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Environmental Crimes Bulletin - February 2025

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In This Issue:

Cases by District/Circuit

Trials

United States v. Jason Lee Wagner

No. 3:22-CR-01754 (Western District of Texas)
ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Todd Gleason
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On February 7, 2025, a jury convicted Jason Lee Wagner of conspiracy and 12 smuggling violations (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545, 2). Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.

Between March 2015 and December 2019, Wagner and others bought and sold endangered reptiles from individuals in Mexico. Wagner and other co-conspirator suppliers and middlemen used social media to offer reptiles for sale and to negotiate the terms of the sale and delivery with customers in the United States and Mexico. His co-conspirators also used international money transfers to provide for "crossing fees," sales and purchases, and other expenses. They then packaged and re-packaged the reptiles for illegal crossings using USPS and other courier services to transport them between Mexico and the United States.

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

Indictments

United States v. Roy Ladell Weaver, et al.

No. 1:25-CR-00048 (Middle District of Pennsylvania)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA David Williams
RCEC Patricia Miller

On February 19, 2025, a grand jury indicted Roy Ladell Weaver and his company, Pro Diesel Werks, LLC, with conspiring to impede the lawful functions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), and substantive CAA violations (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Pro Diesel Werks provided vehicle repair and maintenance and performance enhancement services, including services on diesel engines and vehicle emission systems. The indictment alleges that between 2013 and March 2024, Weaver and the company, along with co-conspirators, disabled the hardware emissions control systems on the diesel vehicles of Pro Diesel Werks’ customers (a practice referred to as a “delete” or “deleting”), defeating the systems’ ability to reduce pollutant gases and particulate matter released to the atmosphere. The defendants are also alleged to have tampered with the monitoring device and method required under the CAA, that is they disabled the onboard diagnostic system on vehicles preventing the system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware deletes (a practice referred to as a “tune” or “tuning”).

The defendants charged customers between approximately $2,000 and $4,000 per vehicle to remove and disable the emission control systems on motor vehicles with diesel engines.

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

Guilty Pleas

United States v. Corey Potter, et al.

No. 3:24-CR-00047 (District of Alaska)
AUSA Seth Brickey

On February 7, 2025, Corey Potter pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting crab from Alaska (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2025. Kyle Potter, his son, was previously sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. A third defendant, Justin Welch, was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.

Corey Potter owns two crab catching vessels; Kyle Potter and Welch worked as vessel captains. In February and March 2024, the vessels harvested more than 7,000 pounds of Tanner and Golden king crab in Southeast Alaska. Corey Potter directed Welch and Kyle Potter to land the crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it at a higher price than they would have in Alaska. Neither captain landed the harvested crab at a port in Alaska, and they never recorded the harvest on a fish ticket, as required under state law.

A large portion of the king crab that arrived in Seattle from Alaska had died and was unmarketable. Corey Potter knew that some of the crab aboard was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease fatal to crustaceans. Officials were forced to destroy more than 4,000 additional pounds of Tanner crab due to the risk of BCS infection. If the defendants had properly landed the crab in Alaska, authorities could have inspected the harvest and removed the infected crab before leaving Alaska.

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

United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker

No. 5:25-CR-00002 (Eastern District of Kentucky)
AUSA Emily Greenfield

On February 7, 2025, Kendall Glenn Hacker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).

Between November 2021 and June 2022, Hacker sent money through online payment applications, such as PayPal and Venmo, to Michael Macartney, an online chat group administrator. The members and participants of these groups funded, created, obtained, received, exchanged and/or distributed animal crush videos.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Chamness Dirt Works, et al.

No. 3:24-CR-00430 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Bryan Chinwuba
RCEC Karla Perrin

On February 7, 2025, property management company Horseshoe Grove, LLC, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for asbestos work practice standards (42 U.S.C. §§ 7412(h),7413(c)(1)). Horseshoe Grove’s owner and operator Ryan Richter pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Construction and demolition company Chamness Dirt Works, Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the CAA NESHAP for asbestos, and company owner and president, Ronald Chamness, pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2025.

In November 2022, Horseshoe Grove acquired a property in The Dalles, Oregon, which included a mobile home park and two dilapidated apartment buildings. The previous owner provided the new buyers with an asbestos survey from December 2021, which identified more than 5,000 square feet of friable chrysotile asbestos within the two deteriorating buildings, with levels ranging from 2% to 25%. The survey also noted non-friable asbestos in various building materials, including siding and flooring, throughout the apartments. Despite these findings, Horseshoe Grove failed to implement the necessary precautions for asbestos removal.

In March 2023, Chamness Dirt Works began demolishing the two asbestos-laden structures without following proper removal procedures. Chamness did not engage a certified asbestos abatement contractor, did not wet the asbestos-containing debris, and dumped the material in a regular landfill.

Horseshoe Grove paid Chamness Dirt Works a total of $49,330 for the demolition, which did not meet the required safety standards.

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

United States v. Hollis G. Hale, et al.

Nos. 4:25-CR-00018, 4:24-CR-00006, 00084 (District of Montana)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
AUSA Jeff Starnes
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies

On February 10, 2025, Hollis G. Hale pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G), 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2025.

Hale conspired with Jack Schubarth to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting. Schubarth smuggled Marco Polo argali sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan into the United States. This protected species of sheep, native to high elevations in the Pamir region of Central Asia, is deemed the largest in the world.

In 2013, Schubarth provided genetic material to a third-party cloning facility, and, in 2016, received successfully cloned pure Marco Polo argali embryos. Schubarth raised a pure male argali clone that he named “Montana Mountain King.” In 2018, Schubarth began breeding Montana Mountain King with other species and selling the offspring throughout the U.S. To evade detection, Schubarth falsely labeled the offspring on Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and other official forms.

In June and July 2020, Hale facilitated the purchase and interstate transport of twelve hybrid Marco Polo argali sheep from Schubarth and falsely identified 43 species of sheep on a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. Hale falsified these documents knowing these sheep are prohibited in Montana. Schubarth was sentenced in September 2024 to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release.

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

United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield

No. 5:25-CR-00011 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
AUSA Joseph Ravelo

On February 12, 2025, Zachary Brandon Barfield pleaded guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1372(a)(2)(A), 1375(b); 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(G), 136l(b)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.

Barfield is a charter and commercial fishing captain operating out of Panama City, Florida. In the summer of 2022, Barfield became frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of charter fishing clients. Between June and August 2022, Barfield and others placed a commercial methomyl insecticide inside bait fish to feed to and poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.

While captaining another fishing trip in December 2022, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from fishing lines. This time, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill a dolphin that surfaced near his vessel. In the summer of 2023, while on a charter fishing trip, Barfield used the same shotgun to shoot a dolphin that surfaced near the lines of clients.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

United States v. James H. Spencer

No. 23-CR-00015 (Western District of Virginia)
AUSA Michael Baudinet

On February 21, 2025, James Howard Spencer, the Mayor of Glen Lyn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(2)(A)). Spencer admitted to directing employees of the Town of Glen Lyn to illegally discharge raw sewage and other pollutants into the East River, a tributary of the New River, on three occasions- in the summer of 2019, December 2020, and June 2021.

The discharges occurred at a pump station located behind the Glen Lyn Post Office, which was not an authorized discharge point of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Glen Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The East River, a perennial stream and a tributary of the New River, is a protected waterway under the CWA.

Spencer knowingly violated multiple conditions of the NPDES permit, including discharges from unauthorized locations and failing to report the discharges to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.

United States v. Liza Hash

No. 1:25-CR-20007 (Southern District of Florida)
AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald

On February 25, 2025, Liza Hash pleaded guilty to discharging oil into United States and contiguous zone waters, violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2), 1321(b)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.

Hash was the owner and operator of the S/V Juliet, a sailing vessel used for multi-day scuba diving trips between Miami and the Bahamas. Over the course of approximately six years, Hash’s vessel carried up to 12 passengers per trip, along with the crew, between the U.S. and the Bahamas.

On June 16, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded the Juliet following its return from the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.

During the inspection, they noted oily water in the bilge, and a pump connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, to facilitate illegal overboard discharges. Hash had used the vessel’s grey water tank (which is intended to hold liquid waste from the boat’s washer, dryer, sinks, and showers) to store oil-contaminated bilge water and discharge overboard.

Investigators estimate that Hash discharged approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water during the five-year period.

The United States Coast Guard conducted the investigation.

United States v. Old Dutch Mustard Company, Inc., d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company, et al.

No. 1:25-CR-00002 (District of New Hampshire)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA Matthew Hunter
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies

On February 24, 2025, The Old Dutch Mustard Company, d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company (Old Dutch), and company owner and president Charles Santich, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319(c)(2)(A)).

Old Dutch manufactured vinegar and mustard products, generating acidic wastewater during the process. Much of this wastewater consisted of spilled or leaked vinegar, or discarded vinegar that did not meet specifications. Old Dutch did not have a permit to discharge process wastewater. Instead, it stored the process wastewater in tanks and a trucking company hauled one or two truckloads of the wastewater off-site daily to the Rochester Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Old Dutch paid the trucking company for transporting each load. A second wastewater stream consisted of stormwater that became acidic after flowing through areas of the facility (especially the tank farm) where vinegar spilled. Old Dutch also paid the trucking company to haul the acidic stormwater to the POTW.

Santich decided to reduce costs by ordering workers to discharge some of the wastewater to a manmade ditch formed by an abandoned railroad bed at the top of a hill behind the facility, from which the wastewater would flow into the Souhegan River. In May 2017, Santich hired an excavation company to extend an underground pipe to the top of the hill behind the facility. He then directed an employee to repeatedly pump wastewater through the underground pipe to the abandoned railroad bed. Once the process wastewater or contaminated stormwater discharged at the top of the hill, it flowed to the river. Old Dutch did not have an NPDES or any other permit to discharge pollutants into the river.

In March 2021, Santich directed the same excavation company to install a sump at the corner of the tank farm area to collect the acidic stormwater and pump it directly up the hill through the buried pipe. Similarly, during the Fall of 2022, Santich hired the excavation company to clean out the undergrowth in the manmade ditch at the top of the hill and line it with riprap to create a better drainage ditch and facilitate the flow of wastewater to the river.

On August 2, 2023, EPA agents executed a search warrant at the Old Dutch facility and witnessed this illegal activity. Agents observed liquid that smelled like vinegar discharging from the end of the underground pipe into the riprap-lined ditch. The wastewater discharge had a pH of 3.6. The agents then conducted a dye test starting at the sump outside the corner of the tank farm area. The dye discharged from the underground pipe at the top of the hill and flowed along the riprap-lined drainage ditch and down to the river.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

United States v. Fabcon Precast LLC

No. 2:25-CR-00020 (Southern District of Ohio)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman

On February 26, 2025, Fabcon Precast LLC (Fabcon) pleaded guilty to willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation (29 U.S.C. § 666(e)). The criminal charge is related to an incident where an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head.

Fabcon operates several facilities in the United States, including one in Grove City, Ohio, that manufactures precast concrete panels. At Fabcon, employees known as batch operators were responsible for the operation and cleaning of the facility’s only concrete mixer. Concrete was discharged from the bottom of the mixer through a pneumatic door. By design, the mixer had an exhaust valve that released the pneumatic energy powering the discharge door, rendering it inoperable. Some months prior to June 6, 2020, the handle that operated the valve broke off and was not replaced.

On June 6, 2020, Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator since January 2020, was on duty when the discharge door failed to close after releasing a batch of concrete. Because the valve was broken, Ledbetter could not perform the proper procedure to make the door safe to work around. When he attempted to free the door it closed on his head, trapping him. Eventually, Ledbetter was freed and transported to a hospital where he died five days later.

The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

United States v. Vyacheslav I. Piglitsin

No. 3:24-CR-00618 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte

On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Vyacheslav I. Piglitsin to time served and to pay $4,355 in restitution. On March 2, 2024, Piglitsin drove over the border from Mexico with Mexican pesticides that he failed to present for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433 and 1436). Inspectors found seventy-two 1-liter bottles of “Bovitraz” in his vehicle.

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

Sentencings

United States v. Michael Hart

No. 3:24-CR-00383 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
Former AUSA Melanie Pierson
AUSA Mark Pletcher

On February 3, 2025, a court sentenced Michael Hart to time served followed by one year of supervised release. Hart also will pay $1,500 in restitution. Hart pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally import hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Mexico and sell them in violation of law (18 U.S.C. § 371). In addition, Hart admitted to conspiring to illegally import hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), namely HCFC 22, which is banned under the Clean Air Act.

Between June and December 2022, Hart purchased refrigerants in Mexico and smuggled them into the United States in his vehicle, concealed under a tarp and tools. Hart posted the refrigerants for sale on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and other sites, and sold them for a profit.

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

United States v. Thalia Zambrano

No. 3:24-CR-01552 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte

On February 6, 2025, a court sentenced Thalia Zambrano to time served, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371).

On June 28, 2024, authorities apprehended Zambrano when she drove into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 18 bottles of undeclared "Taktic" (Amitraz) concealed beneath a blanket on the back seat her car. Regulators in the United States canceled this pesticide due to the high concentration of amitraz.

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

United States v. Andrew Laughlin

No. 2:24-CR-00104 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Kathryn Lydon

On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Andrew Laughlin to pay a $5,000 fine, complete a two-year term of probation, and pay $4,209 in restitution into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Laughlin pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling reptiles into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545).

In 2017, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents identified Laughlin as part of a nationwide investigation into the smuggling of turtles from the United States to an individual in Hong Kong (Individual A). Individual A met and maintained contact with certain wildlife-smuggling associates via Facebook. Investigators identified Laughlin as a suspect in the wildlife smuggling ring from Individual A's Facebook contacts and communications with covert agents. In addition to corresponding on Facebook, Laughlin also sent text messages to Individual A and co-conspirators.

Between March and April 2018, Laughlin acted as a “middleman” in an international amphibian smuggling ring. During a conversation with an undercover agent, Laughlin said that he participated in the ring in order to acquire hard-to-find newts. He shipped or received at least four packages of amphibians, including packages to or from individuals located in Hong Kong and Sweden. The packages were falsely labeled as items including a “toy car,” “rubber toys,” or “a ceramic art piece.” The boxes actually contained live animals, including eastern box turtles, spotted turtles, and a variety of newt species.

A search warrant executed at the defendant’s residence uncovered 80 live newts of various species. Some of them tested positive for a virulent fungus which originated in Asia and has spread throughout the illegal pet trade. The restitution covered expenses incurred to store and test the animals.

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

Photo of newts seized from Laughlin’s residence; photo included in case press release at time of guilty plea

United States v. Jorge Calderon-Campos, et al.

Nos. 1:22-CR-00131, 00132 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Karen Escobar

On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez to 24 months incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Beltran-Chaidez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin in this multi-defendant case involving drugs and animal welfare violations (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)).

Between March and April 2021, Jorge Calderon-Campos (who calls himself “Americano”) supplied 26 pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendants Mark Garcia and Alberto Gomez-Santiago, and an additional 60 pounds to Francisco Javier Torres Mora. Between January and April 2022, Calderon-Campos also possessed roosters he used to participate in an animal fighting venture.

During a search of his residence on April 26, 2022, law enforcement officers found numerous hens and roosters, various cockfighting implements (including razors and spurs) and six cockfighting trophies, including several with plates inscribed with “Team Amkno” (shorthand for “Team Americano”). At Calderon-Campos’s “stash house,” law enforcement officers found 14 hens and 77 roosters, cockfighting leashes, a cockfighting trophy, and a variety of syringes and pill bottles containing substances related to cockfighting supplements.

Jorge Calderon-Campos was sentenced in November 2024 to eight years and one month of incarceration. Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and to violating the Animal Welfare Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)); 7 U.S.C. § 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)).

On August 26, 2024, a court sentenced Antonio Beltran-Chaidez to 46 months’ incarceration, followed by 24 months’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)).

In January 2024, co-defendant Gomez-Santiago was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration, followed by 60 months supervised release. Mora was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration. Horacio Ortega-Martinez, another associate of Calderon-Campos, was sentenced in April 2023 to 18 months incarceration, followed by 36 months supervised release, after pleading guilty to possessing gamecocks for an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C § 2156 (b)).

Co-defendant Garcia pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 3, 2025, to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Byron Adilio Alfaro-Sandoval is scheduled for status conference June 18, 2025.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff's Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department.

United States v. Christopher Lee Carroll, et al.

No. 4:21-CR-00532 (Eastern District of Missouri)
AUSA Gwendolyn Carroll
AUSA Kyle Bateman

On February 11, 2025, a court sentenced Christopher Lee Carroll to serve nine years of incarceration and to pay $3 million in restitution. A jury convicted Carroll in August 2024 of three counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), 13 violations of the CAA, and two counts of threatening a witness (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 2, 1014, 1512 (b)(3), 1344; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Carroll and his business partner, George Reed, owned a time share exit company called Square One Group LLC. In April of 2020, they submitted a false and fraudulent application for a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. The loan application falsely stated that the spouses of Reed and Carroll owned the company to conceal Carroll’s status as a paroled felon, which would have precluded his company from receiving PPP funds. Carroll also used his wife’s name to avoid any potential liability for the fraud.

The PPP loan was supposed to help save businesses and jobs, but Carroll did not use the money to pay dozens of employees who were out of work or keep paying for health insurance for 17 of those employees. Instead, he used it to start a trucking company, Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair LLC. Carroll and Reed then applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that they’d spent the money on payroll and other permitted expenses. Additionally, Reed and Carroll later sought a second loan of more than $1.6 million, taking a total of $660,000 in “owner draws” from the company after the loan was approved.

From May 2020 through December 2021, Carroll and Whiskey Dix violated the CAA by unlawfully removing the emissions control systems from more than 30 diesel-fueled trucks. In January 2022, Carroll tried to pressure two employees to take responsibility for the emissions tampering. When one of the employees said he was going to talk to federal investigators, Carroll threatened to stop paying for the employee’s attorney.

The court sentenced Whiskey Dix to complete a three-year term of probation after the jury convicted the company on 16 CAA violations. Reed pleaded guilty to bank fraud in September of 2022 and was sentenced January 23, 2025, to time served, and five years of supervised release. Reed was held jointly liable for $3 million in restitution.

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

United States v. Jeffrey Radtke

No. 2:24-CR-00088 (Eastern District of Virginia)
AUSA Elizabeth Yusi

On February 13, 2025, a court sentenced Jeffrey Radtke to 21 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Radtke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C.§§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).

Between June 2021 and August 2022, Radtke sent more than 40 payments (ranging from $1 through $300) he received from co-conspirators to pay videographers in Indonesia and other locations outside of the United States to create videos depicting the torture and deaths of juvenile macaque monkeys.

During the execution of a search warrant in April 2023, law enforcement found more than 2,600 videos and 2,700 images depicting animal crushing on Radtke’s computer.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jonathan Achtemeier

No. 3:24-CR-05072 (Western District of Washington)
AUSA Seth Wilkinson
AUSA Lauren Staniar
SAUSA Karla Perrin

On February 14, 2025, a court sentenced Jonathan Achtemeier to pay a $25,000 fine and serve four months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Achtemeier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) for his role in tampering with required monitoring devices on diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Between 2019 and 2022, Achtemeier modified the software on hundreds of trucks nationwide to prevent the monitoring devices from detecting the removal of emissions controls. Achtemeier conspired with mechanics and truck fleet operators, instructing them on how to remove or disable anti-pollution hardware on diesel trucks, a process known as "deleting." Achtemeier tampered with the monitoring device on his clients’ trucks by connecting laptops to the trucks’ onboard computers and remotely "tuning" the vehicles’ computers, which rendered required monitoring devices inaccurate. This allowed the trucks to run without functioning emissions control systems and resulted in the trucks emitting significantly more pollution than legally allowed.

Achtemeier charged as much at $4,500 per truck for work that often took him two hours or less. He advertised his services on social media nationwide, doing business as Voided Warranty Tuning or Optimized Ag. Between 2019 and 2022 his company took in more than $4.3 million in gross profits.

The Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

United States v. Andres Alejandro Sanchez

No. 5:24-CR-01264 (Southern District of Texas)
AUSA Tory Sailer
Assistance from ECS Senior Counsel Elinor Colbourn

On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Andres Alejandro Sanchez to complete a three-year term of probation to include six months’ home detention. 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.

Case photo of baby spider monkey rescued by authorities

United State v. Jose Carrillo

No. 8:23-CR-00222 (Middle District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Matt Morris
AUSA Erin Favorit
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Carrillo to 84 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Carrillo pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and knowingly possessing a firearm after a felony conviction (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)(1) and 924(d)).

On June 7, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Carrillo’s residence, seizing a total of 10 pit bull-type dogs. Several of the dogs exhibited scarring consistent with dogfighting. Authorities also discovered a .22 caliber rifle, a bloodstained wooden dogfighting “pit,” syringes, veterinary medications, a skin stapler, break sticks used to separate fighting dogs, and other suspected dogfighting paraphernalia.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with assistance from the following agencies: Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshal Service; and the Pasco County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.

Photo of dogs from Carillo’s home included in press release, link below.

United States v. Eric T. Scionti

Nos. 2:23-CR-00600, 2:24-CR-00890 (District of Arizona)
AUSA Glenn McCormick

On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Eric T. Scionti to 47 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Scionti pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and Animal Crushing in two separate cases (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(8), 48(a)(1)).

In December 2022, federal authorities received an anonymous tip that Scionti, a convicted felon, possessed a number of handguns, as well as grenades and bullet-proof body armor. On January 18, 2023, agents executed a search warrant, seizing six firearms and 1,826 rounds of ammunition from areas of a residence controlled by the defendant. Scionti has multiple Arizona state felony convictions and was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

While researching the defendant’s online activities, agents found video evidence depicting Scionti torturing pigeons. Agents executed a subsequent search warrant on September 29, 2023, for records and information associated with Scionti’s email account. During that search, agents seized approximately 168 videos and 89 digital photographs depicting Scionti torturing and mutilating live pigeons.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigations in these cases.

United States v. Manuel Domingos Pita

No. 8:22-CR-00330 (Middle District of Florida)
AUSA Jay Hoffer
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan
ECS Law Clerk Maria Wallace

On February 19, 2025, a court sentenced Manuel Domingos Pita to 48 months’ incarceration and to pay more than $55 million in restitution. Also, Pita will forfeit real estate and cash/bank accounts. Pita pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act for causing the death of an employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343; 29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).

Pita created and operated several shell construction companies, including one named Domingos 54 Construction, Inc. Pita used Domingos 54 to provide workers, including undocumented aliens, with construction jobs. However, Pita failed to secure the required workers compensation insurance coverage for these employees by falsifying the number of workers for which he sought coverage in worker’s compensation insurance applications. In addition, Pita failed to pay any federal employment taxes on the wages that these workers earned during the course of the scheme between 2018 and 2022.

Pita failed to disclose the number of workers he had. Had he properly disclosed the number of workers, he would have paid an additional $22.7 million+ in premiums. Additionally, Pita failed to pay to the IRS over $33.7 million in federal employment taxes on those workers’ wages.

Between February and July 2019, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued six citations to Domingos 54 for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Even after being cited for these violations, Pita continued to ignore OSHA requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home in windy conditions without providing the required fall-protection gear or ensuring its use. As a result, one of the workers was blown off the roof and died from his injuries.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

United States v. Fernando Cruz Rubio, et al.

Nos. 3:24-CR-00101, 00116 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Deputy Chief Joe Poux
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On February 20, 2025, a court sentenced Fernando Cruz Rubio to time served. Rubio pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) for failing to maintain an oil record book (ORB) (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)).

Rubio worked as a chief engineer on the M/V Suhar, a Panamanian-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier that routinely hauled cement from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola, Florida. The ship was managed by Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V., which was responsible for the ship’s day-to-day operations, including hiring all crew, and ensuring compliance with all environmental and international regulations.

The Coast Guard inspected the ship when it arrived in Pensacola on August 25, 2023. Inspectors determined that the vessel’s crew regularly discharged untreated oily bilge water overboard, bypassing onboard pollution control equipment, and falsified the ship’s ORB to conceal these discharges. On various trips, between March 2021 through August 25, 2023, Rubio, as the Suhar’s chief engineer, failed to accurately maintain the ORB and did not record overboard bilge water discharges.

Gremex was sentenced in October 2024 to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance plan. The shipping corporation also pleaded guilty to violating APPS.

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

United States v. Clancy Logistics, Inc., et al.

No. 3:24-CR-00344 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Andrew Ho
RCEC Gwendolyn Russell

On February 25, 2025, a court sentenced to Clancy Logistics, Inc., and owner Timothy C. Clancy, to each complete three-year terms of probation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of $101,510.00, jointly and severally. The defendants pleaded guilty to a felony count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Between October 2019 and July 2023, Timothy C. Clancy tampered with the onboard diagnostic systems (OBDs) and caused others to tamper with the OBDs, of at least 13 Class 8 diesel semi-trailer trucks owned or operated by his companies, Clancy Transport, Inc., and Clancy Logistics, Inc. The defendants’ actions prevented the OBDs from detecting malfunctions caused by the deletion of the vehicles’ emission control systems, in violation of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

As part of this process, Clancy directed his employees to disable and remove the emissions hardware from his companies’ vehicles. This involved removing exhaust systems and their corresponding emissions control components from the vehicles, hollowing out the functioning portion of the devices so that only the casing remained, and re-installing the casing to create the appearance that the emissions controls were intact. The vehicles’ OBDs were then tuned so that they could no longer detect the removal of the control equipment.

Clancy and his companies tampered with the OBDs on their diesel semi-trailer trucks so that they could operate the vehicles with real or perceived increased performance and fuel efficiency and reduce or eliminate the cost and burden associated with maintaining the vehicles. As a result, a greater volume of pollutants was emitted from the vehicles.

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

United States v. Robert G. Gambill

No. 5:24-CR-00028 (Western District of North Carolina)
AUSA Katherine T. Armstrong

On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Robert G. Gambill to pay a $9,500 fine and to forfeit a rifle, scope, and ammunition for killing a bald eagle in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 668(a)). As required under provisions of the Act, $2,500 of the fine will be apportioned equally between two witnesses who reported the shooting.

On June 5, 2024, Gambill set his firearm on a fencepost and targeted, shot, and killed a bald eagle that was perched in a tree near a bridge in Sparta, North Carolina. After killing the eagle, Gambill drove away from the scene, abandoning the carcass on the bank of the New River. Two witnesses recovered the carcass and turned it over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The U.S. FWS forensic laboratory determined that injuries suffered by the bald eagle were consistent with a gunshot wound from a high-powered rifle.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office.

United States v. Willie Russell, et al.

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

On February 28, 2025, a court sentenced Willie Russell to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 371). Russell is the fourteenth and final defendant to plead guilty in this federal dog fighting case. The other co-defendants are: Tamichael Elijah; Marvin Pulley, III; Brandon Baker; Christopher Travis Beaumont; Herman Buggs, Jr.; Terrance Davis; Timothy Freeman; Terelle Ganzy; Gary Hopkins; Cornelious Johnson; Rodrecus Kimble; Donnametric Miller; Willie Russell; and, Fredricus White.

On April 24, 2022, the defendants converged on a property in Donalsonville, Georgia, where they held a large-scale dog fighting event. They brought a total of 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend. Law enforcement personnel who disrupted the event found numerous dogs inside crates in cars on the property.

The participants used their cars to store dogs who had already fought, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Some dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued a total of 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later perished from its injuries. Dogs in the cars also bore recent injuries and scars.

All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Defendants Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting (i.e., handling) a dog in a dog fight. Defendants Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog for purposes of using the dog in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Defendants Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General; and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bay County, Florda, Sheriff’s Office.

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Distribution channels: U.S. Politics

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