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Decisions

United States v. Harvey Allen Hugs

• No. 23-2609 (8th Circuit 2024)

On August 16, 2024, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case to modify the restitution order. In February 2023, a jury convicted Hugs for unlawfully selling eagle parts in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 668(a)). Hugs was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment and $70,000 in restitution. On appeal for the restitution order, the Eighth Circuit held (i) the defendant did not waive the right to challenge the restitution order and (ii) the restitution was limited to the $1,600 that the government informant spent to buy the eagle parts.

Between August and November 2020, a confidential informant worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to purchase eagle parts from Hugs in three different transactions totaling $1,600. In March 2021, officers seized eagle feathers, wings, an eagle bone, and a knife with eagle blood on it from Hugs’ property.

On appeal, the questions for the Court were whether Hugs waived his objection to the restitution amount and whether the amount was correctly calculated. The $70,000 of recommended restitution was based on a standing order in the District of South Dakota that values a single juvenile golden or bald eagle at $5,000. While defense counsel said the restitution was properly calculated, they noted that Hugs was only convicted of selling eagle feathers, not of killing birds, and there was no tie between the conviction and the calculation of 14 eagles valued at $5,000. The Court found that Hugs did not waive his objection to the restitution amount.

Additionally, the Court determined the restitution amount was calculated incorrectly. The Court based the reasoning on United States v. Tree Top, 931 F.3d 720 (8th Cir. 2019), where the Court held the actual loss was “limited to the amount of money that the government expended to buy the eagle feathers.” Because Hugs was not convicted of killing birds, the higher restitution amount of the value of 14 eagles was not justified. Therefore, restitution was limited to the $1,600 purchase price of the feathers.

United States v. John R. Moore, Jr., et al.

• No. 23-10579 (11th Circuit 2024)

On September 23, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of two “swim with sharks” dive tour operators. The Court found that John Moore, Jr., and Tanner Mansell violated 18 U.S.C. § 661 (theft of property within special maritime jurisdiction) by “tak[ing] and carr[ying] away, with intent to steal or purloin, any personal property of another,” within federal waters, when they hauled up, destroyed, and threw away marked fishing gear used as part of a NOAA-licensed shark fishing and sampling study.

Defendants argued the district court erred by not instructing the jury that to “steal” requires not just the taking and carrying away of the property of another, but also converting it to one’s own use. At trial, the government presented evidence contradicting defendants’ defense that they believed they were saving endangered sharks by destroying illegal or abandoned fishing lines—the story they told their paying customers, whom they enlisted in the effort and who then posted on social media about their “Best. Day. Ever” saving sharks with their diving guides. The government argued that the experienced guides did not want the shark fishing lines to eat into their “dive with sharks” tour opportunities.

The jury was instructed that the defendants could not be convicted if they did not act “with the bad purpose to disobey or disregard the law” and thus implicitly rejected Moore’s and Mansell’s theory in convicting them. Despite a skeptical bench at oral argument, the Court’s majority opinion found that the defense-requested instruction was not legally correct: § 661 does not contain a conversion requirement, in contrast to other statutes that expressly include conversion language. A concurring opinion, which did not see fit to consider the evidence admitted at trial, was persuaded by the defense’s trial arguments (introduced through third-party witnesses – defendants did not testify), criticizing the prosecution (and its justification on appeal) for bringing the case.

Indictments

United States v. Andre Trott, et al.

• No. 3:24-mj-03035 (District of New Jersey)
• AUSA Eric Boden

On September 4, 2024, prosecutors filed a complaint charging Martin Moore and Andre Trott with participating in a conspiracy to commit federal program theft and making material false statements (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001(a)(2)) by obtaining overtime payments from the city of Trenton, New Jersey, for work they did not perform. The defendants fraudulently inflated the overtime hours they claimed to have worked conducting residential lead inspections and meal deliveries to needy Trenton residents.

Trenton’s Department of Health and Human Services (Trenton HHS) is required to provide services to identify lead sources in residential homes where children tested positive for elevated levels of lead in their blood. Beginning in 2018, a New Jersey state grant funded inspections of Trenton properties that identified childhood residents with elevated blood lead levels. Trenton’s Bureau of Environmental Health (BEH), a subdivision of Trenton HHS, was responsible for performing these residential lead inspections.

The City of Trenton received federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to provide public services, including a meal program to prepare and deliver meals throughout Trenton. BEH members delivered meals under the CDBG from 2020 to 2021.

Moore, a principal registered environmental health specialist for BEH and the entity’s supervisor, and Trott, a senior registered environmental health specialist for BEH, conducted residential lead inspections with other members of BEH from February 2018 through May 2022, and delivered meals from April 2020 through May 2021. Moore directed BEH members to obtain payments from the city of Trenton for work they did not perform by fraudulently inflating the overtime hours they claimed to have worked relating to residential lead inspections. Moore also directed Trott and others to inflate their overtime hours submitted for meal deliveries. Moore also falsely reported overtime in excess of the time it actually took for him to complete activities related to lead inspections and meal deliveries. As a result of these fraudulent overtime reports, Moore, Trott, and other members of BEH were paid for overtime work that they did not perform.

In May 2022, when the FBI asked Moore about his role in connection with lead inspections, Moore falsely stated that there was no situation where he had purposely misrepresented his hours and no situation where he had claimed overtime hours for periods of time that he was outside of New Jersey, even though Moore knew at the time he made these statements that they were knowingly and intentionally false.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Supervisor and Employee of City of Trenton Bureau of Environmental Health Charged with Receiving Illegal Overtime Payments

United States v. Dun Terrius Bradford

• No. 1:24-CR-00031 (Middle District of Georgia
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
• AUSA Elicia Hargrove
• ECS Paralegal Jillian Grubb

On September 5, 2024, a court unsealed an indictment charging Dun Terrius Bradford with animal fighting venture violations, manufacturing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base, and possessing five firearms in furtherance of those offenses (7 U.S.C. § 2156; 18 U.S.C. §§ 49, 924; 21 U.S.C. § 841).

On February 22, 2024, authorities executed a search warrant at Bradford’s home. They rescued 67 fighting dogs, and seized tools and supplies used for keeping and training dogs to fight. They also recovered cocaine base and five firearms.

The Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General and the Mitchell County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Georgia Man Arrested on Federal Dog Fighting, Firearms and Drug Trafficking Charges

United States v. Fidelity Development Group LLC.

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

On September 16, 2024, prosecutors filed an information and plea agreement charging Fidelity Development Group LLC (Fidelity) with 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.

Guilty Pleas

United States v. Hong Thanh Nguyen

• Nos. 1:23-CR-10011 (Southern District of Florida), 1:24-CR-00044 (S.D. Miss.)
• AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald
• AUSA Gaines Cleveland

On September 5, 2024, Hong Thanh Nguyen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to complete a one-year term of probation. Nguyen violated the Endangered Species Act by severing the rostrum of a smalltooth sawfish, an endangered species, while on board a shrimp boat off the Florida Keys (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(C), 1540(b)(1)).

In February 2022, Nguyen was working aboard a commercial vessel, the Miss Theresa, near Key West in Monroe County, Florida, when the smalltooth sawfish became entangled in the boat’s fishing net. Nguyen severed the rostrum of the sawfish from its body with a knife, which he knew to be unlawful. The case was transferred from the Southern District of Florida since Nguyen is a resident of Mississippi.

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

Related Press Release: Ocean Springs Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Taking Smalltooth Sawfish, an Endangered Species

United States v. Frankluis Carela De Jesús, et al.

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

On September 13, 2024, Frankluis Carela De Jesús, Waner Balbuena, and Domingo Heureau Altagracia pleaded guilty to smuggling wildlife from the United States and Lacey Act trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 554; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), (a)(4), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Co-defendant Juan Graviel Ramírez Cedano pleaded guilty in August 2024 to the same charges.

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 throwing objects overboard. Following the boarding of the vessel, USCG authorities recovered several of the objects thrown overboard identified as wooden cages containing tropical birds. Approximately 113 birds drowned after the defendants jettisoned the cages.

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

Related Press Release: Four Individuals Indicted for Smuggling Tropical Bird Species from the United States to the Dominican Republic

United States v. Frederick D. Moorefield, Jr.

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

On September 13, 2024, Frederick D. Moorefield, Jr., 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(a)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2024.

Federal agents began investigating Moorefield’s connections to dogfighting after officers from Anne Arundel County Animal Control responded to a report of two dead dogs found in a plastic dog food bag in Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2018. Investigators found mail addressed to Moorefield inside the bag, and a necropsy determined that the dogs bore wounds and scarring patterns consistent with dogfighting.

Moorefield was affiliated with a dogfighting enterprise known as the “DMV Board,” which operated in and around Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Numerous other members of the DMV Board have been convicted on dogfighting charges in the Eastern District of Virginia. For more than 20 years, Moorefield operated under the kennel name “Geehad Kennels” and used his home in Arnold, Maryland, to keep, train, and breed dogs for dogfighting.

Investigators found ample evidence of messages exchanged between Moorfield and others arranging fights and discussing other details related to dog fighting with other members of the DMV Board.

For example, when Moorefield sponsored a dog in a fight, the fight ended only when a dog died or when the owner forfeited the match—either through the dog “quitting” the fight or the owner “picking up” the dog. If one of Moorefield’s dogs lost a fight but did not die, Moorefield killed that dog.

Between January 2019 and October 2023, Moorefield sent and received monetary payments through CashApp related to his participation in dogfighting. In some instances, transactions were given misleading labels to disguise the true nature of the transferred money. In one 2022 transaction Moorefield received $1,000 labeled as a “housewarming gift” from a known dogfighter, even though Moorefield has lived at the same address for over two decades.

When agents searched Moorefield’s residence on September 6, 2023, they recovered five pitbull-type dogs from large metal cages in a windowless room of Moorefield’s basement. Agents also found several containers of animal medication, dog food, and other equipment consistent with dogfighting.

When interviewed by agents, Moorefield falsely stated that he had only recently obtained four of the five dogs found on the property. At the time Moorefield was charged in this case, he worked as the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and Anne Arundel County Animal Control, conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Arnold Man And Former Department Of Defense Deputy Chief Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Engage In Dogfighting And Interstate Travel In Aid Of Racketeering

United States v. Daniel Brett

• No. 2:24-CR-00037 (District of Utah)
• AUSA Ruth Hackford-Peer

On September 16, 2024, Daniel Brett pleaded guilty to a Clean Air Act negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. §§ 7413(c)(4)).

Brett was part owner of the Broadway Hotel, which was purchased as a redevelopment project. Brett and the co-owner knew the hotel, a 21,000 square foot structure built in 1909, contained asbestos in numerous locations, including in thermal system/boiler insulation, wall plaster, rolled vinyl flooring, and roofing materials. A third party provided the previous owner with an environmental assessment survey in 2011. The third party advised the owner to conduct a comprehensive asbestos survey, but he failed to do so.

In July 2020, after the hotel caught fire, it had to be demolished. Brett and his co-owner solicited bids from potential demolition companies, choosing a proposal that required the owners to dispose of any asbestos containing material themselves. In December 2020, workers proceeded with the demolition without proper equipment to protect them from the asbestos. After the company completed the demolition, Brett left the Broadway Hotel debris pile on site, where it remained uncovered for approximately fifteen months. Following the death of the co-owner in May 2021, Brett became fully responsible for the demolition.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated an emergency clean-up operation in February 2022, removing approximately 3,330 tons of asbestos-containing debris at a cost to the agency of $1.1 million.

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

Related Press Release: Utah Businessman Indicted for Allegedly Failing to Remove 3,330 Tons of Asbestos-Containing Debris After Hotel Demolition

United States v. Kyle Offringa, et al.

• No. 1:24-CR-00124 (Northern District of New York)
• AUSA Benjamin Clark

On September 17, 2024, Kyle Offringa and Highway and Heavy Parts, LLC (HHP), a heavy-duty diesel parts supplier, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) for tampering with emissions control devices on diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371). HHP’s sentencing is scheduled for December 17, 2024, and Offringa’s is scheduled for January 17, 2025.

Between June 2017 and March 2019, HHP and Offringa conspired with a diesel truck operator, and others, 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 vehicle’s on-board detection equipment so regulators would not discover the tampering. Customers paid HHP between $1,250 and $1,750 for each truck Offringa altered.

Co-conspirators Patrick Oare and DAIM Logistics, Inc., previously pleaded guilty to violating the CAA and are scheduled for sentencing on October 23, 2024.

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.

Related Press Release: Michigan Resident and Heavy-Duty Diesel Parts Supplier Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the Clean Air Act

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

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

On September 18, 2024, Clancy Logistics, Inc., and owner Timothy C. Clancy, pleaded guilty to a felony count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). Sentencing is set for December 19, 2024.

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. Michael Hart

• No. 24-CR-00383 (Southern District of California)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Steve DaPonte
• AUSA Melanie Pierson
• AUSA Mark Pletcher

On September 24, 2024, Michael Hart pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally import greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Mexico and sell them in violation of regulations intended to slow climate change (18 U.S.C. § 371). In addition to greenhouse gases, Hart admitted to conspiring to illegally import hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), namely HCFC 22, an ozone-depleting substance banned under the Clean Air Act. Sentencing is scheduled for December 9, 2024.

This is the first prosecution in the U.S. that includes charges related to the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) (42 U.S.C. § 7675). The AIM Act prohibits the importation of HFCs, commonly used as refrigerants, without allowances issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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.

Related Press Release: San Diego Man Receives First Conviction in Nation for Illegally Importing Harmful Greenhouse Gases into the United States

United States v. Jeffrey Radtke

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

On September 24, 2024, Jeffrey Radtke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C.§§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for February 13, 2025.

Between June 2021 and August 2022, Radtke sent more than 40 payments (ranging from $1 through $300) he received from coconspirators to pay videographers outside of the United States, including Indonesia, 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.

Related Press Release: Minnesota man pleads guilty in conspiracy to create and share animal torture videos

United States v. Mark Kazee

• No. 1:21-CR-00003 (District of Hawaii)
• ECS Senior Counsel Kris Dighe
• AUSA Gregg Yates
• ECS Paralegal Sam Goins

On September 27, 2024, Mark Kazee pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) (42 U.S.C. § 2273(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2025.

Kazee has worked in the American Petroleum Institute (API) testing and Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) testing industry for more than 30 years, serving both as an inspector and as a supervisor of inspectors, including inspectors who conducted industrial radiography. Industrial radiography is a method of inspecting materials for flaws through non-destructive means. The industrial radiography inspection process requires equipment that can emit short X-rays, gamma rays, and/or neutrons. The equipment used in the industrial radiography process contains one or more radioactive elements that are regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and an NRC form is required to acquire, possess, or use it.

In December 2016, Kazee was hired by Company A, which was based in California, to be Company A’ s Regional Manager for Hawaii. Company A performed API and NDE testing of pipes and other materials in Hawaii using various methods, including industrial radiography.

Kazee oversaw the development of Company A’ s application for an NRC license to perform industrial radiography. He submitted supplementing documents for the application to the NRC through a letter dated May 3, 2017, which bore his signature. The NRC issued a license to Company A on July 6, 2017.

In March 2016, Company A obtained contracts with companies in Hawaii to conduct testing and examination services, including for Company B, a large petroleum refinery. After Company A obtained its license from the NRC, its services included industrial radiography. On September 17, 2018, Kazee and Individual C incorporated Company D to perform testing and examination services similar to Company A. Kazee was still working for Company A at the time of Company D’ s incorporation.

In January 2019, Company A stopped conducting testing and examination services at Company B, when its contract for those services expired, largely because Kazee allowed it to lapse. On January 9, 2019, Company D, through Individual C, entered into purchase orders with Company B, and began performing testing and examination services at Company B. Company D did not possess a license from the NRC to perform industrial radiography. After Company B asked for Company D’s NRC license, Kazee directed Individual C to provide Company B with an NRC license issued to Apinde Inc., another entity owned in part by Kazee. Apinde did not own industrial radiography equipment and had no employees.

Kazee and several other individuals incorporated Apinde in the State of West Virginia. On January 9, 2019, this company received a license to perform industrial radiography. On Apinde’s application to the NRC, Kazee was identified as its Senior API Inspector, with the most experience among its partners in API and NDE testing.

On January 14, 2019, Kazee led a meeting of Company A employees in Hawaii and encouraged them to become employees of his and Individual C’ s company, Company D. Many of them did. Between approximately January 9, 2019, and January 23, 2019, Kazee transferred or caused to be transferred from Company A to Company D at least one industrial radiography device containing an Iridium-192 radioactive source and depleted Uranium, which are regulated by the NRC and require a license to use. Company A’ s Radiation Safety Officer and its senior management were unaware of the transfer of the radiography equipment to Company D and had not approved it. Kazee made no records at Company A of the transfer of its radiography equipment to Company D.

As the Hawaii Regional Manager for Company A, Kazee maintained usage records for Company A’s radiography equipment and knew that NRC regulations required licensees to keep detailed records of receipts and transfers of radiography equipment. He knew that by transferring a radiography device from Company A to an unlicensed company and failing to document the transfer, he would cause Company A to violate those requirements.

After the transfer of Company A’s radiography equipment to Company D, Company D employees used Company A’s equipment to perform industrial radiography services at Company B. The industrial radiographers at both Company A and Company D worked under Kazee’s supervision. At no time did Company D possess an NRC license to conduct industrial radiography or own industrial radiography equipment, nor did Company D have the qualified radiation safety officer needed to obtain a license.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Investigations conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Hawaii Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Atomic Energy Act

Sentencings

United States v. Diesel & Offroad Authority, LLC, et al.

• No. 6:24-CR-00092 (District of Oregon)
• AUSA William McLaren 
• RCEC Gwendolyn Russell

On September 4, 2024, a court sentenced Diesel & Offroad Authority, LLC (D&O), and its owner/operator, Christopher P. Kaufman, to pay a $150,000 fine, for which the defendants are jointly and severally liable. Each also will complete three-year terms of probation. Kaufman must include a disclaimer on his company’s website declaring that Diesel and Offroad Authority no longer provides “delete and tune” tampering services because they are illegal.

The defendants pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for tampering with pollution monitoring devices on at least 184 vehicles (47 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Between 2018 and 2022, D&O tampered with and disabled emissions control systems on close to 200 diesel vehicles. The company charged customers approximately $2,300 each for the emissions modifications and collected more than $378,000 for the unlawful services over an approximately four-year period. As company owner, Kaufman oversaw and participated in the illegal modification of vehicles, including procuring various automotive parts used in the process and directing employees in this illegal activity.

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

Related Press Release: Diesel Repair Shop and Owner Sentenced to Probation and Criminal Fines for Violating the Clean Air Act

United States v. Christos Charitos

• No. 2:24-CR-00368 (Southern District of Texas)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth Nelson
• AUSAs Liesel Roscher 
• John Marck
• ECS Paralegal Maria Wallace

On September 4, 2024, a court sentenced Chief Engineer (CE) Christos Charitos to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a one-year term of unsupervised probation for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)).

Charitos worked as the CE aboard the M/V Good Heart between March and April 2023. During a Coast Guard boarding of the vessel in May 2023, inspectors found evidence that Charitos directed crew members to discharge oily waste from the vessel. He also manipulated the Oil Content Meter so that the crew could discharge from the bilge tank without properly using the Oily Water Separator. These discharges were not recorded in the ship’s Oil Record Book, which was presented to the Coast Guard during a Port State Control examination.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducted the investigation.

United States v. Empire Bulkers Ltd., et al.

• No. 2:21-CR-00126 (Eastern District of Louisiana)
• ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Richard Udell
• AUSA G. Dall Kammer

On September 4, 2024, the Court revoked the previous term of probation for Empire Bulkers Ltd. (Empire), finding the company guilty of two probation violations. The court imposed enhanced supervision to include one additional year of probation (extending the four years of supervision to the maximum of five years), requiring additional ship audits during the fourth year and annual office audits by the court appointed monitor/third-party auditor (CAM/TPA) that were not previously required.

In the first violation, the Court found that Empire had failed to promptly notify the CAM of allegations of new MARPOL violations on another one of the company’s ships. The Second Engineer of the M/V Panagiotis alleged that the Chief Engineer was involved in deliberate overboard discharges that violated MARPOL. The company’s compliance manager and its attorney interviewed crew members and took statements, but Empire waited 14 days before notifying the CAM and DOJ. When it did so, it submitted information that sought to discredit the whistleblower. Prior to notifying the CAM and DOJ, all those serving in the engine department of the M/V Panagiotis, including the Chief Engineer and the whistleblower, were dismissed.

The CAM informed the Court that the defendant’s delay and dismissal of the crew made it impossible to conduct an independent investigation. Under these circumstances, the Court held that the 14-day delay was not prompt as required by the Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP). The Marshall Islands registry, where the ship was flagged, subsequently determined that intentional overboard discharges of oil-contaminated bilge waste took place without the use of required pollution prevention equipment and that these improper discharges were not recorded in the ship’s Oil Record Book, thus verifying the whistleblower’s allegations.

In the second violation, Empire was convicted of changing its corporate organization and chain of command without notifying the CAM and without going through the required process of modifying the ECP. Specifically, the ECP required by the Court stipulated that the company must have a compliance manager that reported to the company’s managing director. The position of managing director was eliminated without informing the CAM, Office of Probation, or DOJ. The company’s compliance manager now reports to a committee on which he sits with other mid-level managers rather than to the highest levels of Empire Bulkers, altering an organizational structure that was intended to assure accountability.

In the underlying case, Empire, the operator of the M/V Joanna, and Joanna Maritime Ltd., the owner, each pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and the Ports and Water Ways Safety Act (PWSA) (33 U.S.C. § 1908; 46 U.S.C. § 70036). The APPS violation involved overboard discharges of oil-contaminated waste made while bypassing the ship’s Oily Water Separator (by inserting a piece of metal into the Oil Content Meter so that it only detected clean water instead of the actual discharge effluent). Crew members also falsified the Oil Record Book, a required log.

The PWSA violation involved the failure to immediately report a hazardous condition that affected the safety of the ship and threatened U.S. ports and waters. The hazard was an active fuel oil leak in the ship’s purifier room and disabling the fuel oil heater pressure relief valves, an essential safety feature designed to prevent catastrophic fires and explosions. Empire and the ship’s owner were originally sentenced in January 2023 and ordered to pay a $2 million fine and complete a four-year term of probation, subject to the terms of a government approved ECP that required independent inspections by a TPA and supervision by a CAM.

Related Press Release: United States v. Empire Bulkers Ltd., et al.

United States v. Rudy’s Performance Parts, Inc.

• No. 1:24-CR-00336 (District of Columbia)
• ECS Senior Counsel Kris Dighe 
• ECS Trial Attorney Stephen Foster
• AUSA Jennifer Blackwell
• ECS Paralegal John Jones

On September 10, 2024, a court sentenced Rudy’s Performance Parts, Inc. (Rudy’s), for manufacturing and selling devices, commonly known as “defeat devices,” used to remove or disable required emissions controls in motor vehicles. Rudy’s manufactured and sold aftermarket defeat devices, known as tuners, that tampered with motor vehicles’ on-board diagnostic systems. Between 2015 and 2018, Rudy’s sold approximately 43,900 such tuners, generating about $33 million in revenue.

Rudy’s pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C § 371) and was ordered to pay a $2.4 million fine and complete a three-year term of probation. Aaron Rudolf, the company’s sole owner and chief executive officer, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the CAA by tampering with monitoring devices on approximately 300 diesel trucks, which involved the installation of defeat devices on those trucks. Rudolf was sentenced in April 2024 to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $600,000 criminal fine.

Separate from the criminal actions, the Justice Department, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a civil suit in 2022 against Rudy’s and Rudolf for violating the CAA by manufacturing, selling and installing defeat devices and failing to adequately respond to the EPA’s formal requests for information. The civil lawsuit alleges that from at least 2014 through mid-2019, Rudy’s and Rudolf manufactured and sold more than 250,000 products designed to remove or disable EPA-mandated emissions controls. These products included hardware parts such as plates that block a vehicle’s exhaust gas recirculation system and pipes that replace pollution treatment components in a vehicle’s exhaust system.

Under a consent decree filed July 29, 2024, Rudy’s and Rudolf will pay a $7 million civil penalty for those violations. The consent decree would also prohibit them from making, selling, offering to sell, and installing defeat devices; transferring intellectual property that would allow others to make or sell defeat devices; and investing in or profiting from defeat devices manufactured or sold by other businesses. The decree is subject to court approval.

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

Related Press Release: United States v. Rudy’ s Performance Parts, Inc., et al.

United States v. Donaldvan Williams, et al.

• No. 1:22-CR-00083 (Eastern District of Texas)
• AUSA Joseph Batte
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy

On September 10, 2024, a court sentenced Donaldvan Williams to 40 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, after pleading guilty to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 48(a)(1), 48(c)).

On October 15, 2021, Williams and Decorius Mire encountered a live domestic cat in the parking lot of a Beaumont apartment complex. Williams, encouraged by Mire, kicked the cat as if kicking a football field goal, propelling the cat approximately 15 to 20 feet through the air. Williams was aware that Mire filmed the event with his cellular telephone and posted the video on his social media accounts where it was commented on and shared with others.

Williams and Mire were prosecuted under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act. Signed into law in November 2019, the PACT Act bans the intentional crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impalement or other serious harm to “living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians.” The law also bans “animal crush videos,” meaning photographs, motion picture films, videos, digital recordings or electronic images that depicts animal cruelty.

Mire was sentenced to 18 months incarceration in July 2023.

The Beaumont Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Second Beaumont man sentenced to federal prison in cat kicking case

United States v. George Popescu

• No. 1:24-CR-00092 (Eastern District of New York)
• AUSA Ellen H. Sise

On September 12, 2024, a court sentenced George Popescu to pay a $9,500 fine, complete a one-year term of probation, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay $67,447 in restitution to Ocean Janitorial Supply. Popescu pleaded guilty to violating the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act for distributing and misbranding a pesticide (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(1)(A), 136j(a)(1)(E), 136l(b)(1)(B)).

Between July 2020 and April 2022, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant sold millions of disinfecting wipes, worth more than a million dollars, which were not registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Popescu falsely claimed that the unregistered wipes were both registered with the EPA and recommended for use as cleaning wipes that would kill the COVID-19 virus.

The defendant was the owner and CEO of a company based in Brooklyn, New York (Brooklyn Company-1). The defendant, through Brooklyn Company-1, sold the wipes under the labels Carmel and Vega, which were manufactured by a company located in Israel. Labels for the unregistered wipes contained a purported EPA registration number. The defendant represented to purchasers of the unregistered wipes and others that the wipes had an EPA registration number, and that they were recommended for killing the COVID-19 virus. On a website he developed for Brooklyn Company-1, Popescu provided an EPA registration number that he represented was for the unregistered wipes, but it was a bogus number.

As a result of this scam, Popescu sold more than twenty-two million unregistered wipes earning more than $1.2 million in gross revenue from those sales.

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

United States v. Rafael Carballo-Díaz, et al.

• No. 3:23-CR-00441 (District of Puerto Rico)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
• AUSA Seth Erbe
• ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On September 13, 2024, a court sentenced Rafael Carballo-Díaz to serve 12 months’ incarceration followed by one year of supervised release, and to pay a $4,000 fine. The same court sentenced co-defendant Nathaniel Hernández-Claudio to serve 12 months’ probation. Each will also perform 80 hours of community service. Both pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§1311(a), 1319(c)(2)(A)). The charges relate to the illegal construction and deposit of material into the wetlands and waters of the United States in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (Jobos Estuarine Reserve).

Between June 2018 and December 2023, the defendants knowingly discharged fill material from excavation and earth moving equipment into the wetlands and waters of the United States. Carballo-Díaz operated a guesthouse business called El Cacique Resort on the property located at the southwest of Camino del Indio in the Las Mareas area of Salinas, Puerto Rico. Hernández-Claudio acted as a host and property manager at the Resort.

The Jobos Estuarine Reserve was designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1981 and is comprised of approximately 2,800 acres of coastal ecosystems in the southern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. The Jobos Estuarine Reserve contains mangrove islands, mangrove forests, tidal wetlands, coral reefs, lagoons, salt flats, dry forest, and seagrass beds. It is also home to the endangered brown pelican, peregrine falcon, hawksbill turtle, and West Indian manatee.

A court recently sentenced Awildo Jimenez-Mercado to serve 14 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release, and to pay a $10,000 fine. Previously charged individuals include Luis Enrique Rodriguez-Sanchez, sentenced in June 2024; and Pedro Luis Bones-Torres, scheduled to be sentenced on November 7^, , 2024.

The Caribbean Environmental Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation. Agencies include: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. 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.

Related Press Release: Two Puerto Rican Men Sentenced for Destroying Wetlands Including in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

United States v. Mitchell Scavone

• No. 23-CR-690186 (Southern District of Florida)
• SAUSA Jodi Mazer

On September 19, 2024, a court sentenced Mitchell Scavone to pay a $250,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation. Scavone pleaded guilty to violating the Rivers and Harbors Act for obstructing navigable waters by constructing docks and other marine installations without a permit (33 U.S.C. §§ 403, 406). As a condition of probation, Scavone is required to hire a full-time employee to oversee training and permitting.

Between January 2019 and December 2021, Scavone performed this illegal work at 10 locations around Broward County, Florida.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted the investigation along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Criminal Investigation Division, and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

United States v. Brian J. Wallace

• No. 1:22-CR-00031 (Middle District of Georgia)
• AUSA Leah McEwen
• AUSA Elicia Hargrove

On September 25, 2024, a court sentenced Brian J. Wallace to pay a $1,000 fine, complete a one-year term of probation and perform 50 hours of community service. A jury convicted Wallace in February 2024 for making false statements about his knowledge of whether a hazardous waste was pumped into the city of Albany, Georgia’ s sewer system (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)) relating to an investigation of possible violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Wallace was a federal contractor who served as the Head of the Environmental Services and Public Works Division at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia (MCLBA). The MCLBA rebuilds and repairs ground combat and combat-support equipment. Refurbishing and repairing equipment requires stripping the paint, which generates waste that is processed by the MCLBA’ s industrial wastewater treatment plant (IWTP). The IWTP discharges treated wastewater to the City of Albany under the terms of its permit. The sludge is treated and stored as an F109 RCRA-listed waste. The IWTP operates a rake-style clarifier (or settling tank) that separates liquids from solids. In May 2021, the rake malfunctioned, requiring the removal of both liquid and semi-solid wastes for repair. MCLBA contracted with Horizon Environmental Services (HES) to remove the material to make the repairs. HES was not authorized or permitted to handle hazardous waste.

Employees pumped 30,000 gallons of the liquid layer down a manhole rather than routing it back through the IWTP. They pumped the sludge from the tank into sludge boxes, and then transported it to the HES facility without properly manifesting the shipment. They stored the sludge boxes at HES for approximately 10 days. The employees then returned the sludge boxes to MCLBA and abandoned them.

Upon questioning, Wallace, as the MCLBA compliance official, denied knowing employees pumped the liquids down the manhole despite having directed them to do so.

A court previously sentenced HES to pay a $10,000 fine, complete a two-year term of probation, and pay $900 in restitution to MCLBA, which was the amount the company was paid to do the job.

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

Related Press Release: Former Head of MCLB-Albany’s Environmental Division Convicted of Lying to Federal Agents Investigating Clean Water Act Violations

United States v. Prive Overseas Marine, et al. 

• No. 2:24-CR-00073, 00074 (Eastern District of Louisiana)
• ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Richard Udell
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors
• AUSA Dall Kammer
• AUSA Chrissy Calogero
• ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On September 26, 2024, a court sentenced Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret and Prive Overseas Marine to pay a total of $2 million in criminal penalties, to include a $500,000 community service payment for coastal environmental projects in the district. The companies will each complete four-year terms of probation, which includes implementing an environmental compliance plan with audit, inspection, and reporting requirements.

Abdurrahman Korkmaz, a Turkish citizen and master of the Motor Tanker PS Dream, a Panama-flagged chemical tanker, was recently sentenced to eight months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Korkmaz pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and Obstruction of Proceedings (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a); 18 U.S.C. § 1505). The two corporations pleaded guilty separately to APPS and obstruction violations.

In January 2023, Korkmaz and the ship’s operator ordered the crew to perform an overboard discharge of the contents of a residual oil tank on deck. Over the course of several days, the crew used a portable pump to empty the tank before arriving in New Orleans and failed to report the conduct in the ship’s Oil Record Books. Korkmaz also made false statements to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors to conceal the discharge.

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

Related Press Release: Shipping Companies Sentenced to $2M Criminal Penalty for Concealing Oil Discharge

United States v. Amy Lupercio

• No. 3:24-CR-00572 (Southern District of California)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Steve DaPonte
• Former AUSA Melanie Pierson

On September 26, 2024, a court sentenced Amy Lupercio to time served (one day), followed by one year of supervised release and $800 in restitution. Lupercio pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of failing to declare merchandise (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433, 1436).

On February 28, 2024, Lupercio drove into the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Lupercio denied having anything to declare. The primary inspector observed multiple cylinders in her vehicle’s rear seat, covered by blankets. A secondary inspection revealed four 24-pound cylinders containing hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant 404A.

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

United States v. Arthur “Jack” Schubarth

• No. 4:24-CR-00006 (District of Montana)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
• ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
• AUSA Jeff Starnes
• ECS Paralegal Jillian Grubb

On September 30, 2024, a court sentenced Arthur “Jack” Schubarth to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. Schubarth also will pay a $20,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund and make a $4,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Schubarth pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and one count of Lacey Act trafficking for illegally smuggling Marco Polo argali sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Marco Polo argali sheep are native to high elevations in the Pamir region of Central Asia. This species of sheep, deemed the largest in the world, is protected under the Endangered Species Act.

In 2013, Schubarth provided the 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, as well as argali semen, throughout the U.S. To evade detection, Schubarth falsely labeled the offspring on Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and other official forms. At the same time, Schubarth solicited Montana hunting guides to provide him with the testicles of recently killed trophy sized native Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, in violation of Montana law, so that he could use their genetics in his breeding operation and sell the semen in interstate commerce. The conspiracy count relates to Schubarth’s scheme to create a larger, more valuable species of sheep that could be sold to captive hunting facilities (also known as high fence operations, shooting preserves, or game ranches).

A court previously sentenced two of Schubarth’ s co-conspirators, Michael Ball and Riley Niewenhuis, on Lacey Act charges.

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

Related Press Release: Montana Man Sentenced for Federal Wildlife Trafficking Charges as Part of Yearslong Effort to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting

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This crime news article "Environmental Crimes Bulletin - September 2024" was originally found on https://www.justice.gov/usao/pressreleases