failed to disclose software functions that could adversely affect engines’ emission control systems. As a result of the fraud, HML imported and sold more than 105,000 non-conforming engines between 2010 and 2022.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

• Nos. 1:24-CR-00124, 1:21-CR-00016 (Northern District of New York)
• AUSA Benjamin Clark

On March 20, 2025, a court sentenced Kyle Offringa to pay a $100,000 fine for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA). His company, Highway and Heavy Parts, LLC (HHP), was sentenced on December 3, 2024, to pay a $25,000 fine. As part of the sentencing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will monitor the company for ongoing compliance for a two-year period.  HHP and Offringa pleaded guilty to conspiring to tamper with a required monitoring device in violation of the CAA (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Between June 2017 and March 2019, HHP and Offringa conspired with a diesel truck operator, and others, including co-conspirators Daim Logistics, Inc., and Patrick Oare, to remove, delete, and tamper with monitoring devices that were required under the CAA to be installed on heavy-duty diesel trucks. Truck operators delete the emissions control hardware on heavy-duty diesel trucks to allow them to run at higher horsepower, with greater fuel efficiency, and with reduced maintenance costs. HHP charged its customers a fee for Offringa to reprogram the vehicles’ on-board detection equipment so regulators would not discover the tampering. Customers paid HHP between $1,000 and $1,500 for each truck Offringa altered.

Oare and Daim Logistics were sentenced in November 2024 for tampering with a monitoring device or method in violation of the CAA (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). Oare was sentenced to time served and to pay a $15,000 fine; the company will pay a $13,000 fine. In addition, prior to sentencing, the EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation monitored Daim for approximately 18 months to ensure the company complied with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding the emission control devices installed on diesel vehicles owned or operated by the company.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police.