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Press Release

Lamont Man Sentenced To Probation For Ginseng Offense

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa

DAVENPORT, IA – On August 30, 2013, Jeffrey Alan Sargent, age 45, of Lamont, Iowa, was sentenced to two years of probation for conspiracy to buy and sell illegally harvested ginseng, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. The crime of buying and selling illegally harvested ginseng is a felony. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also prohibited Sargent from any involvement in the ginseng trade during the term of his probation.

In 2010 and 2011 Sargent purchased ginseng from multiple sellers who Sargent knew had illegally obtained the ginseng. Sargent then sold the illegally harvested and purchased ginseng to a fur and trading company in Minnesota. Sargent obtained approximately $10,000 in illegally obtained ginseng in 2010 and 2011.

This case was investigated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Updated March 12, 2015