Anchorage, Alaska – A Pennsylvania man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage in a two-count indictment on charges relating to theft of fossil remains in Alaska.

Acting United States Attorney Kevin Feldis announced that Robert G. Franz, 63, a resident of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, was indicted on charges of conspiracy and theft of fossil remains from federal lands in Alaska.

According to the indictment, Franz is charged with having taken a segment of a mammoth tusk from public lands north of the Brooks Range, and having conspired with others to make several trips to northern Alaska over the last few years with the intention of collecting prehistoric and fossilized artifacts from the Alaskan wilderness. The indictment alleges that these artifacts are the property of the landowner, in this case, the United States, and that Franz had previously received a warning that non-permitted collecting of these items from federal or state land was not lawful.

Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Cooper, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

United States Bureau of Land Management, a branch of the Department of the Interior, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Whitemarsh Township Police Department in Pennsylvania conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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