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Environmental Crimes Bulletin May 2023

In this issue:

Sackett v. EPA, 598 US _ (2023) (May 25, 2023)

On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court curtailed Clean Water Act jurisdiction over wetlands and other waters adjacent to jurisdictional waters of the United States. In 2008, the Sacketts challenged a compliance order issued by EPA, which stated that the filling of wetlands on their property violated the Clean Water act and required restoration. Sackett v. Env't Prot. Agency, 143 S.Ct. 1322, 1331 (2023). The wetlands were across a 30-foot road from an unnamed tributary to Priest Lake, a traditionally navigable body of water and admitted jurisdictional water of the United States. Id. at 1332-33. The District Court entered summary judgment on behalf of EPA, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that there was a significant nexus between the wetlands and Priest Lake, which satisfied the “Kennedy test,” one of two standards established by the Court in Rapanos v. United States for determining when adjacent wetlands are jurisdictional. Id. at 1332. Rapanos was decided with no majority opinion, and Justice Kennedy’s tiebreaking opinion set up the “significant nexus” standard that most courts have since used to determine jurisdiction. Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 786 (2006). Justice Scalia’s plurality opinion in Rapanos set out a separate “continuous surface connection” test. Id. at 757.

In Sackett, through an opinion written by Justice Alito, the Court reversed the Ninth Circuit, holding that an adjacent wetland is jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act only if the wetland satisfied the Scalia test from Rapanos. Justice Alito held that Clean Water Act jurisdiction “extends to only those ‘wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are “waters of the United States” in their own right,’ so that they are ‘indistinguishable’ from those waters.” Sackett at 1344 (citing Scalia plurality opinion in Rapanos). In doing so, the Court rejected the Kennedy test as inconsistent with the text of the statute and insufficiently supported by a clear statement from Congress, which Justice Alito thought necessary to satisfy due process and federal-state balance concerns. Id. at 1341-43. The due process concerns were said to be heightened because there could be criminal consequences for violations. Id.

[Since the Rapanos decision in 2006, all Courts of Appeals with this issue before them had either held that the Kennedy test was the controlling standard under Rapanos or that a Clean Water Act jurisdiction was satisfied if the wetland met either the Kennedy or the Scalia test.]

Justice Alito went further, however, not only overturning the Kennedy test, but also concluding that “adjacent” wetlands include only those that are bordering or contiguous with other waters of the United States. This holding narrowed the meaning of “adjacent” to “adjoining,” leading both Justices Kavannaugh and Kagan to file opinions noting that this “unorthodox” statutory interpretation was unsupported by the terms’ distinct meanings. Id. at 1362-67 (Kavanagh, B., concurring); id. at 1360 (Kagan, E., concurring). [These decisions were concurrences because all the Justices agreed that the Sacketts should prevail. Indeed, EPA had withdrawn the compliance order against them early in the litigation, but the case went forward anyway. The concurrences read like dissents because the Court was divided 5-4 about whether to abandon nearly seventeen years of jurisprudence that used Justice Kennedy’s test.]

As a result of Sackett, wetlands separated from jurisdictional waters by berms, dikes, dunes, and similar features, which have been considered jurisdictional since the 1970s, id. at 1365, will no longer be protected by the Clean Water Act. What additional consequences flow from this decision remain to be seen. Justice Thomas also wrote a concurring opinion.

United States v. Chin Wang, et al., No. 3:23-CR-00930 (S.D. Calif.), AUSA Melanie Pierson

Cash seized from Wu during search

On May 16, 2023, prosecutors filed an indictment charging Chin Wang and Gerson Rene Pulido Paez with conspiracy, smuggling, and violating both the Lacey and  Endangered Species Acts (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B), 1538(a)(1)(F), 1540(b)).

Between January 2021, and May 2023, Wang and Paez conspired to sell and transport Totoaba bladders into the United States without the documentation or import permits required for species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Wang arranged for numerous sales with Paez. Wang previously sold $247,000 worth of Totoaba bladders to an undercover agent. On May 12, 2023, authorities arrested Wang as she attempted to sell an additional 100 Totoaba bladders (worth $1 million) to an undercover agent.

Totoaba swim bladders are purported to have medicinal properties and are used in soups. They are highly prized in Asian markets where a single bladder once sold for as much as $150,000.

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

United States v. Luis Enrique Rodriguez Sanchez, et al., Nos. 23-CR-00185, 00186 (D.P.R.), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan, AUSA Seth Erbe, and ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer.

On May 11, 2023, prosecutors charged Luis Enrique Rodriguez Sanchez and Pedro Luis Bones Torres with violating the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act stemming from an illegal construction project and depositing fill material into the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBNERR) and the Las Mareas community of Salinas, Puerto Rico (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319(c)(2)(A), 403, 406).

Rodriguez Sanchez owned a rock quarry and heavy equipment used in construction and earth-moving. Bones Torres worked as a licensed truck driver and owned and operated heavy equipment used in construction and land development. Between January 2020 and October 2022, the defendants illegally discharged fill material from excavation and earth- moving equipment into the wetlands and waters of the Reserve. They also built (a dock and a concrete boat ramp) without obtaining the permits required from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Officials designated the JBNERR as a National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1981. The area covers approximately 2,800 acres of coastal ecosystems in the southern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. The JBNERR contains mangrove islands, mangrove forests, tidal 

wetlands, coral reefs, lagoons, salt flats, dry forest, and seagrass beds.  Endangered animal species, including the brown pelican, peregrine falcon, hawksbill turtle, and West Indian manatee also live there.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. Gabriel Wu, No. 23-CR-00887 (S.D. Calif.) AUSA Melanie Pierson

On May 9, 2023, prosecutors charged Zifeng Wu, aka Gabriel Wu, with smuggling fish and wildlife into the United States, including Totoaba swim bladders, seahorses, sea cucumber, and Hawksbill sea turtles between June 2016 and April 2022 (18 U.S.C. § 545).             Wu paid other co-conspirators in Mexico to smuggle the protected fish and wildlife into the United States, concealed in their vehicles among tools used for labor. He also purchased smuggled protected fish and wildlife, and arranged to transport and sell them to customers in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere, including Asia.

During the search of Wu’s home, agents discovered more than $600,000 in cash and $400,000 worth of illegal wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Kevin Sheng Hsiang Fang d/b/a Yong Chang Trading Co., No. 2:23-CR-00195 (C.D. Calif.), AUSA Amanda Bettinelli

Frozen eel seized from Fang’s company

On May 31, 2023, Kevin Shen Hsiang Fang pleaded guilty to smuggling and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce (18 U.S.C. § 545; 21 U.S.C. §§ 331(a), 333(a)(1)). Sentencing is scheduled for August 14, 2023.

Fang, d/b/a Yong Chang Trading Co., a food wholesale company pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle Chinese frozen roasted eel for human consumption that authorities previously refused entry into the United States.

Fang was a high-volume importer of Chinese frozen roasted eel, commonly known as unagi. The case stems from Fang’s shipment of unagi that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested and determined unsafe for human consumption. The FDA subsequently refused to allow it to enter the United States.

In November 2017, Fang re-imported the previously refused Chinese frozen roasted eel (commingled with other eel) using new entry information to evade detection. He also knew that the product was adulterated with Gentian Violet, Leucogentian Violet, and Malachite Green. These antifungals are used in the fish farming industry, but are banned in the United States as potential carcinogens when used on food products.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Diesel Freak, LLC, et al., Nos. 1:23-CR-00048, 1:23-CR-00050 (W.D. Mich.), AUSA Justin Presant

On May 30 and 31, 2023, three corporations and four individuals pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for engaging in a scheme to disable semi-truck emissions control systems (18 U.S.C. § 371).

The defendants pleading guilty were: Diesel Freak, LLC, Accurate Truck Service, LLC, Griffin Transportation, Inc., Ryon Bos, Craig Scholten, Ryan Lalone, and Wade Lalone. Scott Dekock pleaded guilty on June 8, 2023. Glenn Hoezee, Robert Swainston, Randy Clelland, and Douglas Larsen pleaded guilty earlier in May of this year. Dustin Rhine and James Sisson are scheduled for trial to begin on September 11, 2023.

Ryan Lalone owns Diesel Freak, LLC and employed Wade Lalone, Rhine, and Sisson. Larsen owns Accurate Truck Service, LLC, and employed Scholten, Bos, Swainston and Clelland. Griffin Transportation, Inc., is owned by Scholten and Bos. DeKock used to own a shipping company, where he employed Hoezee.

Accurate Truck Service removed or altered the hardware components of vehicles with heavy-duty diesel engines that controlled the vehicles’ emissions. Diesel Freak reprogrammed the engine computers of the vehicles so that they would continue to function even after the hardware was removed or altered. This process is sometimes referred to as deleting the emissions controls from the vehicles. Deleting emissions controls from the vehicles can improve performance and fuel economy and save maintenance costs. Tampering with or removing emissions controls can drastically increase the emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and non-methane hydrocarbons found in vehicle exhaust.

Griffin Transportation and DeKock’s former company engaged Accurate Truck Service and Diesel Freak to delete trucks owned, operated, or leased by the companies. During the conspiracy, Diesel Freak participated in approximately 362 deletions; Accurate Truck Service in 83 deletions; Griffin Transportation in at least 12 deletions; and DeKock’s former company in at least four deletions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Environmental Investigation Section.

United States v. Bay Fresh Oyster Company, Inc., et al., No. 2:21-CR-00027 (W.D. La), AUSA Daniel McCoy

In February 2021, prosecutors charged several individuals and one company with conspiring to illegally harvest and sell raw oysters in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1)(B). Recently the following have agreed to plead guilty, been scheduled for sentencing, or been sentenced:

On June 12, 2023, a court sentenced Jenson Kyle Griffith to pay a $500 fine and complete a two-year term of probation, On May 24, 2023, a court accepted the guilty pleas of Phillip Cecil Dyson and Phillip Cecil Dyson II guilty scheduling them for sentencing on August 30, 2023, and September 11, 2023, respectively. Kasey Lyn Mock was recently scheduled for sentencing on July 11, 2023.

The following defendants have agreed to plead guilty: Adley Leo Dyson, Clarence Dyson, III, Kerwin Tyler Perry, Bay Fresh Oyster Company, Inc. (BFO), and Kirk Patrick Daigle. Brandon Kent Duhon, Kent Anthony Duhon and Terry Wayne Dickens have already been sentenced.

Between March 1, 2019, and May 5, 2019, BFO and the individual defendants harvested raw oysters from Calcasieu Lake violating Louisiana and federal law by creating and submitting false records after illegally harvesting oysters.

The defendants violated Louisiana law, by, among other things: harvesting oysters in amounts exceeding state limits; harvesting outside of legal harvest hours; failing to secure proper permits to allow legal harvest; using revoked permits; and harvesting oysters from areas closed for harvesting.

BFO purchased and transported illegally harvested oysters across state lines to its facility in Texas where employees falsified records by tagging the oysters as harvested by different harvesters.

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

United States v. David Guidry, III, No. 22-CR-00132 (E.D. La.), ECS Trial Attorney Matt Evans, AUSA Brittany Reed, and ECS Law Clerks Amanda Backer and Nate Borelli.

On May 17, 2023, David Guidry III pleaded guilty to one count of possessing animals in an animal fighting venture, in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. § 2156(b)).

During the investigation, law enforcement surveilled other dogfighters via Title III wiretaps and discovered dogfights hosted at Guidry's property. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Guidry's property, finding seven pit bulls, several deconstructed dogfighting rings, and paraphernalia used to train fighting dogs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jorge Morfin, No. 22-CR-02696 (S.D. Calif.), AUSA Melanie Pierson

Dried seahorses

On May 16, 2023, Jorge Morfin pleaded guilty to smuggling protected wildlife (18 U.S.C. § 545). Sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2023.

On October 27, 2022, Morfin attempted to smuggle more than 600 dried seahorses (weighing 6 kilograms) into the United States from Mexico at the Tecate, California, port of entry. Seahorses are an endangered species.

Authorities found the seahorses in ten separate plastic bags, kept in three locations in his vehicle. The bags also contained granulated laundry detergent, which was used to conceal the scent. Morfin stated he expected to be paid $5,000 to drive the seahorses into the United States.

The illegal international trade in seahorses is vast. They are typically traded dry for use in traditional medicines.

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

United States v. Pedro Gavino et al., No. 18-CR-00231 (E.D. Calif.), AUSA Karen Escobar

Blonde rooster” used for fighting

On May 8, 2023, Pedro Gavino pleaded guilty to selling firearms without a license and conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act by selling gamecocks and participating in cockfighting events (18 U.S.C. §§ 922, 923, 924, 371). Gavino’s father, Pedro Gavino-Robles, is scheduled for trial on November 7, 2023.

Between February 2017 and October 2018, Gavino negotiated the sale of 28 firearms at Gavino’s ranch in Orosi , California, and at different gas stations in Selma, California. He sold 24 of them, including AR-15 type pistols and AR-15 type short-barreled rifles that had been privately made using unfinished receivers, also known as “ghost guns.”

On February 14, 2018, during one of the illegal gun transactions, Gavino sold two American Game Fowl-type birds, commonly used for cockfighting and six Mexican slashers, or short knives, which are attached to a rooster’s leg during fights.

On April 15, 2018, Gavino and his father brought five gamecocks to a large cockfighting event in an orchard in Orosi where 200 to 300 spectators gathered. After two of the defendant’s gamecocks fought and won, there was a dispute, gunshots were fired, and the crowd dispersed. While executing a search warrant at Gavino’s ranch in October 2018, agents found 128 gamecocks, 30 hens used for breeding gamecocks, and 278 Mexican slashers. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation, with assistance from the California Highway Patrol and the Fresno Police Department Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium.
 

United States v. Teo Boon Ching, No. 1:20-CR-00181 (S.D.N.Y.), AUSA Michael Ross Herman

Rhino Horns

On May 8, 2023, Teo Boon Ching pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic more than 70 kilograms of rhinoceros horns (valued at approximately $725,000) (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2023.

Ching led a transnational criminal enterprise based in Asia with operations in locations including Malaysia and Thailand that illegally trafficked and smuggled rhinoceros horns around the globe. Ching acted as a specialized smuggler, transporting rhinoceros horns from poaching operations in Africa to primarily Asian customers. Ching also shipped rhinoceros horns to the United States.

Between July 2019 and August 2019, Ching met with a confidential source (CS) to negotiate the sale of rhinoceros horns. He sent the CS numerous photographs of rhinoceros horns available for sale. In August 2019, the CS purchased 12 rhinoceros horns from Ching, with instructions from Ching to deposit the cash into numerous Chinese bank accounts to disguise the origins, source, and purposes of the monetary transactions. On August 23, 2019, Ching arranged for his co-conspirators to deliver 12 rhinoceros horn pieces to undercover law enforcement personnel in Bangkok, Thailand. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensics laboratory examination confirmed that two horn pieces belonged to black rhinoceros and the other 10 pieces came from white rhinoceros, both endangered species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Royal Thai Government, and the Embassy of the United States in Bangkok.

United States v. Michael Valentine, No. 2:23-CR-00001 (S.D. Ohio), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman, AUSA Nicole Pakiz, and SAUSA Mike Marous

On May 4, 2023, Michael Valentine pleaded guilty to raising and training dogs for the purpose of dog fighting (7 U.S.C § 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. § 49). Valentine raised and trained more than 50 dogs near his home in Gallia County, Ohio.

Law enforcement began investigating Valentine for dog fighting offenses in 2019 following a dog attack on a small child living with the defendant. That investigation led to a search warrant of the defendant’s residence and the seizure of 40 dogs. The search also recovered numerous items of dog fighting paraphernalia, including treadmills, veterinary supplies, and dog fighting videos.

On March 8, 2022, authorities executed a second search warrant at his residence as part of a fentanyl-distribution investigation. That search revealed substantial evidence of drug distribution, as well as two assault-style rifles. In addition, a search of a nearby parcel of land revealed an additional 11 dogs, which Valentine used for fighting.

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation

United States v. Antonio Casillas-Montero, No. 3:22-CR-00437 (D.P.R.), AUSA Jonathan Gottfried

Dog forced to run on treadmill

On May 3, 2023, Antonio Casillas-Montero a.k.a. Stone City Kennel, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and possessing dogs for use in an animal fighting venture (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 49; 7 U.S.C. § 2156(b)). Sentencing is scheduled for August 1, 2023.

For more than 30 years, Casillas, operating as Stone City Kennel, and co-conspirators (including a Florida resident) participated in more than 150 dog fights in locations including: Puerto Rico, México, Ecuador, Perú, the Dominican Republic, New Jersey, and New York. The defendants purchased, received, bred, trained, and delivered pit bull-type dogs for the purpose of entering them in animal fighting ventures. As part of the training regime, Casillas injected the dogs with steroids, and chained them to tread mills, forcing them to run or walk for miles. Some of the fights lasted more than an hour.

Casillas sold pit bull-type dogs, including a female “champion” (a dog who has won a specified number of fights) for approximately $20,000. He sold other dogs for between $1,000 and $10,000. Casillas encouraged potential buyers to fly to Puerto Rico to pick up the dogs. 

While executing a search warrant in October 2022, authorities rescued four pit bull-type dogs chained to stakes on property associated with Casillas in Humacao, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Humacao Strike Force East; the Puerto Rico Police Bureau Welfare and Protection of Animals (Bienestar y Protección de los Animales); the Federal Bureau of Investigation San Juan Cyber Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Humane Society of the United States.

United States v. Michael Amato, No. 4:22-CR-00128 (E.D. Mo.), AUSA Dianna Collins

Taxidermy bird mounts

On May 2, 2023, Michael Amato pleaded guilty to smuggling wildlife into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545). Sentencing is scheduled for August 8, 2023. Amato will also forfeit more than six dozen taxidermy bird mounts seized from his residence, as well as bird mounts still in his possession, including owls, buzzards, hawks, eagles, harriers and cranes.

Between February 2018 and September 2020, Amato and others smuggled wildlife into the United States from Malta, England, Germany, and other countries without declaring the wildlife and without obtaining the permits required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Amato smuggled a total of 67 different birds. 

He directed his international associates how to list the wildlife and fill out export/import forms to avoid law enforcement detection.

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

United States v. Zeus Lines Management S.A., et al., No. 1:23-CR-00028 (D.R.I.), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Stephen DaPonte, AUSA John McAdams, ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris, and SAUSA Lt. Commander Paul Milliken

On May 1, 2023, Zeus Lines Management S.A. (Zeus), a vessel operating company, pleaded guilty to maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge wastes and failing to report a hazardous condition on board the oil tanker M/V Galissas. On May 3, 2023, chief engineer Roberto Cayabyab Penaflor and Captain Jose Ervin Mahigne Porquez also pleaded guilty for their roles. All are scheduled for sentencing on August 8, 2023.

In February 2022, the defendants failed to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book and failed to report a hazardous condition on board the ship, specifically, that the inert gas system was inoperable. Zeus pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (PWSA) (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a); 46 U.S.C. § 70036(b)). Porquez pleaded guilty to violating APPS and Penaflor pleaded guilty to violating the PWSA.

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

United States v. Jeffrey Smith, No. 6:22-CR-02070 (N.D. Iowa), AUSA Timothy Vavricek

On May 25, 2023, a court sentenced Jeffrey Smith to pay a $500 fine, as well as $270 in restitution, and complete a one-year term of probation. Smith pleaded guilty to making a false statement (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3)).

The City of Nashua, Iowa, employed Smith as a drinking water operator. As the operator-in-charge of the Nashua Water Supply, Smith was responsible for testing the water, as well as for completing, signing, and submitting the groundwater monthly operating reports (MOR) to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Smith falsified the MOR submitted to IDNR for the month of January 2018, stating that he had taken the requisite chlorine samples, when, in fact, he had not.

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

United States v. Wasatch Railroad Contractors, et al., No. 21-CR-00138 (D. Wyo.), AUSA Stephanie I. Sprecher, SAUSA Richard Baird, and USAO Paralegal Lisa Wait

On May 24, 2023, a court ordered John E. Rimmasch to pay $198,103 for medical monitoring of his thirty-three victims, plus $29,226 for asbestos cleanup and removal costs.

 In April 2022, a jury convicted Rimmasch and his company, Wasatch Railroad Contractors (Wasatch), on wire fraud and Clean Air Act knowing endangerment charges (18 U.S.C. § 1343; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(5)(A)). Rimmasch was sentenced in July 2022 to 30 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. The company is now defunct.

Wasatch repaired and restored freight cars and specialized in restoring historic railroad equipment. In August 2016, Wasatch entered into a contract to restore a historic railcar owned by the National Park Service (NPS). Wasatch failed to complete the restoration, and, in the process, endangered its employees by exposing them to asbestos by not following proper safety measures. Rimmasch billed the NPS falsely certifying that the company properly performed the abatement and restoration. The contract also obligated Wasatch to pay the local prevailing wage to its laborers, as determined under the Davis-Bacon Act, which Wasatch failed to do. Rimmasch directed others to submit falsely certified payrolls to the NPS stating his employees were paid the minimum Davis-Bacon wage. Rimmasch knew that if the company failed to comply with all the terms in the contract, the NPS could refuse to remit the $800,000 it had agreed to pay for his services.

The U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

United States v. Curtis Floyd, No. 1:22-CR-00142 (D. Mont.), AUSA Colin Rubich

On May 23, 2023, a court sentenced Curtis Floyd to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Floyd pleaded guilty to conspiring to make a false statement in a record required to be maintained under the Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA) (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Floyd worked as a safety manager for Signal Peak Energy (SPE), a coal mine near Roundup, Montana. In 2018, an employee under Floyd’s supervision (John Doe) injured his fingers while loading mining materials. The injury eventually required partial amputation. While taking Doe to the hospital, the VP of Underground Operations (VP) called Doe on the phone, in Floyd’s presence. The VP instructed Doe to tell medical staff that he sustained the injury at home, not at work. Doe agreed and did as he was instructed. Though Floyd knew about this scheme, he did not intervene, despite his duty to do so. Later, Floyd also failed to complete an MSHA Mine Accident, Injury, and Illness Report and omitted Doe as an "MSHA reportable injury or illness" on the MSHA Mine Accident, Quarterly Mine Employment, and Coal Production Report.

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

United States v. Aifa Seafood, Inc., et al., No. 1:22-CR-20479 (S.D. Fla.), AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald

Agents covertly marking lobster for tracking

On May 23, 2023, a court sentenced Aifa Seafood, Inc., (Aifa), and its president, Jiu Fa Chen, after they pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for exporting falsely labeled spiny lobster from Florida to China (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(A)).

Aifa will pay a $250,000 fine, complete a five-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance plan. The plan will include the requirement that AIfa retain a court-approved compliance officer and undergo  a complete audit of its books by a court-approved third-party auditor. Chen will pay a $100,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. Both fines are payable to the NOAA Lacey Act Fund.

Between May and August 2019, Aifa purchased seafood products for export to China. To meet the high demand for spiny lobster, Aifa imported lobster from Haiti for reexport to China. Aifa reexported approximately 5,900 pounds of lobster and falsely labeled the product in shipping documents as “Live Florida Spiny Lobsters, Product of U.S.A.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. David Sneddon, No. 2:22-CR-00165 (C.D. Calif.), AUSA Amanda Bettinelli

On May 23, 2023, a court sentenced David Sneddon to five months’ home detention, as a condition of a one-year term of supervised release. Sneddon pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for trafficking in exotic reptiles, including African bush vipers, Uganda puff adders, a variety of rattlesnakes and other exotic snakes from California (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)) .

In July 2020, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents launched an undercover investigation focused on Sneddon, following his meeting with a confidential informant (CI) at a reptile show in South Carolina. For the next 18 months, federal agents surreptitiously recorded the CI’s phone conversations with Sneddon and intercepted all texts between the two as they arranged purchases of albino snakes, scorpions, lizards, and other wildlife.

Sneddon, a lifelong snake enthusiast, operates a business called the West Coast Reptile Exchange. The phone calls and texts demonstrated Sneddon’s knowledge of the regulations and the species protected thereunder.

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

United States v. Ijomah Oputa, No. 1:23-CR-00010 (D.D.C.), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Cassie Barnum and AUSA Jennifer Blackwell

On May 19, 2023, a court sentenced Ijomah Oputa after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with generating and selling fraudulent renewable fuel credits (RINs) (18 U.S.C. § 1343). Oputa will serve 40 months’ incarceration, followed by 36 months’ supervised release. He will forfeit $426,200 and pay restitution to victim entities ACT Fuels and RIN Alliance in the amounts of: $462,161.97 and $33,625, respectively.

Between 2017 and 2021, Oputa operated a fake renewable fuel importing company and fraudulently generated RINs on biofuel he claimed he imported from foreign biofuel producers. No such imports had occurred. Oputa generated false documentation for these imports, including fake classified correspondence with a branch of the United States military. He then sold the fraudulent RINs to a RIN trading company for approximately $426,000, which he deposited in a bank account he opened using a stolen identity.

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

United States v. Gordon W. Lindamood, No. 1:22-CR-00124 (D. Del.), AUSA Edmond Falgowski

On May 18, 2023, a court sentenced Gordon W. Lindamood to pay a $34,000 fine, complete a three-year term of probation, and perform 100 hours of community service. Lindamood pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for tampering with vehicle emissions’ control-systems (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Lindamood owned a company called GL Tuning Solutions, LLC, which he operated from his home in Delaware. Manufacturers equip motor vehicles with emission control devices that are monitored by computer software in the vehicles’ onboard diagnostic systems (OBDs). This software, often referred to as a “tune,” detects and identifies malfunctions, illuminating a light on the vehicle’s dashboard. Lindamood tampered with the OBDs of diesel trucks. He custom altered or “deleted” tunes and sold them throughout the United States to customers who had removed the emission control devices from their trucks. His “tunes” enabled those deleted trucks to operate without emission control devices.

Emission control devices operate to protect the environment at the expense of horsepower and fuel efficiency. Ordinarily, when a diesel truck owner removes a factory-installed emission control device, the truck’s OBD automatically renders the truck inoperable.

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

United States v. Stephany Perez, et al., No. 2:22-CR-00057 (C.D. Calif.), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner, AUSAs Matthew W. O’Brien and Brian R. Faerstein, and ECS Paralegal John Taylor

On May 18, 2023, a court sentenced Stephany Perez to pay a $1,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation. She previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Lacey Act violation. Her brother, Jose Manuel Perez, a.k.a. “Julio Rodriguez,” pleaded guilty to smuggling and Lacey Act trafficking charges and is scheduled for sentencing on August 10, 2023 (18 U.S.C. § 545; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Both illegally imported more than 1,700 reptiles (including 60 reptiles Perez hid in his clothes) into the United States from Mexico.

Between January 2016 and February 2022, the Perez siblings and co-conspirators used social media to buy and negotiate the sale and delivery of wildlife in the United States. The defendants advertised on social media the animals smuggled from Mexico into the United States, posting photos and video that depicted the animals as collected from the wild.

The defendants and others imported animals (including Yucatan box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles, and Mexican beaded lizards) illegally into the United States from Mexico and Hong Kong without permits or documentation. Co-conspirators retrieved the wildlife from Cuidad Juarez International Airport in Mexico and transported the animals by car to El Paso, Texas. Jose Perez paid his co-conspirators a “crossing fee” for each border crossing, which depended upon the number of animals transported, the size of the package, and the risk of detection by authorities.

The superseding indictment includes additional charges based upon Perez entering the United States from Mexico on February 25, 2022, with approximately 60 reptiles, including dozens of lizards and four snakes, concealed inside his jacket pockets, pants pockets, groin area, and pant legs. During the search, Perez initially denied to customs officials that he had anything to declare, later saying “the animals were his pets.” Authorities valued the wildlife smuggled at $739,000.

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

United States v. Clark Pinkston Luna, No. 3:22-CR-02939 (S.D. Calif.), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Stephen DaPonte and AUSA Melanie Pierson

On May 15, 2023, a court sentenced Clark Pinkston Luna to complete a three-year term of probation and pay $1,200 in restitution. Luna pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and failing to present a vehicle for inspection (18 U.S.C. § 371).

In March 2022, Luna rented a self-storage unit in Calexico, California, to store bottles of pesticides smuggled into the United States from Mexico. On November 24, 2022, Luna drove a vehicle into the United States from Mexico at the Calexico Port of Entry with 24 one-liter bottles of Taktic, an undeclared Mexican pesticide to sell in the United States.

Those involved in clandestine marijuana grows use illegal pesticides to cultivate unregulated marijuana on both public and private land in the United States.

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

United States v. Abdi Hussein Ahmed, et al., No. 1:19-CR-00338 (S.D.N.Y.), AUSAs Sagar K. Ravi and Jarrod L. Schaeffer

On May 11, 2023, a court sentenced Kenyan national Abdi Hussein Ahmed to 48 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, for conspiring to traffic large quantities of rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory (both protected species) worth millions of dollars. Ahmed also conspired to distribute heroin (18 U.S.C. § 371; 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 846). Ahmed is the fifth and final defendant sentenced in this case involving extradition of multiple individuals from several African countries.

Between December 2012 and May 2019, Moazu Kromah, Amara Cherif, Mansur Mohamed Surur, Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, and Ahmed conspired to transport, distribute, sell, and smuggle approximately 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horn and 10 tons of elephant ivory from countries in East Africa, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania, to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia. Authorities estimate the combined total retail value of trafficked rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory at close to $8 million.

The defendants poached approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants. They exported the horns and ivory in packaging that concealed the contents, hiding it among pieces of art such as African masks and statues. They received and deposited wire transfer payments as well as cash from foreign customers.

The court previously sentenced the other four defendants: Kromah will serve 63 months’ incarceration, and forfeit one black and two white rhino horns, after pleading guilty to conspiracy and Lacey Act wildlife trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 371; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A),3373(d)(1)(B)). Surur will serve 54 months’ incarceration, and forfeit a black rhinoceros horn, two white rhinoceros horns, and $1,000 in cash, after pleading guilty to conspiracy and distributing heroin (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 841, 846.) Cherif was sentenced to 57 months’ incarceration, and Saleh to 24 months’ incarceration.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Uganda Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, the Uganda Police Force, the Kenya Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and the Kenyan Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

United States v. Jorge Luis Iglesias, No. 3:22-CR-00115 (W.D. Wisc.), AUSA Daniel Graber

On May 10, 2023, a court sentenced Cuban national Jorge Luis Iglesias to pay a $1,750 fine and complete a one-year term of probation, for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2)). On three separate occasions, in April, May and December 2020, Iglesias illegally sold Yellow-faced Grassquits, a migratory bird.

The U.S. Fish Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducted the investigation.

United States v. Quick Tricks Automotive Performance, Inc., et al., No. 1:22-CR-20516 (S.D. Fla.), AUSA Jodi Mazer

On May 5, 2023, a court sentenced Vivian Machado, Eric Flaquer, Quick Tricks Automotive Performance, Inc., (Quick Tricks) and Kloud9Nine, LLC. The defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to tamper with monitoring devices on diesel vehicles, in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C. § 371). Flaquer was sentenced to three months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release with six months home detention. Machado was sentenced to time served, followed by three years of supervised release and ten months of home detention. Kloud9Nine will complete a two-year term of probation and implement a compliance program, to include a court-appointed independent monitor. Quick Tricks will complete a three-year term of probation under the same terms. All defendants will publish a public apology and statement regarding their crimes at the 2023 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show.

Between January 2018 and March 2021, the defendants participated in approximately 2,000 transactions disabling the onboard diagnostic systems on heavy-duty diesel trucks. They customized “delete tune files” based on the vehicle identification number and other parameters provided by the customers. Knowing they acted illegally, the defendants often warned customers to keep quiet about the purchases and avoid detection by authorities. In total, they earned approximately $372,000 from their illegal conduct.

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

United States v. Pedro Vargas Rendon, No. 23-CR-00162 (S.D. Calif.), AUSA Melanie Pierson

Toucan rescued by authorities

On May 4, 2023, a court sentenced Pedro Vargas Rendon to complete a three-year term of probation and pay $4,140 in restitution. Rendon pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act for smuggling two toucans (a protected species) into the United States (16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)).

On December 26, 2022, authorities apprehended Rendon as he attempted to enter the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa point of entry. Based on an alert, authorities referred him to an inspection area. After discovering the toucans in Rendon’s vehicle, he told them he had planned to sell them for approximately $1,600 each. Rendon previously attempted to bring the birds over the border twice in September 2022. When Customs and Border Patrol agents allowed him to return to Mexico, they told him he needed a permit to import the birds. Authorities placed the birds in quarantine at a Food and Drug Administration facility in New York.

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

United States v. Brandon Wall, No. 2:21-CR-00001 (E.D. La.), AUSAs Spiro G. Latsis and J. Ryan McLaren

On May 2, 2023, a court sentenced Brandon Wall to complete a one-year term of probation. Wall pleaded guilty to violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act related to an incident on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico (43 U.S.C. § 1350(c)(3)).

Wall worked as a foreman on an oil platform known as Grand Isle 43AA (GI-43AA). In December 2017, the GI-43AA experienced sand buildup problems with its filtration systems. After the crew notified Wall about the problem, he instructed the operators to keep the platform “flowing” instead of shutting down to repair or replace the filtration systems. Wall also told the operators to bypass the platform’s safety systems, which would have automatically “shut-in” the platform. Operators knew that putting safety systems in bypass made the platform less safe and increased the risk of a pollution event. The platform operated in this manner for close to a month.

On January 25, 2018, the platform discharged oil and other hazardous substances into the Gulf, causing a sheen. Operators informed their supervisors, including Wall, who eventually alerted authorities of the discharge.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General Energy Investigations Unit conducted the investigation.

United States v. Derrick Thompson, et al., No. 7:21-CR-00019 (W.D. Va.), AUSA Michael Baudinet

On May 2, 2023, a court sentenced Derrick Thompson to 45 days’ time served, followed by two years’ supervised release, to include two months’ home confinement. In November 2022, a jury convicted Thompson of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, to steal government property, and to remove timber from public lands (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Between August 2019 and February 2020, Thompson, and co-defendants William Stump and Justin W. Johnson, conspired to cut and remove black walnut trees located in the Bluestone Project in Giles County, Virginia, and transport them to Lindside, West Virginia, for sale. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) designed the Bluestone Project to help inhibit flood-level water flow along both the New River and Bluestone River. The federally-protected 21,000-acre area provides fertile habitat for a variety of trees and plants, including the highly valuable black walnut trees. Walnut trees are among the largest and longest living hardwood tree.

The court previously sentenced Stump to four months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Stump will also pay $3,189 in restitution to the ACOE, after pleading guilty to illegally removing timber from public lands (18 U.S.C. § 1852). Johnson is scheduled for trial to begin on November 28, 2023, on charges of conspiracy, violating the Lacey Act, theft of government property, removal of timber from lands of the United States, and illegally cutting trees on government lands (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1852, 1853; 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(1)).

The U.S. Forest Service Office of Law Enforcement and the Army Corps of Engineers conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jamal Saymeh, No. 3:22-CR-00284 (W.D.N.C.), AUSA Steven Kaufman

On May 1 2023, a court sentenced Jamal Saymeh to a year and a day of incarceration, followed by two years’ supervised release, for violating the Clean Air Act by fraudulently coding more than 15,000 vehicles that would have otherwise failed the state’s emissions inspection (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(A)). Saymeh also will pay a $1,202,288 fine and $82,026 in restitution to the State of North Carolina.

Saymeh owns and operates Friendly Auto Repair in Charlotte, North Carolina. Between 2017 and January 2022, Saymeh routinely provided fraudulent vehicle emissions testing to customers. He manually entered vehicle identification numbers (VIN) and county information into the system to exempt certain vehicles from testing. In some cases, Saymeh changed the designation of truck types from light duty to heavy duty, thus allowing such vehicles to evade the emissions testing requirement. In exchange for falsifying vehicle information, Saymeh received cash payments from customers that far exceeded what customers would have paid for a “normal” emissions inspection. In addition, Saymeh paid the State of North Carolina only $0.85 per non-emissions/safety inspection, instead of the $6.25 per vehicle charge he should have paid for an inspection.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Office of Inspector General, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation License and Theft Bureau conducted the investigation.

United States v. Fernanda Chendel Ramirez, No. 3:22-CR-02697 (S.D. Calif.), ECS Senior Trial Attorney Stephen DaPonte and AUSA Melanie Pierson

On May 1, 2023, a court sentenced Fernanda Chendel Ramirez to complete a three-year term of probation and pay $1,500 in restitution. Ramirez pleaded guilty to smuggling Mexican pesticides (18 U.S.C. § 545).

On October 28, 2022, authorities apprehended Ramirez as she attempted to enter the United States at the Calexico port of entry with twelve 1-liter bottles of Metaldane 600. All twelve containers were labelled in Spanish and bore no Environmental Protection Agency registration numbers, and, in fact, were not registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as an EPA-registered pesticide.

Those involved in clandestine marijuana grows use illegal pesticides to cultivate unregulated marijuana on both public and private land in the United States.

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

Environmental Crimes Bulletin

Updated January 20, 2025