Source: United States Attorneys General 7
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In This Issue:
Cases by District/Circuit
| District/Circuit |
Case Name |
Conduct/Statute(s) |
| 7th Circuit Court of Appeals |
United States v. Clark |
Conspiracy; False Statement; Mail Fraud; Obstruction |
| District of Alaska |
United States v. Matanuska Diesel, LLC, et al. |
Emissions Tampering; Clean Air Act; Conspiracy |
| Central District of California |
United States v. Isidoro Chaparro Sanchez, et al. |
Cockfighting; Animal Welfare Act |
| Southern District of California |
United States v. Juandaniel Medina |
Exotic Bird Smuggling |
| United States v. Dumitru Cicai |
Pesticide Smuggling |
| United States v. Jose Manuel Valenzuela |
Refrigerant Smuggling; Failure to Present Tanks for Inspection |
| Middle District of Georgia |
United States v. Brandon Baker, et al. |
Dogfighting; Animal Welfare Act; Conspiracy |
| District of Idaho |
United States v. Jerrod R. Farr, et al. |
Big Game Outfitter; Lacey Act |
| Eastern District of Missouri |
United States v. All Out Diesel, et al. |
Emissions Tampering; Clean Air Act; Conspiracy |
| District of Montana |
United States v. Hollis G. Hale, et al. |
Sheep Hunting; Endangered Species Act; Lacey Act |
| District of New Jersey |
United States v. Angela Amponsa |
Unregistered Pesticide Sales; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act |
| Southern District of Ohio |
United States v. Katrina D. Favret, et al. |
Animal Crush Videos; PACT Act; Conspiracy |
| United States v. Fabcon Precast LLC |
Employee Death; Occupational Safety and Health Act |
| Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
United States v. Matthew Caroluzzi, et al. |
Emissions Tampering; Clean Air Act; Conspiracy |
| Western District of Pennsylvania |
United States v. Erie Coke Corporation, et al. |
Air Emissions; Clean Air Act; Conspiracy |
| District of South Carolina |
United States v. Shaylynn Kolwyck-Peterson |
Chimpanzee Sale; Lacey Act |
| United States v. Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, et al. |
Wildlife Trafficking; Conspiracy; Money Laundering |
| Southern District of Texas |
United States v. Jose Daniel Santiago-Mendoza, et al. |
Illegal Fishing; Lacey Act |
| Western District of Texas |
United States v. Paul Jacob Elliott Sommers |
Reptile Smuggling |
| District of Wyoming |
United States v. Mark Orchard, et al. |
Oily Waste Discharges; Depredation of Government Property |
DECISIONS
United States v. Clark
- Nos. 24-1320, 24-1321
- 2025 WL 1635508 (7th Cir., June 10, 2025)
On June 10, 2025, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming Derrick Clark’s conviction on all counts, affirming Shawn Mesner’s fraud conviction, and vacating Mesner’s conspiracy conviction.
Both defendants worked at Didion Milling (“Didion”). In May 2017, a corn mill operated by Didion exploded due to combustible dust, killing five workers and seriously injuring 14 others. Clark was convicted at trial of conspiracy, falsifying an environmental compliance certification, falsifying environmental compliance records, and obstructing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation by providing false and misleading testimony. Mesner was convicted at trial of fraud and conspiracy, each relating to his role in falsifying records regarding the mill’s sanitation program.
The Seventh Circuit first held that the district court did not err in admitting another Didion employee’s inconsistent prior sworn statement. The court found that the statement was made under oath and that the trial judge did not need to review it line-by-line to assess its inconsistency with the witness’s in-court testimony. The court also rejected Clark’s sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenges to his convictions for making false entries in Didion’s Clean Air Act compliance certification (18 U.S.C. § 1519) and aiding and abetting the use of falsified baghouse logs, which were within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s jurisdiction (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3)).
Next, the court affirmed Clark’s conspiracy conviction (18 U.S.C § 371), holding that the jury instructions adequately informed the jury that the object of the conspiracy must be a federal offense and that the jury must be unanimous. The court emphasized that the special verdict form further alleviated any confusion. The court also held that Clark’s conviction for making false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1505) did not depend on the constitutionality of the underlying OSHA regulation, and thus it declined to weigh in on the regulation’s validity. Finally, in a footnote, the court dismissed Clark’s assertion of erroneous evidentiary rulings and cumulative error.
As for Mesner, the court first vacated Mesner’s conspiracy conviction because the government dismissed the substantive count underlying that conviction at the close of evidence and the district court never instructed the jury on it. The Seventh Circuit thus “decline[d] to uphold a conviction premised on a count that the government dismissed, and on which the court never instructed the jury.” But the court affirmed Mesner’s conviction for fraud conspiracy (18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, 1349), relying in part on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kousisis v. United States. The court held that the indictment “easily” satisfied the standard for sufficiency, properly identified money as the “object” of the conspiracy, and sufficiently alleged that Mesner and Didion misrepresented an essential element of the bargain to Didion’s customers.
The court also concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to convict on this count, rejecting Mesner’s argument that Ciminelli v. United States foreclosed his conviction or that the government needed to introduce the contracts between Didion and its customers to prove materiality. The court concluded that a jury could reasonably find – based on witness testimony and documentary evidence – that the accuracy of Didion’s sanitation logbook was material to the bargain between Didion and its customers.
Recently Charged
United States v. Matthew Caroluzzi, et al.
- No. 2:25-CR-00239 (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney RJ Powers
- Former ECS Attorney Ron Sarachan
- AUSA Sarah Solow
On June 3, 2025, prosecutors charged Matthew Caroluzzi and his business, Matt’s Heavy Duty Mobile Diagnostics and Truck Repair & Heavy Towing (“Matt’s HD”) with conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C. § 371), and nine substantive CAA counts (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Caroluzzi owns and operates Matt’s HD, located in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. The company conducts repairs on large semi-trucks and provides a 24/7 towing service. His customers also travelled from out-of-state locations, including New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland
The defendants tampered with and rendered inaccurate monitoring devices and methods required to be maintained under the CAA, that is, on-board and diagnostic emission monitoring devices on diesel trucks. Caroluzzi removed physical emissions control components and altered vehicles’ on-board computers. With assistance from his mechanics, Caroluzzi conducted emissions “deletes” at the shop, on the road, and at other diesel repair shops. Over the course of the conspiracy, Caroluzzi charged customers between $1,000 and $3,000 for his services, and performed deletes on more than 700 diesel-powered trucks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Related Press Release: Heavy Duty Truck Repair and Diagnostics Company and Its Owner Charged in Major Clean Air Act Investigation | DOT OIG
United States v. Juandaniel Medina
- No. 25-mj-03169 (Southern District of California)
- AUSA Evangeline Dech
On June 10, 2025, prosecutors charged Juandaniel Medina with smuggling endangered exotic birds (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(c), 1540(b); 18 U.S.C. § 545). Medina is the third person in recent weeks authorities have detained for attempting to smuggle protected birds, including red-lored Amazon parrots. All seven birds in this case are alive and under quarantine.
On May 26, 2025, authorities detained Medina at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after discovering seven live Amazon parrots in a cardboard box on the passenger floorboard. Medina was the driver and registered owner of the vehicle. He admitted paying $700 cash for the parrots with the intention of breeding and/or reselling them in the United States. All Amazon parrot species are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Smuggled birds that are not subject to quarantine can prove dangerous as they may carry and spread Avian influenza (bird flu) and other diseases. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and death in humans and other birds, including those housed on poultry farms.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Photo of parrot found in box in defendant’s vehicle following his arrest, from press release.
Related Press Release: Southern District of California | Exotic Bird Smuggler Busted at the Border | United States Department of Justice
United States v. Katrina D. Favret, et al.
- No. 2:25-CR-00071 (Southern District of Ohio)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
- ECS Trial Attorney Mark Romley
- AUSA Nicole Pakiz
- ECS Paralegal Gabriella Leaming
On June 11, 2025, a court unsealed an indictment charging two individuals for their involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.
The indictment states that Katrina D. Favret and Robert M. Craig conspired with previously charged defendant Ronald P. Bedra to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos” (18 U.S.C. § 371). Favret is also charged with creating and with distributing animal crush videos (18 U.S.C. §§ 48(a)(2), 48(a)(3)).
According to court documents, the defendants conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against juvenile and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.
Eleven other individuals were charged with similar violations in an indictment unsealed in May (United States v. Ernest Chavez, et al.).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Related Press Release: Office of Public Affairs | Grand Jury Indicts 11 More Individuals for Involvement with Online Groups Dedicated to Monkey Torture and Mutilation | United States Department of Justice
Guilty Pleas
United States v. Mark Orchard, et al.
- No. 2:23-CR-00166 (District of Wyoming)
- AUSA Kerry Jacobson
- SAUSA Richard Baird
On June 9, 2025, Mark Orchard pleaded guilty to Depredation of Government Property (18 U.S.C. § 1361). Co-defendant Darwin Crawford entered a similar plea on May 30, 2025. Crawford and Orchard are scheduled for sentencing on August 18 and 22, 2025, respectively.
Contractors Crawford and Orchard worked as field operation managers who oversaw field operations for an energy company. A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State Chief Ranger received information that contractors were dumping waste on well pads leased from the BLM. The waste had been generated from oil-water separators and maintenance operations performed on produced water storage tanks. Well pads are areas approved by the BLM for the drilling of gas or oil wells pursuant to approved plans and conditions.
The defendants instructed other crew members to “dig a hole and dump stuff from the junk tank” into the pit, and to backfill the hole. The affected area is known as the East Echo Springs Saltwater disposal facility (Echo Springs), located in Carbon County, Wyoming. Echo Springs was only permitted for the disposal of produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction, through injection deep into the ground. The site was not permitted for burying solid oil waste. Approximately 10 barrels of this oil waste material was buried at the direction of the defendants.
Soil samples taken by investigators of this buried material showed levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons at 15,200 ppm, 16,100 ppm, and 11,000 ppm. In comparison, an uncontaminated soil sample at the site measured a total petroleum hydrocarbon level of 18 ppm.
Orchard and Crawford admitted they signed off on daily work tickets and invoices for this and other work they directed.
The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Jose Daniel Santiago-Mendoza, et al.
- No. 1:25-CR-00305 (Southern District of Texas)
- AUSA William Hagen
On June 9, 2025, Jose Daniel Santiago-Mendoza pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for unlawfully transporting fish taken from the Gulf of America. Co-defendants Jesus David Luna-Martinez and Jesus Roberto Morales-Amador previously pleaded guilty to the same charge (16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(1)). Miguel Angel Ramirez-Vidal is scheduled for trial to begin on July 14, 2025.
On April 17, 2025, the defendants attempted to transport and export roughly 315 kilograms of red snapper illegally taken from U.S. waters to sell in Mexico. Authorities observed the crew’s panga-style fishing vessel in the Gulf of America, seven miles north of the U.S.-Mexico maritime boundary line and 21 miles east of South Padre Island. The defendants’ fishing vessel was unmarked and unregistered. It was not flying the flag of any nation and operating without running lights. The defendants were using more than four thousand yards of heavy nylon fishing line and 1,200 fishing hooks. None of the crew members possessed a permit to fish in U.S. waters nor did any hold a quota for red snapper.
Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the South Padre Island Police Department conducted the joint investigation.
Illegally taken Red Snapper and Gear.
Related Press Release: Southern District of Texas | Mexican commercial fishermen plead guilty to illegal red snapper harvesting | United States Department of Justice
United States v. Angela Amponsa
- No. 2:25-mj-01106 (District of New Jersey)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney RJ Powers
- RCEC Jason Garelick
On June 10, 2025, Angela Amponsa pleaded guilty to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(l)(A),136l(b)(l)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for October 14, 2025.
Amponsa owned the New Jersey African Caribbean Market in Hamilton, New Jersey. On two separate occasions, she knowingly sold the pesticides Sniper DDVP and Spri Gone to an undercover Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agent. These products are not EPA-registered.
Authorities executed a federal search warrant at the market and seized approximately 1,100 bottles of unregistered pesticides. When questioned by authorities, Amponsa admitted that she sold unregistered pesticides knowing they were illegal in the U.S.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Shaylynn Kolwyck-Peterson
- No. 4:25-CR-00699 (District of South Carolina)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
On June 10, 2025, Shaylynn Kolwyck-Peterson pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging her with a felony Lacey Act false labeling violation (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372 (d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(A)). The charge stems from her sale of a chimpanzee to Doc Antle in South Carolina. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
Sunshine Zoological Preserve, LLC, is a private for-profit roadside zoo in North Florida owned and managed by the Kolwyck family. Sunshine Zoological is believed to be the only facility in the U.S. breeding chimpanzees for private/non-scientific purposes.
Shaylynn Kolwyck drove a newborn chimpanzee to Doc Antle in South Carolina, where Antle paid her $200,000. She then called Antle to offer another juvenile chimpanzee, and Antle paid her an additional $200,000 in cash for it.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service obtained paperwork for both sales, which falsely listed the sales as non-commercial intrastate “transfers” from Sunshine Zoological in Florida to Antle’s South Carolina facility.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Paul Jacob Elliott Sommers
- No. 3:24-CR-01659 (Western District of Texas)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
- ECS Trial Attorney Leigh Rendé
- ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer
On June 10, 2025, Paul Jacob Elliott Sommers pleaded guilty to smuggling wildlife into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545).
As part of an investigation into illegal wildlife trafficking from Mexico into the U.S., authorities uncovered Mexico-based reptile suppliers who trafficked wildlife to U.S. based-customers. Over a period of four years, Sommers purchased wildlife from Mexico and coordinated with others to capture and transport the animals across the El Paso border. Sommers then sold the animals to customers in the U.S.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Dumitru Cicai
- No. 3:25-CR-02276 (Southern District of California)
- AUSA Emily Allen
On June 10, 2025, Dumitru Cicai pleaded guilty to smuggling (18 U.S.C. § 545). Sentencing is scheduled for August 28, 2025.
On March 31, 2025, Cicai was caught smuggling 24 one-liter bottles of Taktic pesticide into the United States. As he drove into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Cicai told the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) primary inspection officer that he had nothing to declare. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the primary officer discovered multiple pieces of natural wood branches in the vehicle’s trunk and large bottles concealed in black bags.
When questioned by the secondary CBP officer, Cicai said he only had wood to declare, nothing else. Upon closer inspection, officers found 24 bottles of pesticide labeled “Taktic.”
Taktic contains the active ingredient amitraz at an emulsifiable concentration of 12.5 percent. Under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, amitraz in this form is a cancelled and unregistered pesticide in the United States.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Isidoro Chaparro Sanchez, et al.
- No. 5:24-CR-00209 (Central District of California)
- AUSA Corey Burleson
- AUSA Dennis Mitchell
On June 16, 2025, Cirilo Esquivel Alcantar pleaded guilty to operating cockfighting events in San Bernardino County and sponsoring and exhibiting roosters in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1)). Alcantar, the fifth and final defendant to plead guilty in this case, is scheduled for sentencing on October 6, 2025.
Between May 2023 and July 2024, Alcantar, along with Luis Octavio Angulo, Sergio Jimenez Maldonado, Eva Anilu Pastor Uriostegui, and Isidoro Chaparro Sanchez organized and facilitated cockfighting events in Muscoy, California. The defendants held events on Sundays during the cockfighting “season.” Individuals brought roosters to fight, often drawing more than 100 spectators to each event.
Attendees paid $20 to park at a different location nearly one mile away from the event location. They were then shuttled to the cockfighting location, where they paid another fee – usually $40 – to enter the arena where the fights took place. Attendees could also place bets on the cockfights and participate in a raffle.
Cockfighters paid a fee to enter their roosters into fights ($1,000 for four roosters) with several fights scheduled for the day. Before the fights, a sharp blade, known as a “gaff,” was often attached to each rooster’s leg. At times, the fights ended in the death of one or both roosters.
Sanchez, Angulo, Uriostegui, and Maldanado pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371). They are respectively scheduled for sentencing on August 18th, August 25th, September 9th, and October 6, 2025.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
United States v. Erie Coke Corporation, et al.
- No. 1:22-CR-00023 (Western District of Pennsylvania)
- AUSA Nicole Vasquez Schmitt
- AUSA Michael L. Ivory
On June 17, 2025, Erie Coke Corporation (ECC) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to a Clean Air Act Title V (CAA) violation for knowingly emitting unburned or raw coke oven gas, a hazardous air pollutant, in violation of its permit (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(1)). Sentencing is scheduled for October 7, 2025.
ECC owned a coke manufacturing plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. The facility was located along Lake Erie, adjacent to the inlet to Presque Isle Bay. A number of private residences, public facilities, and several schools were nearby.
Turning coal into coke generates a variety of pollutants, including volatile gases such as benzene, toluene, and xylene, as well as particulate matter. The facility operated under a CAA Title V permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This permit prohibited the company from emitting coke oven gas into the outdoor air without burning the gas first. The company also used a Continuous Opacity Monitor (COM) to measure its opacity levels, another way to monitor particulate matter emissions. Authorities required ECC to install the COM as part of a state enforcement action. The company previously violated its Title V permit and state air pollution laws, including exceeding opacity levels from the coke oven battery stack. As a result, ECC implemented additional remedial measures to reduce emissions to resolve an EPA civil enforcement action.
However, ECC and employees continued to violate the CAA by, among other things, removing caps on heating flues atop the coke oven batteries to allow combustion gases to vent directly into the air and bypassing the plant’s environmental monitoring system. ECC then submitted emissions monitoring data to regulators each quarter that underrepresented the number of emissions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Related Press Release: Western District of Pennsylvania | Erie Coke Corporation Pleads Guilty to Air Emissions Violations | United States Department of Justice
United States v. Jerrod R. Farr, et al.
- No. 4:24-CR-00061 (District of Idaho)
- AUSA Justin Paskett
On June 23, 2025, Jerrod Farr pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for September 15, 2025. Co-defendant Michael T. Scott remains charged in a six- count indictment with violating the Lacey Act, providing false or fictitious information to a Forest Service officer, and conducting work activity without a special-use authorization (16 U.S.C. §§ 551, 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).
Farr owned and operated White Cloud Outfitters (WCO), a commercial outfitting and guiding business. Farr sold and facilitated Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep hunts in an area of the Salmon-Challis National Forest that is closed to commercial guiding. Working as a licensed guide for WCO, Scott illegally guided those hunts.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game conducted the investigation.
United States v. Matanuska Diesel, LLC, et al.
- No. 3:23-CR-00109 (District of Alaska)
- AUSA Jennifer Ivers
- RCEC Karla Perrin
On June 30, 2025, Matanuska Diesel, LLC, and company owner Mackenzie Spurlock pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for removing air pollution control equipment and tampering with federally mandated monitoring devices on diesel vehicles (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Between July 2020 and June 2022, Matanuska Diesel and Spurlock removed air pollution control equipment and tampered with federally mandated monitoring devices on diesel vehicles. The process of removing emissions control systems and reprogramming a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system is known as “deleting” and “tuning.” These unlawful modifications result in a significant increase in pollutants emitted by the vehicle. The defendants tampered with approximately nine trucks, charging between $1,200 and $5,000 per vehicle for those services.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Sentencings
United States v. Brandon Baker, 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 June 4 and 5, 2025, a court sentenced Brandon Baker and Marvin Pulley, III. Baker will serve 20 months’ incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Baker also will pay $13,307 in restitution. Pulley will serve 30 months’ incarceration and three years of supervised release. Pulley will pay $33,887 in restitution. They were the final defendants involved in this large-scale dog fighting event.
On April 24, 2022, the defendants held a dog fight in Donalsonville, Georgia, that authorities disrupted while in progress. The defendants brought 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend.
The participants used their cars to store dogs who had fought, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Dogs found in cars bore recent injuries and scars. Additional dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later died from its injuries.
On May 13 and 14, 2025, the court imposed sentences ranging from probation to 100 months of incarceration on 11 co-defendants. All were ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Marshall’s Service for the costs of caring for the seized animals.
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, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.
United States v. All Out Diesel, et al.
- No. 4:24-CR-00626 (Eastern District of Missouri)
- AUSA Dianna Edwards
On June 6, 2025, a court sentenced All Out Diesel, LLC, and company owner Joseph Easter, to pay a $100,000 fine. The company is jointly liable for the fine and will complete a three-year term of probation, while Easter will complete a five-year term of probation. Both pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) for illegally tampering with a federally mandated monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Truck owners who have removed (or “deleted”) their vehicle’s factory-installed emission control devices need devices that carry electronic files/software coding (”tunes”) designed to override the vehicle’s original computer programming. All Out Diesel custom altered tunes and sold them throughout the United States. The defendants’ tunes enabled deleted trucks to operate without emission control devices.
The defendants knowingly falsified, tampered with, and rendered inaccurate at least 75 monitoring devices that were required to be maintained under the CAA.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Fabcon Precast LLC
- No. 2:25-CR-00020 (Southern District of Ohio)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
On June 9, 2025, a court sentenced Fabcon Precast LLC (“Fabcon”) to pay a $500,000 fine, complete a two-year term of probation and enact a Safety Compliance Plan. Fabcon pleaded guilty to willfully violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) causing the death of an employee (29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).
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.
On the day of the incident, batch operator Zachary Ledbetter was on duty when the discharge door failed to close after releasing a batch of concrete. Some months before the incident, the handle that operated the exhaust valve broke off and was not replaced. 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. Ledbetter was transported to a hospital where he died five days later.
The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
Related Press Release: Office of Public Affairs | Ohio Company Sentenced for Violating OSHA Rule Leading to Worker’s Death | United States Department of Justice
United States v. Jose Manuel Valenzuela
- No. 3:24-CR-01037 (Southern District of California)
- ECS Assistant Chief Stephen Da Ponte
- AUSA Laura Sambataro
On June 10, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Manuel Valenzuela to complete a three-year term of probation and pay $7,399 in restitution. Valenzuela pleaded guilty to intentionally failing to present refrigerant tanks for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433, 1436).
On April 22, 2024, Valenzuela, an HVAC technician, attempted to enter the United States from Mexico without declaring four 24-pound tanks of 404A refrigerant (hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants) that were in his vehicle.
Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, et al.
- No. 4:22-CR-00580 (District of South Carolina)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
- AUSA Derek A. Shoemake
- AUSA Amy Bower
- ECS Paralegal Jillian Grubb
On June 10, 2025, a court sentenced Andrew Sawyer to complete a two-year term of probation to include 240 days of home confinement. Sawyer will also forfeit a chimpanzee to the Center for Great Apes, located in Wauchula, Florida. Jason Clay was sentenced to serve four months incarceration, followed by 120 days of home confinement and one year of supervised release. Clay will pay a $4,000 fine into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. On July 8, 2025, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay a $55,000 fine, serve three years of supervised release, and forfeit three chimpanzees and more than $197,000.
Antle owned and operated The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.), also known as the Myrtle Beach Safari. The Myrtle Beach Safari is a 50-acre tropical wildlife preserve in Myrtle Beach. Sawyer worked with Antle, and Clay owned and operated the Franklin Drive Thru Safari, a for-profit corporation that also housed captive exotic species and sold tours.
Antle and Clay illegally trafficked in wildlife (including lemurs, cheetahs, and a chimpanzee) and falsified records in violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act. Additionally, Antle and Sawyer laundered more than $500,000 in cash derived from an operation to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border into the United States. Antle further planned to conceal the cash he received by inflating tourist numbers at the Myrtle Beach Safari. All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Hollis G. Hale, et al.
- Nos. 4:25-CR-00018, 4:24-CR-00006 (District of Montana)
- ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
- ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
- AUSA Jeff Starnes
On June 11, 2025, a court sentenced Hollis G. Hale to pay a $35,000 fine, complete a four-year term of probation, and perform 100 hours of community service. 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)). 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 considered the largest in the world.
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.
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